ncaa championship game 2009
The NCAA Tournament will conclude tonight with a championship matchup between the ACC's North Carolina Tar Heels and the Big Ten's Michigan State Spartans. Both coaches have been here before, which should make this an exciting Big Dance finale. The game is set to get underway at 9:21pm ET at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan.
2009 NCAA Championship Game Odds at Sportsbook.com have the Spartans listed as a heavy +7.5 against the spread underdog.
The opponents keep getting tougher, but the Michigan State Spartans just keep getting better. There does not appear to be a challenge that this team is not capable of stepping up to. Just ask the heavily favored Louisville Cardinals or the UConn Huskies. The Spartans were suppose to be dispatched with ease by both squads, but instead, Tom Izzo's troops did the sending off. They will find themselves in a similar situation, again, this evening. Do they have what it takes to fend off what most people believe is the most talented team in the country?
Thus far the Spartans have shown an ability to take their game to the opposition. Only one team has shot over 43 percent against them (Kansas), only one team has had more than 31 rebounds against them (UConn), and only one team has managed to score over 70 points against them (UConn). It is hard to envision the Tar Heels suddenly dictating things to a team that has done the dictating most of the season, but especially during this tournament.
The Spartans, after handling the Huskies, are now 8-1 in their last nine neutral site games. The last team, other than Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament, to beat them at an impartial location was North Carolina. The Tar Heels pounded the Spartans 98-63 at the same Ford Field that will host tonight's battle back in December. The Spartans had 21 turnovers in that game and hit just 61.9 percent of their free throw attempts. Michigan State has shored up their ball security during the NCAA Tournament, averaging 12 turnovers per game (versus 17.8 assists per contest); they have also shot 77.62 percent from the charity stripe in their run to the championship game.
This should be a tightly contested game as the Spartans have the guards to matchup well with Ty Lawson both offensively (Kalin Lucas) and defensively (Travis Walton). They also have plenty of inside presence to contend with Deon Thompson and Tyler Hansbrough. Spartans center Goran Suton, who had a rough outing against UConn, gives MSU an x-factor with his ability to shoot from the outside. Suton will likely need a big game,
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2009
Source: http://www.point-spreads.com/college-basketball/040609-2009-ncaa-championship-game-odds.html
