"That," said Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, "is a great team."
North Carolina will find out what it's like to play North Carolina on Monday. Illinois doesn't have the Tar Heels' size or overall athleticism, but Illinois does embrace the team concept as much as North Carolina. Maybe even more, if that's possible. Roy Williams must think so, because while the Tar Heels lead the country in assists, their coach thought they could learn a little something from Illinois. That's why Williams plugged in a tape of the Illini during the week.
"They moved the ball 15 times with no dribbles," May said of the Illini.
Not that May is scared of the Illini.
"If we compete like we did in the second half," he said, "we'll be fine."
It bears repeating, the difference between the first half and the second half. As beautiful as the Tar Heels played in the second half, they were that beastly in the first half. They had more turnovers than assists, and they had just two fast-break points.
The Tar Heels turned the second half into a track meet. Michigan State has its share of super athletes, as the offended Spartans pointed out during the week when asked about North Carolina's edge in speed, but the teams were running different races Saturday night. Michigan State was running the quarter-mile. North Carolina was doing wind sprints, and finishing them with dunks.
