BASKETBALL: UNC vs MSU (UNC 89-82)

Lawrence Jordan: The Spartans of Michigan State marched into Chapel Hill last night with a top ten ranking and revenge on their minds after losing twice to the Tar Heels last season, but were turned away with yet another loss - their 5th straight against the Tar Heels.

At the end of the game, it was the Tar Heel upperclassmen who padded the stat book, but for extended periods in the first half the vaunted freshmen class was extremely productive.

As Digger Phelps pointed out many times at halftime, the freshmen were responsible for 31 of the 36 points posted at one point in the game. The speed and flow of the offense seemed to click and their productivity gave us a glimpse of their potential. It was exciting to watch.

At other points in the game, the freshmen's errant passes, forced shots, and turnovers were too many, too often, and too costly.

Overall it was a great win for the Heels. Now the Heels must travel to UK on Saturday to face the rejuvenated Wildcats under Calapari and his stellar recruits. They'll need all hands on deck the entire game this weekend, but this game provided some film where they can study what they did right.

Game Notes:

• While the 3pt shooting was much improved (5-10), the free throw percentage was way too low. Giving away points at the line is unacceptable.
• Tyler Zeller needs to let the game come to him. He took some shots that appeared out of control and missed badly.
• Dexter Strickland! If he can play with this tenacity consistently, he could play a huge roll for the Heels this year.
• Will Graves tip-outs on the offensive glass at the end of the had a large impact on the end of the game. No, stat for that production, but that is solid basketball.
• Henson's length was frustrating the MSU guards all night...and it was fun to watch.