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The Tar Heels need to play harder, smarter and more together.
If Carolina doesn’t do those three things, its NCAA Tournament will be over at the hands of Michigan State, one of the toughest, most intelligent, and best-coached teams in the game. It’s what the Spartans’ surprising beat down of Mississippi State and UNC’s underwhelming win over 16 seed Wagner showed.
Elliot Cadeau needs to play better than in the 18 minutes Hubert Davis gave him. Rugged Jae’Lyn Withers needs a chance to duplicate his double-double in the 22 minutes Davis used him in his hometown. The team cannot depend on another double-double by Armando Bacot against an opponent with a frontcourt the size of Carolina’s. And R.J. Davis may be a consensus All-American, but he knows his is not a one-man team.
While the Tar Heels and Spartans have met only 16 times in their history, among them are some memorable games that alumni, fans and former players remember fondly or regrettably. The first is perhaps the most famous in the 1957 national semifinals where MSU led unbeaten Carolina by two points with seconds to play and a Spartan at the free throw line to ice the game in the pre-shot clock era. He missed, UNC’s Pete Brennan grabbed the rebound and dribbled 70 feet to hit a jumper at the horn to tie the score. The Heels won in three overtimes.
The Spartans came to Carmichael in 1978 with Ervin “Magic” Johnson, who invited star recruit James Worthy into their locker room after Carolina won, 70-69. Big Game James said, “thanks but no thanks” and signed with UNC.
The Heels won their Sweet Sixteen game in Greensboro in 1998 and moved on to Bill Guthridge’s first of two Final Fours.
When Roy Williams returned to Chapel Hill, his teams beat Tom Izzo’s Spartans seven straight times, including in the 2005 Final Four semis and for the 2009 national championship in Detroit, then in the famous game on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson in 2011. Izzo finally snapped that losing streak in the 2017 PK80 tournament in Portland. The programs have not met since.
Izzo has won more than 60 percent of his NCAA games when his teams were the lower seed. That’s how they will take the court in Charlotte, the No. 9 Spartans versus the top-seeded Carolina in the West region.
Michigan State has no marquee players to match the pub of Bacot, R.J., heralded transfers Harrison Ingram and Cormac Ryan and flashy freshman Cadeau. All they bring to the game are gritty veterans with a lunch pail personality. The Tar Heels must be ready to get their hands dirty.
Featured image via Todd Melet
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
