The Michigan State Spartans opened the 2024 NCAA Tournament with a resounding 69-51 win over Mississippi State.
As the ninth seed, Tom Izzo’s squad was not necessarily expected to win. At the very least, the victory busted about half of the brackets out there.
Later on Thursday, the top seed in the West Region in that of the North Carolina Tar Heels blew out an overmatched Wagner squad by the score of 90-62.
This sets the stage for a “Blue Blood” second-round matchup between these two schools come Saturday in Charlotte.
Related: Everything you need to know about March Madness
History of North Carolina and Michigan State in NCAA Tournament
These two schools last played in the 2008-09 National Championship Game in Detroit. At 34-4 heading into the game, the Tar Heels found themselves as 7.5-point favorites.
They would go on to defeat the Spartans by the score of 89-72. That included a 21-point halftime lead. Ty Lawson dropped 21 points with six rebounds and six steals for North Carolina. Goran Suton led the Spartans with a mere 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
The Tar Heels boasted a resounding six future NBA Draft picks.
- Ty Lawson
- Wayne Ellington
- Tyler Hansbrough
- Danny Green
- Ed Davis
- Tyler Zeller
While Michigan State had only one future draft pick, it did come in the form of eventual four-time NBA champion Draymond Green. Though, he played in only 12 minutes as a true freshman.
All said, the Tar Heels are 5-0 against Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament. It was back in 2005 that the ACC powerhouse defeated the Spartans 87-71 in the Final 4.
Sean May led the way for the Tar Heels with 22 points and seven rebounds. Rashad McCants scored 17 of his own. They joined Raymond Felton and Marvin Williams in being future NBA players.
As for the Spartans, Maurice Ager led the way with 24 points on 6-of-18 shooting. The Tar Heels would go on to win the National Championship Game over Illinois.
Perhaps, the most memorable of their matchups came in the 1957 Final 4 with the Tar Heels coming out on top by the score of 74-70 in triple overtime. They would go on to defeat the great Wilt Chamberlain and Kansas in the title game.