University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heel Hoops to Play Host to Michigan State
June 21, 1999 | Men's Basketball
May 19, 1999
The University of North Carolina will play host to Michigan State University on Wednesday, December 1st, in the inaugural Atlantic Coast Conference/Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Challenge. The Tar Heels and Spartans will meet in the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill.
The game will be televised by ESPN at 9 p.m. Eastern Time.
Carolina was 24-10 last year and finished third in the ACC. The Tar Heels advanced to the championship game in the ACC Tournament, but were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament in the opening round. Michigan State won the Big Ten title and advanced to the national semifinals where it fell to top-ranked Duke.
The Tar Heels have won five of six meetings alltime against the Spartans. The teams last met in the 1998 NCAA East Region semifinal in Greensboro. Carolina defeated Michigan State, 73-58, and advanced to the Final Four.
This will be the first meeting between the two schools in Chapel Hill since the Tar Heels edged the Spartans, 70-69, on Dec. 16, 1978. Michigan State, led by Magic Johnson, went on to win the national title that year.
Carolina's entire 1999-2000 schedule will be released by the ACC in August. This is the second game against a Big Ten opponent for the Tar Heels. Carolina will play Indiana on December 21st, 1999, in East Rutherford, N.J., in the Jimmy V Classic.
