Since the end of last season, when North Carolina stars forward Tyler Hansbrough, guard Ty Lawson and guard Wayne Ellington decided to put the NBA on hold, the Tar Heels have been the decisive favorite to win the 2009 National Championship.

They entered the season as the No. 1 team in the country and, despite suffering some bruises during their Atlantic Coast Conference schedule, their reputation as the best team in the country never faded.

Throughout the season, Izzo’s perception of the Tar Heels never wavered either. That’s why it doesn’t irk him that MSU will be a considerable underdog come tonight.

“They are the best team in the country, and have been that, have earned that rank probably over a year and a half,” Izzo said. “We’ve just got to play good and have them play a little less than good. That’s how we hope to beat them.”

Although they are cognizant of the challenges and understand people aren’t giving them much of a chance, the Spartans certainly aren’t intimidated by their status as underdogs.

After all, they also were underdogs against both Louisville and Connecticut and some experts even picked them to lose against Kansas and Southern Cal.

“We don’t really look at that stuff,” freshman forward Draymond Green said. “We see it, but we don’t try to get motivation from it or anything. We just try to feed off each other and go out and play the game.”

Run with caution

MSU proved to the nation against UConn that it’s more than capable of winning an up-tempo game. But if the Spartans want to get into another track meet tonight, Izzo knows they’ll have to tread a little more carefully.

Led by superstar Lawson, North Carolina is the best fast-break team in the country and as showcased Saturday against Villanova, the Tar Heels are more than capable of using that running game to go on lengthy scoring runs.

To quell any potential momentum swing, Izzo said he’ll have to make the most of his timeouts.

“The way North Carolina makes runs, and they’re such devastating runs,” Izzo said. “(They’re) never two or four points, they’re always eight or 10 or 12 points, we might have to use them more.”

Izzo said he hasn’t decided the pace at which he will have his team play. He acknowledged he still wants to run, but added he’s cautious of the dangers of getting into a running game with North Carolina.

He said he’ll have a meeting with starting guards sophomore Kalin Lucas and senior Travis Walton and reserve guard freshman Korie Lucious to discuss the game plan.

“We have to make the best decisions,” Izzo said. “When we get down there, there’s going to be pressure on these two guys (Lucas and Walton) to figure out if we have numbers, are we going to get a good shot or not.”