Things started about as well as they could have for Michigan State Saturday night as Tom Izzo searched for his first NCAA Tournament win against North Carolina. But they certainly didn't end well.
The 9th-seeded Spartans were on fire, racing out to a 28-17 lead in the first half over the No. 1 seed Tar Heels in their own backyard. An upset was brewing.
But things went all wrong for MSU over the last eight minutes of the first half as Carolina closed on a 24-3 run to hold a commanding 40-31 lead at the break.
As has been the case many times in this slog of a season, the offense went from humming and efficient to stagnant and unthreatening, ultimately leading to a 85-69 UNC win, advancing to their 38th Sweet 16.
Izzo-led teams are now 0-5 against North Carolina in the Big Dance, none of which have been all that close.
Though a 15-5 run to start the second half — fueled by improved spacing and better 3-point shooting — kept MSU hanging around, Carolina’s balanced attack of size and long-range shooting proved too much to handle.
Big man Armando Bacot finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, while forward Harrison Ingram was able to space the floor with his 5-of-7 3-point shooting, finishing with 17 points.
RJ Davis and Cormac Ryan filled out the scoring with 20 and 14, respectively.
Two days after facilitating the offense in MSU’s 69-51 win over Mississippi State with eight points and eight assists, A.J. Hoggard struggled mightily with just three points on 1-of-10 shooting and four assists.
Tyson Walker (24), Malik Hall (17) and Jaden Akins (11) carried the load, while Xavier Booker was effective in spacing the floor and cleaning up the glass in his typical number of limited minutes, finishing with five points and five rebounds.
A disappointing end to MSU's 26th straight NCAA Tournament appearance spells the end of the road for six Spartan seniors: Walker, Hoggard, Hall, Mady Sissoko and walk-ons Davis Smith and Steven Izzo.