Michigan State-North Carolina Preview: Can David Slay Goliath?

Michigan State head basketball coach Tom Izzo has tried to avoid answering the question, but every fan knows it is on his mind.

Can David slay Goliath?

Izzo's Spartans are huge underdogs in Monday night's national championship game against the North Carolina Tar Heels. The Tar Heels are the huge favorite both in Vegas and amongst every non-Spartan fan.

It's hard to blame them considering the fact MSU was blown out 98-63 at Ford Field earlier this season by North Carolina.

But, in these hard times for all of us Michiganders, we can only hope they are all wrong. The unemployment rate in Michigan continues to rise much like the point spread against the Spartans for the Monday night showdown.

People in Detroit continue to lose their jobs and the automotive industry continues to suffer, yet everyone has found something to rally around in these hard times.

That something is Michigan State's magical NCAA tournament run.

The Spartans breezed through their tournament opener against 15 seed Robert Morris. In the second round, the 10th seeded USC Trojans fought hard, but MSU marched on to the Sweet 16 with a 74-69 victory.

The Kansas Jayhawks would be the Spartans next victim in a game that looked over at halftime. The Jayhawks at one point held a 13 point lead late in the first half, but Spartan point guard Kalin Lucas would not let his team lose.

Lucas scored the MSU's last seven points and the Spartans managed to outlast Kansas 67-62.

After that victory you still probably couldn't find many people that thought MSU had any chance at beating top-seeded Louisville in the Elite Eight. The Spartans were huge underdogs against the Cardinals, who were coming off an easy 103-64 victory against Arizona in their Sweet 16 game.

The experts said Louisville's up-tempo style would end MSU's tournament run, but Izzo's team obviously didn't get the memo. They were able to hold the Cardinals to a season low 52 points and cruise to a 12-point victory.

Izzo has said making it to the Final Four at Ford Field this year has been on his mind since 2003. This was when the NCAA announced Detroit would play host to the 2009 Final Four.

But, even in a stadium that is just 92 miles from its home campus the Spartans remained underdogs in their Final Four battle with the Connecticut Huskies.

Almost everyone in the ESPN studios figured UConn had too much size for MSU to handle, and that they would finally end Izzo's dream-like run to Detroit.

However, the Spartans controlled the game from the opening tip and defied the experts by pulling out a thrilling 82-73 victory.

This brings us to where we are right now. North Carolina has dominated their opponents in the tournament and has won all their games by double digits.

The Tar Heels have been the favorite to win the national title since the beginning of the season. They returned a team chock-full of future NBA players, including last year’s national player of the year Tyler Hansbrough.

But, this is a much improved MSU team they will be facing Monday night. It will not be the team they blew out way back in early December.

They will face the MSU team that has found a way to prove all the experts wrong. They will face one of the most underrated big men in the country, Goran Suton, who missed the regular season match-up due to injury.

More importantly, they will face a team that is carrying the hope of an entire state on its shoulders.

The Spartans may not be able to match the talent of North Carolina, but the Tar Heels will not be able to match the heart of Michigan State.

Is this destiny’s team? Can they complete their magical tournament run by beating a team that destroyed them on the very same arena floor earlier this season? Can the Spartans yet again overcome the odds and win a championship in their own state?

Can David slay Goliath?

Well, while I can’t answer those questions I can tell you that I will be rooting for the Spartans on Monday night. I hope all you other Michigan Wolverine fans like me will also root on the Spartans tomorrow night.

For the state of Michigan this is much more than just another basketball game.

The Spartans have a chance to give the people of Michigan something to remember for years to come. They can deliver the people of this great state one shining moment.