University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 4 Tar Heels Visit No. 22 Spartans Thursday
December 2, 2009 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2009
EAST LANSING, Mich. --- North Carolina (5-0) faces its stiffest challenge of the young season Thursday when the Tar Heels visit Michigan State at 8:30 p.m. as part of the third-annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Carolina improved to 5-0 on the year Sunday with a 76-67 win over Charleston Southern in Chapel Hill. Michigan State (4-2) is coming off a 93-90 double-overtime win over Oklahoma State in the championship game of the Junkanoo Jam on Saturday. Carolina is ranked No. 4 in both the AP poll and the coaches' poll. Michigan State is ranked No. 22 in the AP poll and No. 21 in the coaches' poll.
AT A GLANCE
Records: North Carolina 4-0, Michigan State 4-2
Rankings: North Carolina is ranked No. 4 in both the AP poll and the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll. Michigan State is ranked No. 22 in the AP poll and No. 21 in the coaches' poll.
TV: Big Ten Network. Mark Neely (play-by-play) and Mary Murphy (analyst) have the call.
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network, a division of Learfield Communications. Brad Heller (play-by-play) and Jan Boxill (analyst) have the call.
On The Web: TarHeelBlue.com (UNC), MSUSpartans.com (Michigan State)
MICHIGAN STATE SERIES NOTES
• North Carolina is 3-0 all-time against Michigan State, with all three wins coming in the Carolinas.
• The Tar Heels and Spartans last met during the 1999-2000 season, an 82-65 win in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
• Carolina also won home games over Michigan State in 1991 and 1997. The 1997 meeting in Chapel Hill came in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
NOTING THE SPARTANS
• Michigan State is 4-2 on the season following a 93-90 double-overtime win over Oklahoma State Saturday night in the championship game of the Junkanoo Jam.
• The Spartans are led in scoring by senior center Allyssa DeHaan, who averages 12.7 points per game.
• Sophomore forward Courtney Schiffauer, who led the team in scoring and rebounding after two games, was lost for the season with a torn right ACL.
UNC AGAINST THE BIG TEN
• Carolina has played at least one game against each of the 11 current members of the Big Ten.
• UNC has an all-time record of 22-10 against the Big Ten. Only Iowa (0-2) has a winning record against the Tar Heels.
• Carolina is 2-0 in the current incarnation of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Tar Heels defeated Purdue, 90-72, in Chapel Hill in the 2008 event and Ohio State, 72-63, in Columbus in 2009.
• While this year's version is officially the third Big Ten/ACC Challenge, Carolina has played two other
games that were dubbed the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. In 1993, UNC defeated Northwestern, 98-75, in
Charlottesville, Va. In 1999, the Tar Heels defeated Michigan State, 82-65, in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
