Title game predictions: It's all Tar Heels
Bracket | Edge: North Carolina-Michigan State
Michigan State vs. North Carolina
Pick: North Carolina 83, Michigan State 69  North Carolina manhandled Villanova on Saturday night, jumping out to a huge early lead and then playing with Villanova like my cat plays with a cricket. And still, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, who watched that game from a courtside spot about 15 feet from my own, on Sunday described the Tar Heels that night like so: "They didn't play real well." Izzo literally held up his fingers in mock quotation marks before he said the words real well, because he knows that North Carolina, as dominant as it was against Villanova, was outrebounded by the Wildcats and shot just 40.3 percent from the floor and 59.5 percent from the line. So what happens when the Tar Heels play "real well"? A 98-63 smacking of Michigan State, on Dec. 3 at Ford Field, happens. North Carolina won't win that huge this time, but then again, why not? North Carolina didn't make half its shots from the floor on Dec. 3. Didn't make one-third of its 3-pointers. Didn't get much from classic X-factors Danny Green or Deon Thompson. And won by 35. It'll be different this time, but not -- picture Izzo and his finger quotes -- that different. |
| Pick: North Carolina 70, Michigan State 61 Playing for Detroit? Sure. Michigan State deserves credit for inspiring a region. Beating North Carolina? A totally different subject. The Spartans have infused a run-down city with a lot of hope. Unfortunately, there will still be panhandlers on the street and a shell of a city left after the national championship game is played Monday night. Even in an economic downturn the best athletes win. North Carolina has them. Tyler Hansbrough is chasing the only item missing from his resume, a national championship. Ty Lawson wants to prove he is the best point guard in the country. As much as Michigan State is playing with grit and determination, Carolina isn't exactly slumming it. The Heels are playing with their legacy at stake. The No. 1 program in the country (arguably) should be able to handle a Michigan State. Easily. Ask yourself this: Is Goran Suton worth 35 points? Michigan State's post man was missing with an injury in the team's first meeting on Dec. 3. Common sense says no. Much like Villanova peaked against Pittsburgh, Michigan State peaked against UConn. If this game was played on a playground in Siberia, Carolina would win by 20. As a road game for the Heels, I still like Carolina by nine. |
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| North Carolina 90, Michigan State 68 Michigan State fans love to wag their little green fingers at the people who pick against them. Wag, wag, wag and whine, whine, whine. "No one respects us." More wagging, more whining. Please, stop the crying and enjoy the moment. Your team has made it to the championship game. Do you want to sit around and whimper and wail all day or be proud of your team? So what if you're going to lose by double digits to an overpowering Tar Heels team that is far superior to yours -- and you will lose by a large margin. It's inevitable. But what a year it has been for the Spartans. So enjoy it, Michigan State fans. Enjoy the unbelievable season that was. Enjoy that you have one of the best coaches in the country. Enjoy the snow, too. And get ready for Lions season. Because on Monday it all ends very, very badly. It'll end so badly you'll think Wayne Fontes coached the Spartans. The only thing Michigan State will see is the bottom of Tyler Hansbrough's sneakers. Good luck, Spartans. You'll need it. |
| Pick: North Carolina 82, Michigan State 71 It would be nice if Michigan State won, because it would be a great story, the best story, a story that would put smiles on the faces of many people in this city, and perhaps even make some of them realize how silly they were to spend late January and early February criticizing Tom Izzo, who really should be above that in this state, especially at this point. You know what else would be nice? If I won the lottery and my son stopped peeing in his bed. Those things would be great! But neither of them are happening Monday night (Why can't he just wake up and go to the stupid bathroom?), and neither is a Michigan State victory, I'm sorry to report. The reason is simple: "We're not as good as North Carolina," Izzo said Sunday, and that's the reason. "I don't feel bad about saying that. I don't feel like I'm demeaning my team. I'm realistic. I'm semi-intelligent." Yeah, me, too (with the emphasis on semi), and I can't find one reason to pick MSU. North Carolina is just too good right now. Could the Spartans win? Of course, they could. This is a game, after all, and crazy things happen in games all the time. But understand, it would take something really crazy, and I'm not even basing the prediction on the 98-63 beatdown the Tar Heels put on Michigan State back in December. That game means nothing as it relates to this game. But my colleague Gregg Doyel put it perfectly when he wrote that though the final margin in December was a fluke, the result was not. The result back then was a North Carolina victory, and this result will be, too. |
