North Carolina vs. Michigan State basketball score, updates, and highlights: Spartans lose 85–69
Credit: AP Photos
In the first half of their game against top-seeded North Carolina on Saturday, Michigan State basketball led by as many as 12 points. The Spartans were attempting to win their first-ever game against the Tar Heels in March Madness.
However, North Carolina swiftly reversed what seemed to be just another Tom Izzo masterclass, ending the second half on a 23-3 run and never looking back.
The Spartans are now 0-6 all-time versus the Tar Heels in the Big Dance after losing to North Carolina 85-69 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Tyson Walker, the guard for Michigan State, finished with 24 points on 9 of 16 shots, followed by Malik Hall with 17 and Jaden Akins with 11. The Tar Heels’ big three of Harrison Ingram, Armando Bacot, and RJ Davis scored 21, 18, and 17 points apiece, while the Spartans had no response.
The following are the standout moments from Michigan State’s Saturday season-ending loss to North Carolina:
1. Carolina advanced to the round of 16 after defeating Michigan State 85-69 in a slugfest.
2. With the victory, Carolina has now won 133 NCAA Tournament games, which leads the country. The time of Thursday’s match in Los Angeles against the winners of Alabama and Grand Canyon is not yet determined.
3. Harrison Ingram, thank you. The forward from Carolina scored 17 points and pulled down seven rebounds, tying his career high with five three-pointers. Armando Bacot scored eighteen points, and RJ Davis scored a game-high twenty. With 14 points, Cormac Ryan became the fourth Heel to score in double figures.
4. Seth Trimble had two of the best blocks you’ll see from a guard halfway through the second half (and he added a third with 7:26 left, though it wasn’t credited as one). Ninety seconds after Trimble’s initial basket against big man Jaxon Kohler in the post, he went after A.J. Hoggard in transition to score another basket. Trimble was extremely important off the bench in a game where Elliot Cadeau was ineffective, which is a worrying trend considering that he is now 6-25 from the field in the last four games.
5. However, say this for Cadeau. He sat through ten minutes of the second half’s gameplay. He went straight to the rim and scored as soon as he returned. That was precisely the kind of aggressive play that Carolina’s offense needs from him.
6. With less than ten minutes remaining in the game, Jae’Lyn Withers, a fellow reserve, had an incredible run that helped Trimble in the second half. He scored four points, caused two turnovers against Michigan State, and pulled down an offensive rebound during that time. This time of year, Carolina needs their bench players to contribute, and on Saturday, they did just that with a huge follow-slam from Jalen Washington with less than five minutes remaining. In his last six games, Withers has racked up 39 rebounds.
7. A highly atypical first half saw Carolina outworked, 18–12, on the boards and without an offensive rebound. Michigan State was extremely hard on the glass, and Armando Bacot only managed one rebound. Bacot, however, had an outstanding second half that offset the Spartans’ early aggression with two blocks and strong play around the rim. In the first half, he attempted eight free shots and made seven of them.
8. The second half saw a shift in those rebounding statistics, particularly on the offensive end. In the last 20 minutes, the Tar Heels collected five offensive rebounds, which they converted into ten second-chance points. That was a key component of the attack as Carolina extended their lead, along with points off turnovers, of which the Heels had sixteen. Even so, the Spartans prevailed 37–31 in the overall rebounding contest.
9. Nevertheless, the Heels soon warmed up off the field to offset their early difficulties with rebounding. After going 2-for-10 at the three-point line to start the game, Carolina made four of their final six trifectas in the last 5:36 of the first half. During a Hubert Davis timeout, Harrison Ingram swam close to the buzzer to set up the game’s last possession.
Credit: AP Photos
10. Opponents have chosen to block Elliot Cadeau’s perimeter guarding, which isn’t exactly a secret. The rookie is in a position that is very alluring—no one is a few feet away from him, so he feels pressured to make the shot, even if it’s clear he lacks confidence in it at the moment. On Saturday, he missed all four of his three-point attempts.
11. Significant minutes from the Tar Heel bench late in the half. Jalen Washington played for six minutes, while Paxson Wojcik grabbed a few boards and forced one to go up the floor, which the Heels converted into a Davis three-pointer.
12. Carolina is currently 14-1 in the NCAA Tournament in Charlotte and 36-2 in the state of North Carolina. In the NCAA Tournament, they are also 6-0 against Michigan State. This matchup comes 67 years and one day after their first one, a triple-overtime triumph in the national semifinals of 1957. Fantastic Tar Heel attendance on Saturday at the Spectrum Center.
13. Finally, we’ll leave you with this amusing statement from Tyler Hansbrough, the Tar Heel Sports Network analyst for Saturday. “I was kind of lost looking for our locker room,” he admitted when asked about the well-known picture of Michigan State players staring at him in apparent awe during the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Turning the corner and seeing Michigan State was unexpected. I was like, ‘Clearly this isn’t the right way,’ and they spotted me.
