North Carolina dominates Michigan State…yawn
Wayne Ellington couldn’t miss, Ty Lawson couldn’t drive without getting fouled and Michigan State couldn’t handle the ball — this all added up to a 89-72 win for the Tar Heels.
North Carolina jumped out early and Michigan State simply couldn’t recover. They looked tight; the jumpers weren’t falling and they turned the ball over 21 times, which is a TON. Seemingly every time Ty Lawson put the ball on the floor the officials blew the whistle — he ended up shooting 18 free throws and there were a number of questionable calls. For the most part, the refs called a tight game, and that worked against the Spartans, who are used to the rough and tumble play in the Big Ten. Lawson finished with 21 points, six assists and eight steals.
Michigan State didn’t give up; the Spartans had a few opportunities to cut into the lead, but they missed a bunch of threes and anytime the Tar Heels needed a bucket, someone stepped up and knocked down a shot. Ellington and Danny Green combined to shoot 5 of 6 from long range. It was obvious that the estimated 60,000 Spartan fans in attendance were desperate for something to cheer for — but the run never came.
All in all, it was a pretty boring finale to a pretty boring tournament. There were a few buzzer beaters and several good games, but this year’s tourney didn’t have the drama of years past. I don’t know if it was just bad luck or a lack of mid-majors in the field, but it just wasn’t quite as exciting as usual.
Maybe they need to go to a BCS-type format…
Just kidding.
“I don’t know if it was just bad luck or a lack of mid-majors in the field, but it just wasn’t quite as exciting as usual.”
Amen to that!
Did you not think it was fun to watch such a dominant organization go to work?
Many analysts–including you, I know–had not anticipated Carolina winning. You had them going out in the Sweet 16 at one point. So, while they were a #1 seed and, technically, no Cinderella, I have to call them a semi-dark horse. Especially with the way most everyone wrote them off after they went 0-2 in conference play.
Yeah, I realize some people like to see close games and upsets–games like Syracuse vs UCONN in the BE tournament–but I wouldn’t say this was a total snoozer.
Dr. Ebola — Let’s get real here. Nobody “wrote” Carolina off. I had them losing in the Sweet 16 because it looked like Ty Lawson was going to be hobbled for the entire tournament. I even said in my preview that if he were at or near 100%, then the Tar Heels were the favorites to win the whole thing. Here’s what I wrote:
I think that UNC can get past the first two rounds even if Ty Lawson isn’t 100%. But I’m not sure that they can get by Gonzaga without him playing at a high level. This is probably the biggest “IF” of the entire tournament. If Lawson can play at 90-95%, then the Tar Heels are probably the tournament favorite. If he can’t, then they could easily lose before the Final Four.
It’s being disingenuous to say that no one thought UNC could win it all. The fact of the matter is most people didn’t think they could win without Ty Lawson, and heading into the tournament his toe was looking very iffy.