North Carolina forward Danny Green blocks senior center Idong Ibok while going up for a layup Wednesday in the first half at Ford Field in Detroit. The Tar Heels defeated the Spartans 98-63.
Detroit — In a game viewed by many as a potential Final Four preview, No. 1 North Carolina came to the site of the 2009 Final Four and showed why it has been unanimously tabbed as the best team in the country.
The Tar Heels trio of forward Tyler Hansbrough, guard Ty Lawson and guard Wayne Ellington combined for 59 points as North Carolina rolled over No. 13 MSU 98-63 on Wednesday night at Ford Field in the 10th annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
The Spartans committed a season-high 22 turnovers — 11 of which came in the first half — and finished the game shooting only 35 percent from the floor.
The Spartans held a lead for only 58 seconds the entire game, when a lay-in by junior forward Raymar Morgan gave them a 4-2 lead just more than a minute into the game.
A lob to Hansbrough soon thereafter tied the game, and the athletic North Carolina combo of forward/guard Danny Green and Ellington put the Tar Heels up 10 midway through the half.
A three-pointer by MSU sophomore guard Chris Allen with 6:29 remaining in the first half made the score 33-29 to bring the Spartans within four, but North Carolina doubled MSU’s output the rest of the half as the Spartans went into halftime down 53-39.
The two teams traded baskets in the opening minutes of the second half, but the Spartans went on a six-minute scoreless drought as the Tar Heels jumped out to a 26-point lead.
North Carolina went up by 30 points when a free throw by forward Deon Thompson with 7:54 remaining made the score 81-51.
Hansbrough led all players with 25 points and 11 rebounds, while Ellington and Lawson each scored 17 points. Lawson also dished out eight assists.
Morgan led the Spartans with 21 points, while Allen made his first five shots en route to 16 points.
Lawson, arguably the quickest and most polished point guard in the country, held MSU sophomore guard Kalin Lucas to seven points. Lucas, who came into the game with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 5.17, held true to his average with five assists and one turnover.
Freshman forward Delvon Roe, who has undergone two knee surgeries in the past two years, sparkled against North Carolina – which, along with MSU, was his other final school coming out of St. Edward High in Lakewood, Ohio.
Roe had a team-high eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks. It was a season-high 20 minutes for him.
Senior forward Marquise Gray and freshman forward Draymond Green each struggled with foul trouble – since Green saw increased playing time with as senior center Goran Suton sat out his fourth-consecutive game. North Carolina out-rebounded MSU 46-40 in the game.
Prior to the game, Matt Larson, MSU’s associate athletic communication director, said Suton will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee today and is expected to miss two to four weeks.
The Spartans look to rebound at 4 p.m. Sunday at Breslin Center against Bradley (4-2).
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