Saturday, March 23
5:30 p.m.
Michigan State University
20-15,10-10Big Ten
69
vs
85
North Carolina (NCAA Second Round)
29-7,17-3ACC
1
2
F
Michigan St.
31
38
69
North Carolina
40
45
85
Photo by: Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK
Spartans Fall to Top-Seeded North Carolina in NCAA Tournament Second Round, 85-69
3/23/2024 8:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Charlotte, N.C. – Michigan State had a 12-point lead in the first half and fell behind by 12 early in the second half before pulling to within two points, but could not get closer in an 85-69 loss to North Carolina in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Spectrum Center on Saturday night.
Graduate guard Tyson Walker scored 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting with two 3's to lead the Spartans, while graduate forward Malik Hall had 17 points and nine rebounds and junior guard Jaden Akins finished with 11 points and four rebounds.
Records
Michigan State closes its season with a 20-15 record, while North Carolina improves to 29-7.
Recap
• The Spartans trailed by nine points, 40-31, at the break and fell behind by 12 (43-31) following a 3-pointer from UNC's Cormac Ryan early in the second half.
• Baskets from Walker (18:45) and Hall (18:21) cut the lead back to single digits at 43-35 but a 3-pointer from Harrison Ingram gave UNC a 46-35 advantage.
• The Spartans responded with 8-0 run and pulled to within 46-43 on a layup from sophomore guard Tre Holloman with 16:24 left.
• MSU pulled to within two points, 48-46, on an and-one from Akins with 15:58 left.
• Xavier Booker's 3-pointer with 12:15 remaining cut the Tar Heel lead to 55-51, and his jumper at the 8:09 mark again trimmed the UNC advantage to 62-57, but it's the closest the Spartans would get, as North Carolina outscored MSU 23-12 over the final eight minutes in the 85-69 win.
• Michigan State went into the half trailing by nine points, 40-31, after a 3-pointer from Harrison Ingram with eight seconds left capped a 22-3 run by the Heels over the final 7:58 of the half.
• The Spartans had jumped out to the early lead, using a 7-2 burst over a three-minute span to take a 17-7 lead on a 3-pointer from Hoggard at 12:50.
• North Carolina pulled to within 18-14 on a jumper from Jalen Washington at 10:59, but MSU responded with an 8-0 run and took a 26-14 lead on back-to-back 3-pointers from Walker at 10:03 and 9:37.
• Hall's layup at 8:08 still kept MSU ahead, 28-17, but it would be the team's last field goal for nearly six minutes as UNC went on a 15-0 run and took a 32-28 lead on a 3-pointer from Davis at 3:19, forcing MSU to call a timeout.
• Akins hit a jumper with 1:46 to play, MSU's first field goal in 6:22, but 3-pointers from Cormac Ryan and Ingram gave the Heels a 40-31 lead at the break.
Graduate guard Tyson Walker scored 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting with two 3's to lead the Spartans, while graduate forward Malik Hall had 17 points and nine rebounds and junior guard Jaden Akins finished with 11 points and four rebounds.
Records
Michigan State closes its season with a 20-15 record, while North Carolina improves to 29-7.
Recap
• The Spartans trailed by nine points, 40-31, at the break and fell behind by 12 (43-31) following a 3-pointer from UNC's Cormac Ryan early in the second half.
• Baskets from Walker (18:45) and Hall (18:21) cut the lead back to single digits at 43-35 but a 3-pointer from Harrison Ingram gave UNC a 46-35 advantage.
• The Spartans responded with 8-0 run and pulled to within 46-43 on a layup from sophomore guard Tre Holloman with 16:24 left.
• MSU pulled to within two points, 48-46, on an and-one from Akins with 15:58 left.
• Xavier Booker's 3-pointer with 12:15 remaining cut the Tar Heel lead to 55-51, and his jumper at the 8:09 mark again trimmed the UNC advantage to 62-57, but it's the closest the Spartans would get, as North Carolina outscored MSU 23-12 over the final eight minutes in the 85-69 win.
• Michigan State went into the half trailing by nine points, 40-31, after a 3-pointer from Harrison Ingram with eight seconds left capped a 22-3 run by the Heels over the final 7:58 of the half.
• The Spartans had jumped out to the early lead, using a 7-2 burst over a three-minute span to take a 17-7 lead on a 3-pointer from Hoggard at 12:50.
• North Carolina pulled to within 18-14 on a jumper from Jalen Washington at 10:59, but MSU responded with an 8-0 run and took a 26-14 lead on back-to-back 3-pointers from Walker at 10:03 and 9:37.
• Hall's layup at 8:08 still kept MSU ahead, 28-17, but it would be the team's last field goal for nearly six minutes as UNC went on a 15-0 run and took a 32-28 lead on a 3-pointer from Davis at 3:19, forcing MSU to call a timeout.
• Akins hit a jumper with 1:46 to play, MSU's first field goal in 6:22, but 3-pointers from Cormac Ryan and Ingram gave the Heels a 40-31 lead at the break.
Team Stats
MSU
UNC
FG%
.441
.467
3FG%
.375
.385
FT%
.733
.826
RB
37
32
TO
11
5
STL
3
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
9
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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