WRAL Sports Fan

North Carolina

Carolina blasts Michigan State, wins NCAA title

By Dane Huffman

Apr 7, 2009

Detroit — North Carolina claimed its second NCAA basketball title under Roy Williams Monday night in stunning fashion, smashing Michigan State 89-72 at Ford Field in a game that was far from the tense battle many expected.

Carolina had crushed the Spartans in the regular season at the same venue. But this game, with thousands of Michigan State fans packed into an NFL stadium, was seen as a chance for glory for the beaten-down state of Michigan.

Instead, the night ended with thousands of Tar Heel fans streaming into the streets of Chapel Hill to celebrate UNC’s fifth NCAA title. Thousands more will greet the team Tuesday as they return to the Smith Center at approximately 2 p.m.

The outcome punctuated a dominant tournament run for Carolina, which won all six games by double digits. And while Tar Heel heroes Monday were many, the difference in this game was the stunning depth – and defense – that overwhelmed the Spartans.

The victory capped a long upward climb for the Carolina seniors who arrived the year after the 2005 title. The bulk of Williams’ first championship team was recruited by former coach Matt Doherty, and the freshmen from that 2005-06 season – Tyler Hansbrough, Danny Green, Bobby Frasor and Marcus Ginyard – had a long ascent that included a surprising freshman season, a bitter loss in the regional final as sophomores and an embarrassing loss to Kansas in the Final Four semifinals in 2008.

Guard Wayne Ellington had tears in his eyes after the game.

“I thought about how hard we worked,” Ellington said. “We worked so hard since last year, when we feel short. We wanted to redeem ourselves. We worked so hard.”

Those disappointments made UNC a more hardened, determined team that arrived in Detroit ready to hang a banner in the Smith Center. It was a mature team that grew under the gaze of thousands of fans.

Hansbrough, whose No. 50 jerseys hangs in kids’ closets across the state, set the ACC scoring record with a relentless attack on the rim. Green endeared himself to the Smith Center crowd with his uninhibited pregame dance.

Junior Ty Lawson went from a player known for his blow-by speed to a mature player whose outside scoring and clutch play lifted him to ACC player of the year. And backcourt mate Ellington entered Carolina as a lean, smooth and somewhat soft shooter to an all-around scorer who could hit the tough shots.

All that added up to a championship night unlike any other in UNC history. The Heels needed no triple overtimes like in 1957, no Michael Jordan jumper like 1982, no crazy timeout like in 1993 or a last-second tip-in like 2005.

Instead, this was brilliance across the board.

Carolina was all business from the beginning, quickly quieting the record crowd of 72,922. Guard Wayne Ellington, as was the case throughout the tournament, had the hot hand, and his early 3-pointer put UNC up 15-5.

That lead ballooned to 32-11 and 43-20 before a stunned national audience. Surely somewhere on his sofa, Billy Packer said this game was over.

The Tar Heels were spectacular in the first half. Ellington combined driving buckets with spectacular jumpers and Hansbrough scored inside and out.

But the real key for Carolina was its defense. The Heels battled for loose balls, held Michigan State to a single shot on most possessions and got a great half from Ty Lawson. Lawson, whose toe injury dominated the early weeks of the tournament, swiped pass after pass as the Spartan attack ground to a halt. Lawson finished with a championship-game record eight steals.

Williams said afterward he thought defense would be critical for Carolina as it had to force bad shots and Michigan State off the boards.

Lawson, shocked to learn his steals total after the game, said, "I was just trying to get in the passing lanes."

The Heels led 55-34 at halftime – the 55 points was a championship game record - and slowed the pace in the second period to let the clock drip away.  Lawson finished with 21 points, Ellington 19 and Hansbrough 18. Ellington was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player.

Carolina will have a different look next year, with Hansbrough, Green and Frasor gone and Lawson and Ellington sure to consider the NBA. But Ginyard and freshmen Ed Davis and Tyler Zeller will be back, and the incoming class includes potential star John Henson.

But that’s next year. On Monday, Carolina wrapped up another national title on a night unlike any other in Tar Heels history.

It was a title that was both expected – even President Barack Obama picked UNC to win – and yet marked with uninhibited joy. The Heels persevered through injuries to Hansbrough, Lawson, Ginyard, Zeller and Frasor, and on Monday, were finally champions.

Williams called it one of his toughest years, saying he worried constantly about Hansbrough having further injuries after his leg problems to start the season. And the emotion he felt for a player he called "the big rascal" was obvious after the win.

"I wanted this championship for Roy Williams, yes, and I'm extremely satisfied," Williams said. "But I desperately wanted the championship for that young man."

“This is the best way to go out - I couldn’t picture any other way," Hansbrough said. "What we’ve been through this year. We climbed and we did it.”