Michigan State vs North Carolina: NCAA Championship Preview & Predictions
Written April 6, 2009 by Jordan Haimowitz
The Michigan State Spartans will try to cap off their magical run tonight against the #1 seeded Tar Heel. This is basically a home a game for the Spartans as it is being held in Detroit, MI. As the clock ticks near 9:10 eastern time, just about all of East Lansing will be piling into Ford Field in which the crowd will be minimum 75-25 percent in favor of Michigan State. This is not the same Spartans team that lost 98-63 back in September. They are led by Big Ten player of the year Kalin Lucas. The Sophomore guard has exploded onto the scene this year as one of the nations premier players. He put up 21 points and 5 assists against Uconn in their Final Four victory the other night. He severely out played A.J. Price who just couldn’t seem to shake Lucas at all.. Coach Izzo, the soon to be first ballot Hall Of Famer, has done perhaps his best coaching job to date. The Spartans don’t have near the scoring attack to go head to head with UNC. They are not as explosive and do not have the outside shooters to boot. What they do have, is a fierce defensive tenacity that will keep them in any game. Big man Goran Sutton has shown he has the ability to play any of the opposing teams big men in this tournament. He handled Samardo Samuels of Louisville with ease and out played Thabeet the other night. Senior leader Raymar Morgan will be the x-factor, he is the one that gets the momentum going and will be squaring off with Danny Green. Delvin Roe, the big time freshman, will most likely be guarding Tyler Hansbrough this game. What a rough draw that is for anybody, let alone a freshman in the championship game. This is a home game for The Spartans. That means more then any statistic. Watch out Heels, The men of Sparta will be ready for battle. Looking at the NCAA basketball odds for tonight’s game, the line is set at North Carolina -7.5 with the Under/Over at 153 points.
The North Carolina Tar Heels have been a wrecking crew during this tournament. They have defeated every team by double digits. That includes power house teams like Oklahoma and Villanova. They added a sweet sixteen beat down on Gonzaga as well by 21 points. This team is led by the ACC player of the year Ty Lawson. The soon to be NBA first round draft pick is a near impossible match up for any guard that faces him. He has shot over 50% in this tounrament. He put together a stat line of 22 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists against Villanova in the Final Four. This is as well-balanced of a team as you will find. Lawson is a star, Ellington is another future NBA player, Danny Green is a lights out shooter with super athleticism, Hnasbrough is a four time All-Conference, three time All-American and the 2008 national player of the year while their big center Deon Thompson continues to improve every game he plays. It will take a near perfect performance from Michigan State to pull off this upset. The Heels have the advantage in every offensive category as well as rebounding. They do allow nine more points per game and do not have near the kind of depth that Michigan State does. Buckle up and hold on tight as this game will be a good one.
Haimo’s Hot Notes: Well, we started with 64 teams and are down to the last two. They include the pre-tournament favorite North Carolina Tar Heels and the surprise 2 seed from the Midwest region, The Michigan State Spartans. North Carolina and Michigan State are both 5-0 ATS in this years NCAA tournament. The UNDER is 11-5 at Michigan State in the last sixteen games overall. I urge you not to under estimate the importance of a home crowd. It brings emotion and energy that players never even knew they had. Expect Coach Tom Izzo to slow this game down and bang hard inside. I firmly believe the Spartans from the Big-10 conference will pull off the shocker tonight. But, like I always say. Don’t turn down points and be greedy. Picks below. Good luck.
Documented Record:
27-25 OVERALL
11-7 BEST BET
Betting Line: North Carolina -7.5 & O/U 153
Jordan’s Picks: Take Michigan State +7.5 & UNDER 153
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