Tar Heels thump Spartans for national championship

4/7/2009

DETROIT - Michigan State experienced a deja vu moment in the national championship game with North Carolina at Ford Field.

In other words, the Tar Heels proved to be simply too much for the Spartans the second time around en route to a convincing 89 -72 victory before a title game record crowd of 72,922 at Ford Field.

North Carolina established a Final Four record for most points in a half by putting 55 points on the scoreboard to take a 21-point advantage into halftime. It led to North Carolina defeating Michigan State for the second time this season in decisive style at Ford Field.

North Carolina routed Michigan State 98-63 on Dec. 3.

On their way to claiming their second national title in five seasons under coach Roy Williams, the Tar Heels (34-4) led by as much as 24 points in the first half. They shot 53 percent (18 of 34) from the field before the break.

North Carolina took it right to the Spartans (31-7) right from the start and it resulted in the Tar Heels spending plenty of time at the foul line where they made 14 of 19 free throws before the break.

Ty Lawson led the Tar Heels with 21 points while backcourt mate Wayne Ellington scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half, including a 3-for-3 effort from 3-point territory.

Tyler Hansbrough tallied 11 of his 18 points before the break and Ed Davis had 11.

Michigan State center Goran Suton, who didn't play in the first meeting, finished with 17 points, including nine in the first half before fouling out late in the game. Kalin Lucas added 14 and Durrell Summers 13.

The Tar Heels have won a total of five national championships and are 5-4 in national title games.