2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Game

2009 NCAA Tournament Championship Game
National Championship Game
Michigan State Spartans North Carolina Tar Heels
(31-6) (33-4)
72 89
Head coach: 
Tom Izzo		 Head coach: 
Roy Williams
AP Coaches
8 7
AP Coaches
2 3
1 2 Total
Michigan State 34 38 72
North Carolina 55 34 89
Date April 6, 2009
Arena Ford Field
Location Detroit, Michigan
MVP Wayne Ellington, North Carolina
Favorite North Carolina by 7.5
Referee Tom O'Neill, Curtis Shaw, Tony Greene
Attendance 72,922
United States TV coverage
Network CBS
Announcers Jim Nantz (play-by-play)
Clark Kellogg (color)
Tracy Wolfson (sideline)
Nielsen Ratings 10.8

The 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Game was the finals of the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and it determined the National Champion for the 2008-09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The 2009 National Title game was played on April 6, 2009 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The 2009 National Title game was played between the 2009 South Regional Champions, #1-seeded North Carolina, and the 2009 Midwest Regional Champions, #2-seeded Michigan State.

This game was a rematch of Basketbowl II of the 2008 ACC-Big Ten Challenge which was also played at Ford Field in which North Carolina also dominated Michigan State with a 98-63 victory.[1]

Participants

Michigan State

In their 1st game of the 2009 NCAA Tournament, Raymar Morgan scored 16 points to defeat Robert Morris 77-62.[2] In the 2nd round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament, Travis Walton scored a career-high 18 points to beat USC 74-69 and advance to the Sweet 16.[3] In the Sweet 16 of the 2009 NCAA Tournament, Michigan State came back from a 36-29 deficit at halftime and Kalin Lucas scored seven points during the final 49 seconds including going 5-for-5 on free throws to beat Kansas 67-62 and advance to the Elite Eight.[4] In the Elite Eight, Michigan State dominated Louisville,[5] holding them to their 2nd lowest point total of the season (52), only one shot in the final 5:18, and just 38.3 percent shooting in a 64-52 win. In the 2009 Final Four, Kalin Lucas scored 21 points and Raymar Morgan scored 18 points as Michigan State controlled the tempo of play with solid all-around play holding Connecticut to only 18 mid-range shots or 3-pointers only making three of those as Michigan State beat Connecticut 82-73.[6]

Michigan State was the 1st team since Duke in 1994 to play the national championship game in their home state.

North Carolina

North Carolina got off to a hot start in the 2009 NCAA Tournament as Tyler Hansbrough scored 22 points to become the leading scorer in ACC history and Wayne Ellington scored 25 points to lead North Carolina to a 101-58 dominating win over Radford.[7] In the 2nd round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament, Ty Lawson scored 23 points (21 of them coming in the 2nd half) and once the game was tied at 63-63, North Carolina finished off with a 21-7 run to beat LSU 84-70.[8] In the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, North Carolina went 11-for-19 on 3-pointers and Tyler Hansbrough had a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds and Ty Lawson scored 19 points (17 in the 1st half) and had nine assists and one turnover as North Carolina would crush Gonzaga with a 98-77 win.[9] In the Elite Eight, Ty Lawson led North Carolina with 19 points to beat Oklahoma 72-60 and advance to the Final Four.[10] In the 2009 Final Four, Tyler Hansbrough had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds which made him the 6th leading scorer in NCAA Tournament history and in addition, Ty Lawson scored 22 points and Wayne Ellington scored 20 points to beat Villanova 83-69 to advance to the 2009 National Championship Game.[11]

North Carolina is the 3rd team since 1985 to advance to the National Championship game having won their previous five tournament games by 10 points or more with the other two being Duke in 2001 as they beat Arizona by 10 in the 2001 National Championship Game to make it 6 and the other one being Michigan State in 2000 as they beat Florida by 13 in the 2000 National Championship Game to make it 6.

Game Summary

April 6
9:21 EDT
#1 North Carolina 89, #2 Michigan State 72
Pts: T. Lawson 21
Rebs: E. Davis - 8
Asts: T. Lawson - 6		 Pts: G. Suton - 17
Rebs: G. Suton - 11
Asts: K. Lucas - 7
Halftime Score: North Carolina, 55-34
Ford Field, Detroit
Attendance: 72,922
Referees: Tom O'Neill, Curtis Shaw, Tony Greene

North Carolina got hot early during the 2009 National Championship Game, as they got off to a 34-11 lead with 9:46 remaining in the 1st half. North Carolina kept their dominance going as they had a 55-34 lead at halftime, which marks the largest halftime lead in NCAA Tournament History and the most points scored in the 1st half in NCAA Tournament History. The game was over before it began as North Carolina had a 17-7 lead with 15:35 remaining in the 1st half, and the game never got closer. North Carolina won the game 89-72, as Tyler Hansbrough's 18 points, Wayne Ellington's 19 points, and Ty Lawson's 21 points all led to the rout of Michigan State to win the national championship.[12]

By beating Michigan State by 17, North Carolina became the 1st team since Duke in 2001 to win all their NCAA Tournament games by double digits. Also, their +121 point differential during the 2009 NCAA Tournament was the 2nd highest in Tournament History since 1985 trailing Kentucky who had a +129 point differential during the 1996 NCAA Tournament.

References

  1. ↑ "Hansbrough's 23 help North Carolina embarrass Michigan State". ESPN.com. 3 December 2008. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  2. ↑ "Morgan, Michigan State bully Robert Morris in Midwest opener". ESPN.com. 20 March 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  3. ↑ "Walton's career-high 18 lift Spartans over USC, into Sweet 16". ESPN.com. 22 March 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  4. ↑ "Lucas, Spartans eliminate Jayhawks with late free throws". ESPN.com. 27 March 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  5. ↑ "Michigan State squeezes life out of Louisville for spot in Final Four". ESPN.com. 29 March 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  6. ↑ "Morgan breaks out of slump as Michigan State topples Connecticut in Final Four". ESPN.com. 4 April 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  7. ↑ "Hansbrough sets ACC scoring mark; UNC to face LSU". ESPN.com. 19 March 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  8. ↑ "UNC's Lawson warms up after halftime at LSU's expense". ESPN.com. 21 March 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  9. ↑ "Lawson scores 17 of 19 in first half as North Carolina rolls". ESPN.com. 27 March 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  10. ↑ "Tar Heels prove too much for Sooners, advance to 2nd straight Final Four". ESPN.com. 29 March 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  11. ↑ "North Carolina proves too much for Villanova in Final Four". ESPN.com. 4 April 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  12. ↑ "North Carolina coasts past Michigan St. to claim fifth national championship". ESPN.com. 6 April 2009. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
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