University of North Carolina Athletics
Michigan State Game Guide
March 17, 2007 | Men's Basketball
March 17, 2007
The Basics
No. 1 seed North Carolina (29-6, 11-5) will face ninth-seed Michigan State (23-11, 8-8) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Winston-Salem Saturday night. Carolina struggled at times, but beat 16th-seed Eastern Kentucky 85-61 late Thursday night. In the earlier Thursday night game, Michigan State beat eighth-seeded Marquette 61-49. Carolina has a 6-3 edge over Michigan State in the all-time series and won the last meeting, but Michigan State had won two of the last three meetings in the regular season. Michigan State is 11-1 in the second round of NCAA Tournament play and Carolina has advanced to the second round 18 out of 24 times. Carolina is 3-0 over Michigan State in NCAA Tournament play. The most memorable meeting came almost exactly 50 years ago, as the Tar Heels bested the Spartans on the way to the magical 1957 national title.
Game Time: Michigan State vs. North Carolina, 8:20 p.m.
Last Time: Carolina beat Michigan State 87-71 in the first game of the 2005 Final Four. The Spartans actually led the Tar Heels 38-33 in the first half and had out-rebounded the Tar Heels 26-24. Carolina righted the ship in the second half, out-scoring Michigan State 49-38 and out-rebounding them 27-16. Sean May led the way for Carolina with 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting and added seven rebounds, but it was Jawad Williams' 20 points and eight rebounds that carried the Tar Heels through the first half and helped them stay in the game. Rashad McCants added 17 points and Raymond Felton added 16 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. For Michigan State, Maurice Ager had 24 points; Shannon Brown added 15 points while Paul Davis added 14 points and 15 rebounds.
Radio Coverage: Tar Heel Sports Network coverage begins at 7:20 p.m.
Injury Report: Tyler Hansbrough suffered a non-displaced nasal fracture in the incident at the end of the Duke game on March 4. Earlier in the game, he suffered an injury to his mouth that will likely result in dental work at the end of the season. He will likely wear a protective mask this weekend. Hansbrough got a new mask this week and wore it in Wednesday's practice and in the game on Thursday. "I don't think I'm going to ever like a mask on face after these couple of weeks, but it feels a lot better. It fits tighter on my face. I can see a lot better. It's a lot more comfortable. I feel comfortable wearing the mask. I'm could wear it Saturday against Michigan State. It feels comfortable. I'm probably going to have to wear it Saturday against Michigan State. We'll just see how the healing is going later," Hansbrough said. Michigan State's Idong Ibok dislocated his elbow in Michigan State's opening-round victory and is out indefinitely.
Storylines
Carolina's defense: Carolina will be tested significantly defensively against Michigan State, not necessarily because the Spartans have potent offensive weapons to shut down but more so because Carolina will need to use its defense to generate offense. Michigan State's halfcourt defense is so effective that if the Tar Heels are forced to play halfcourt basketball, they could be in for a long day.
"There is no question that we want to defend them and be able to get a turnover or get a shot that's not the greatest shot in the world and turn it into the break. If we try to walk it down and score against Michigan State's set defense every time we have no hope. That's their game," Coach Williams said. "We've got to try to get some baskets easier, some baskets in an open court, so we'll try to do that. They have to miss some of those shots and you have to get a turnover because they do a wonderful job of getting back and getting their defense set."
The Spartans average 65.1 points per game, a figure that ranks seventh in the Big 10, a conference in which the top scoring team (Ohio State) averages just 73.8 points per game. The Spartans rank fourth in the conference in scoring margin at +8.4 points per game, second in field-goal percentage at 47.1% and second in three-point percentage at 42.7%.
Where the Spartans have struggled offensively this year is taking care of the basketball. Michigan State is last in the Big 10 in turnovers per game with 14.9 and despite leading the conference in assists with 16.03 a game, it ranks seventh in assist-turnover ratio (545 assists to 511 turnovers). Carolina's opponents are turning it over 16.3 times a game. Carolina is blocking 4.6 shots per game and average 8.3 steals.
The popular conception is that opposing teams shoot mostly three-pointers against Carolina, but its opponents are actually getting 54% of their offense from two-point range, 29.4% from the three-point line and 16.6% from the free-throw line. Only 30 other teams allow their opponents to get fewer than 16.6% of their points from the free-throw line. Michigan State gets 55.2% of its points from two-point range, 23.6% of points from the three-point line and 21.1% of its points from the free-throw line.
Carolina started off strong defensively, getting out to a quick 22-3 lead in the first 7 ½ minutes. But in the final 8:28 of the first half, Carolina allowed Eastern Kentucky to go on a 21-8 run that cut what had been a 27-point lead with 8:46 to go to a 12-point lead at halftime, 47-35. The Colonels had begun the half shooting 2-of-11 from the field and 2-of-10 from the three-point line as of the 11:34 mark, and that's when the Colonels began their shooting streak. Eastern Kentucky ended the first half shooting 12-of-19 (63.2%) from the field and 2-of-3 (66.7%) from the three-point line, which not only meant that the Tar Heels were allowing better shooting but also that they were allowing better shot selection. The Colonels added to that hot streak in the first minutes of the first half, starting out 3-of-3 from the field and 1-of-1 from the three-point line to extend its hot streak to 15-of-22, or 68.2%. Carolina did not get too much better, allowing 11-of-26 shooting the rest of the way (42.3%) but it did what it needed to do defensively.
"We got off to a great start and then I think it was so easy that we lost our focus. Then all of a sudden we got a little sloppy and made some bad decisions. We were on our heels offensively; we were turning the basketball over and then we couldn't stop them defensively. It was a bad run there. I like the focus of our guys, though," Coach Williams said. "We have a really young team with 11 freshmen and sophomores, and I think we thought it was going to be too easy and we didn't main that intensity."
Carolina's offense against Michigan State's defense: Michigan State does not play pressure or trapping defense. Its defense is the epitome of conservative, as they are 305th in the country in steals per game and at 5.1 a game and 10th in the Big 10 in forcing turnovers with just 12.7 forced a game. The Spartans average 4.8 blocked shots a game (fourth in the Big 10) because they clog up the middle and force opponents to beat them by taking lower-percentage shots.
Michigan State's defense allows its opponents to generate 45.9% of their offense from two-point range, 32% from the three-point line and 22% from the free-throw line. Only 30 teams in the country allow a smaller percentage of two-point field goals. Carolina is 241st in the country in three-pointers made per game with 5.8 and 101st in three-point percentage, shooting 36.5%. Carolina gets 60% of its offense from two-point range, just 20.1% from the three-point line and 20% from the free-throw line. Only 11 teams generate a higher percentage of offense from two-point range than Carolina, and only 12 teams generate a lower percentage of their offense from the three-point line. Virginia Tech is the only team that made the NCAA Tournament generating a lower percentage of points from beyond the arc (19.9%). In the first round, Michigan State held Marquette to 31.9% shooting from the floor and 34.5% form beyond the arc. Marquette shot 10-of-29 from three-point range and just a paltry 5-of-18 from two-point range.
"We're still going to try to get what we want. I watched a couple of clips with our team this morning and there were a couple of possession where they (Michigan State) had no one outside the three point line. All five defenders were back inside the three-point line. We're not just going to come down and shoot three-point shots. We have Tyler Hansbrough and Brandan Wright," Coach Williams said.
Michigan State does not have one standout player in the post, but the Spartans rotate quite a few bodies in down low to shut down or slow down low-post players. The Spartans have two 6-10 players and one 6-8 player that see most of the minutes in the post, but losing 6-11 reserve center Idong Ibok to a dislocated elbow hurts quite a bit. Ibok played 10.9 minutes a game.
"North Carolina is one team that he probably would have played 15-20 minutes against and that's going to be a loss. They're so big and that becomes a major loss, and yet you wouldn't think it as one," Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said. "Everybody is important because we just don't have that many numbers, and a team that's going to go up and down like they are, it's going to be a loss, it's going to be a problem for us. He was a big body that really could have somehow battled with a couple of those big bodies.
Michigan State held Greg Oden to 4-of-10 shooting from the field (but he hit 11-of-14 from the free-throw line) and just six rebounds (two offensive). The Spartans out-rebounded the Buckeyes 30-24. In the second meeting, they were out-rebounded 33-30. Oden played better with 11 rebounds (7 offensive) and 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting but hit just 2-of-8 free throws. In fact, Oden scored 35 total points in both meetings and 13 came from the foul line. The Spartans also forced Oden into eight turnovers, five in he second meeting.
Michigan State allows 38.1% shooting from the field is seventh-best in the country and led the Big 10. The Spartans 56.5 points per game allowed also led the Big 10 and rank fourth in the country. Carolina is shooting 50.4% from the field, averaging 86.3 points per game and beating teams by an average of 18.3 points a game.
"That's been our mindset the while season is winning through defense. We don't have the most dynamic weapons on the offensive end so we've had to rely on our team defense the whole season. Especially in this game (against Marquette) we wanted to force them to take outside shots and limit their penetration by shrinking the gaps and not letting them get to the basket," Michigan State's Drew Neitzel said.
After jumping out to a 39-12 lead with 8:46 to go Thursday, Carolina managed just one field goal in the next nearly three minutes and then went nearly another three without another. It scored four field goals in the final 8:46 of regulation to close the half with a 47-35 lead. The Tar Heels shot 16-of-23 (69.6%) from the field and 4-of-5 (80%) from the three-point line in the first 11:15 or so, and didn't cool down much during the run, shooting 4-of-7 from the field and 0-of-3 from the three-point line. Carolina's problem was turnovers, and the Tar Heels had just four in the first 11:27 of the game and had eight over the final 8:19. Attempting less than one shot per minute, having three of those seven shots be three-pointers and turning the ball over eight times is not a part of Carolina's game plan.
"I just feel like at time we had some letdowns offensively, but I think we were adjusting to their 1-3-1; it caused us some problems. I think we'll work on our offense the next practice and see where we can go from there," Tyler Hansbrough said. "I think it was more of one of those things where we had to stay poised and stay within ourselves. At the same time, we want to keep attacking them and try to get a run and get some stops defensively. I don't think it ever got to the point where we had to start shooting it every time. I think it was one of those things that we had to get stops and convert and get shots that we all on the team wanted."
Eastern Kentucky was whistled for just 13 fouls last night, which was a season-low by a Tar Heel opponent. Carolina managed to get to the free-throw line just 11 times, two off the season-low nine attempts against Boston College in the ACC Tournament semifinal. In the NCAA Tournament, opponents will generally draw fewer whistles but Carolina will try to get there by at least making sure it goes strong to the basket.
"We draw fouls on the offensive end. I think we've got to have the advantage over the defensive player, and if you have the advantage over them, I think they'll make mistakes," Brandan Wright said.
Rebounding: Michigan State is ranked fifth in the country and first in the Big 10 in rebounding margin at +7.8, close behind Carolina who was third nationally at +8.6. The Spartans average 23.7 defensive rebounds a game and Carolina's opponents are averaging 20.7 a game. Carolina is averaging 27.4 defensive rebounds a game and allowing its opponents to get 11.2 offensive rebounds. Michigan State is averaging 11.3 offensive rebounds a game and allows its opponents to get just 10 a game.
Carolina will need to concentrate hard on boxing out what will be a very physical Michigan State team, collecting defensive rebounds and getting out in transition as quickly as possible. On the offensive end, putbacks will be hard to come by but Carolina has to make sure it prevents Michigan State from getting any, especially if it plays hard defense for close to 35 seconds and manages to force the Spartans into taking a bad shot. Perhaps the only time Carolina will be able to get out in transition will be off of defensive rebounds, and the Tar Heels will need to play a very disciplined ballgame in order to effectively exploit Michigan State's missed shots.
"One of my assistants got up in front of my team today and said he thinks Coach (Tom) Izzo never one time has to say the words, `Box out,' and never one time has to say the words, `Get to the boards;' because they do such a great job of coaching that and the kids do such a great job of doing that, that they do it every single time," Coach Williams said.
In the first round of NCAA Tournament play, Michigan State was actually out-rebounded 27-26 by Marquette, but the Spartans held a 22-13 edge on the defensive glass. Maruqette pulled down 12 rebounds to 4 for Michigan State.
At The Game
Listening to the Tar Heel Sports Network at the game: The in-stadium frequency in Lawrence Joel Coliseum will be 92.7.
Watching At Home
Turn down the sound: If you're watching at home while listening to the radio or over the computer via Carolina All-Access, there will inevitably be some delay. For the reason - and a possible solution - click here.
A full list of THSN affiliates can be found here.
CBS coverage: The game will be available on CBS.
Names To Know
Tyler Hansbrough: "The Mask Version 2.0" appears to be much more comfortable for Tyler Hansbrough, as he got back to his "old self" against EKU. His 9-of-11 (81.8%) shooting performance was his best since a 6-of-7 (85.7%) night against Florida Atlantic and his most made with the highest percentage since a 9-of-11 (81.8%) performance against High Point. His 21 points were his most since the Duke game, and his numbers have been steadily improving since his nose was broken, as he scored six points, then nine, then 15, and 21 against Eastern Kentucky.
Eastern Kentucky had pulled it to within seven, and Hansbrough had a block on the defensive end, then thirty seconds later sank a jumper to put Carolina ahead53-44 with 14:23 left. He had another lay-up off of his offensive rebound to bring the score to 55-44 with 13:32 left. He also had ten rebounds against Eastern Kentucky, which marked his ninth double-double of the season and his tenth double-digit rebounding game. He has had four double-digit rebounding games in the past six games and three double-doubles in the past six games.
The loss of reserve center Idong Ibok may change the way Michigan State defends Hansbrough, but the Spartans will still rotate bodies in to guard Hansbrough and will be very physical. Coach Izzo laughed at the notion that somehow the Big 10 and Michigan State were more physical than a player like Hansbrough, though. Hansbrough has come a long way from the George Mason game last season, during which the George Mason big men played him tough and physically and attempted just one free throw.
"He's very physical. He's the most physical player we've played in a couple of years, if you ask me. It's ironic the way he maneuvers in there, and sometimes the missed shot is a big-time shot for him too because he just has great hands and he just goes and gets it. Staying out of foul trouble is going to be a key because now we're short a guy and if we have to play Jake (Jacob Hannon) a lot, the size difference is enormous and the fact that he's a walk-on doesn't make for good viewing at times," Coach Izzo said. "(Drew) Naymick has been pretty good guarding very good post men. He's done a pretty good job on an Oden, but I think Hansbrough has been more active was than Oden was at the time we played him and will be more difficult to cover in that respect.
"He's just tough; he's relentless. He's like the Energizer Bunny; he just keeps on going and going and going. That's how you get in foul trouble because he never relaxes, and that's what we told our guys - you can't relax. He's physical, he's throwing people around, he gets to the rim, he's a heck of a player."
Hansbrough's rebounding will also be very important in this game, and it won't be easy against some of the best rebounders in the country. Michigan State's four healthy post players each average 3.9 or more rebounds a game, and three out of the four average 5.2 or more a game. Five Michigan State players average more than one offensive rebound a game.
"All I've know is when I've seen them play is that they're a pretty good rebounding team. I'll have to work on concentrating on the boards," Hansbrough said.
Reyshawn Terry: Terry has played like a senior quite a bit in recent games, coming up huge when the team needs him and hitting big shots to stop runs by the opposing teams. In the first half against Eastern Kentucky, Terry had five points on 2-of-3 shooting and three turnovers. In the second half, however, he came up huge. He scored 13 points all within a 7 ½ minute span and did not miss a single second-half shot. It was Terry's Sportscenter-esque dunk that finally ignited a tired - and mostly subdued - Carolina crowd, and the Tar Heels didn't look back from there. Carolina went on a 24-8 run that went from the 10:47 mark to the 2:05 mark, and Terry scored 13 of Carolina's 24 points in that span.
"I was just trying to take some pressure off our point guards, penetrate the gaps and attack their 1-3-1 defense. Once I penetrated, we had some open looks and I just took the shots," Terry said.
In Carolina's last five games (all wins), Terry has averaged 12.6 points a game and shot 62.2% from the field and 53.8% from behind the arc, averaging 1.4 made three-pointers a game. Terry has also been averaging 6.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 25.2 minutes a game. Without his six turnovers last night, he had a 7-to-6 assist-to-turnover ratio. Terry has been one of Carolina's most consistent defensive players, earning defensive player of the game honors 11 times. He earned the award most recently in both regular-season games against Duke and against both Wake Forest and NC State in Chapel Hill (despite suffering from a flare-up of tendonitis). Terry also won the award on the road in some tough games, at Clemson and at St. Louis. He won it physical teams like Kentucky and Georgia Tech (at home). Carolina is 11-0 in games that Terry has won the award.
"Reyshawn has been pretty doggone consistent on the defensive end of the floor. He's not had the consistency of scoring or rebounding, but defensively he's been pretty consistent all year long. He's got tremendous ability and great respect from his teammates. Reyshawn is about winning. I am extremely proud of how far he's come and what he's been able to contribute," Coach Williams said.
Dealing with questions about Terry's ability to "play like a senior," thus far in postseason play Terry has stepped up and been able to hit the big shots and make the big plays when Carolina needs him the most. Coach Izzo also recognized the problems that Terry presents for quite a few teams as an athletic, 6-8 small forward who can shoot three-pointers and drive to the basket.
"I always believe that 99% of teams in the country when it comes Tournament time, freshmen sometimes can be up and down. It's usually your veterans that stabilize you. He's a guy that's been around a lot. He's been in a lot of Tournaments and he's played very well last night. I do think he's a big key to the game, especially with that body and size and the way he handles the ball. He's a mismatch in a lot of ways," Coach Izzo said.
Carolina will desperately need both Terry's shooting touch and his ability to hang tough with physical teams on the defensive end to have success on Saturday.
Drew Neitzel: The senior guard has seen Carolina before - in the 2005 national semifinal, when the then-freshman played just 10 minutes and had two points. Neitzel is the heart of this Michigan State team, averaging 35.6 minutes a game (second in the Big 10) and he has been moved to point guard to better shoulder the team's offensive load. Neitzel ranks fourth in the Big 10 in scoring with 17.9 points per game and leads the conference in both three-pointers made per game (3.2) and three-point percentage (41.5%). He also leads the Big 10 in free-throw percentage at 87.7%. Despite the move to shooting guard, Neitzel still plays point in some of the Spartans' sets and ranks fifth in the Big 10 in assists (4.3 a game) and fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.87).
As Neitzel goes, so go the Spartans, generally speaking. Neitzel has shot 46.9% from the floor and 47.4% from the three-point line in Michigan State's wins compared to 36.0% from the floor and 29.9% from the three-point line in the Spartans' 11 losses. Michigan State has made 174 three-pointers on the season and Neitzel has made 107 of them. A little over half of Neitzel's points come from the three-point line, while 27% of his points have come from two-point range.
Against Marquette, Neitzel had 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting and added five rebounds, five assists, a steal and two turnovers in 39 minutes.
"He's so much better defensively than people give him credit, including me. I just keep saying it, but I'm not even sure I believe it," Tom Izzo said. "I've had a career here where most scorers that I've had, it's illegal to play defense if you're a scorer. Drew, for a small guy who doesn't weigh much, he's done a very good job defensively and that's what I think he doesn't get enough credit for."
Raymar Morgan: Freshman forward Raymar Morgan missed seven games early this season due to injury, and his transition back on to the team has not been completely smooth, but it appears to have evened out. Morgan ranks 22nd in the Big 10 in scoring with 11.4 points per game, 17th in rebounding with 5.2 a game and is tied for ninth in the conference in field-goal percentage at 49.4%. In terms of offensive weaponry, Morgan is the only player besides Drew Neitzel who averages double-figure scoring and he is the second-best rebounder on one of the best rebounding teams in the country.
"I keep saying Raymar Morgan is getting better and better and better. I think Morgan is going to turn out to be one of the better forwards that we've had at Michigan State. If he didn't miss that 6-7 weeks, I think he really would have been an incredible player," Coach Izzo said.
Michigan State won five of its last seven regular-season games and in those wins Morgan shot 56.6% from the field and 79.2% from the free-throw line, averaging 15.8 points a game in 31 minutes per contest. Morgan has shot 51.6% in Michigan State's wins this season from the floor and 45.2% in the losses. He averages 12.8 points a game and 5.8 rebounds in the Spartans' 23 wins as opposed to 3.7 rebounds in the 11 losses.
In the opening-round win over Marquette, Morgan had 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting, nine rebounds and a block. Morgan's nine rebounds were his most since an early-season win over Oakland.
Quotables
"Everybody pay attention. We're got kids getting killed a foreign country and people are worrying about me putting drinks in an NCAA-sponsored cup." -Roy Williams
"All the people around here as I was walking out were all excited that Duke lost. I think there are a lot of Carolina people in the house here. That does nothing for me that Duke lost; I'm hoping that Carolina lost." -Tom Izzo
"He scored two more than you did, just remember that." -Roy Williams responding to a reporter asking Reyshawn Terry: "Roy said you scored two points against Michigan State in 2005. That was two of your few points that year, I take it?"
"Tywon takes a charge last night and our bench is laughing at him and so am I because he's getting up like he's dying or his butt hurts and his knee is hurt. I describe him as Dennis the Menace. I guess I'm Mr. Wilson." -Roy Williams
"When people talk about the Big 10 or Michigan State being physical, do you people out here not watch this kid? He is the most physical player I've ever seen, and there is some irony to all that because it's said we're such a physical team. That kid is more physical than all of our guys put together, so I think he brings that to the table." -Tom Izzo on Tyler Hansbrough
Lauren Brownlow is the managing editor of Tar Heel Monthly.
