The Juggernaut Tar Heels Will Meet The Surging Spartans In Title Game

When you tune into the NCAA tournament every year you expect a lot of things. Basketball fans are nourished with the best basketball that can be played. Sixty-five teams battle it out to make their dream a reality. 

The biggest thing to expect, though, is the unexpected. Surprises are sure to take place every year from the middle of March to the beginning of April.

This year's NCAA championship game is a good example.

North Carolina vs. Michigan State.

Michigan State is a heart-warming story of a state that has had troubles with the economy. They are the unexpected. This team fought their way through possibly the toughest bracket and used their heart to their advantage.

North Carolina seems to be in this position almost every year. They are the expected. With Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, and Danny Green opting out the the NBA draft and deciding they want to win a national championship, the Tar Heels have experience on their side.

The Spartans (31-6) come into the Championship game with a huge amount of momentum having taken out some of the biggest of the Big East. In the Elite Eight, the Spartans handled the No. 1 overall seed, Louisville Cardinals, 64-52. Last night, they sent Connecticut home early by a score of 82-73.

The Tar Heels (33-4) have won each of their five tournament games by at least 12 points. They had impressive wins over Gonzaga, 98-77, No. 2 seed, Oklahoma, 72-60, and Saturday night over Villanova, 83-69. North Carolina also became the program with the most overall tournament wins with 101, surpassing Kentucky.

These two teams met earlier this season on December 3rd. North Carolina tore apart every aspect of Michigan State's game and went on to thrash the Spartans 98-63. So should we just crown UNC victorious now?

Not that easily.

Michigan State has an explanation for dropping that game to the Tar Heels: injuries. Goran Suton did not play in that game.

Keys to victory for MSU:

Control the tempo: North Carolina thrives when they get into the open court.  If the Spartans don't control the tempo and play their style of half court basketball, Ty Lawson and the Tar Heels will run all over them.

Defense: Defense is essentially the key for any basketball team to win a game, but against the offensive powerhouse North Carolina, lets just say they will need to step it up. The Spartan defense has not been horrible as of late, however, limiting Louisville to just 52 points on 18-47 shooting from the field and 6-16 from beyond the arc.

Role players: Michigan State has one major star, Kalin Lucas, but beyond him, the rest of the team are considered role players. Goran Suton, Durrel Summers, and Raymar Morgan need to be factors in this game if they want to win.

X-Factor: The x-factor for the Spartans on Monday night will be Raymar Morgan's offense and Goran Suton's defense. Morgan's offense has been inconsistent to say the least, and has the best match up of all the starters going up against UNC's Deon Thompson. Suton is going up against last year's Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough. Hansbrough can get his shot off from basically any angle, so Suton will need to be on his best defensive card to be able to slow him down.

Keys to Victory for UNC:

Keep Kalin Lucas contained: Lucas is the Big Ten Player of the Year and has shown it throughout the NCAA tournament. He has averaged 14.4 points per game in the tournament along with providing energizing plays that will be sure to ignite the Ford Field crowd.

Shoot well from behind the arc: You really got an idea of how dangerous this team could be when they matched up against Villanova. They made 11 of 22 from deep and early on that propelled them and solidified a ten point lead for virtually the whole game.

Make free throws: The Tar Heels won by 14 on Saturday night, but they went 22-37 from the line, which could of blew the game completely out of reach. Roy Williams will probably have the Heels on the free throw line for quite some time before Monday night.

X-Factor: Ty Lawson, no more needs to be said. The ACC Player of the Year carries this team with his tempo, passing, and improved three-point shooting.

Match up to look for: These teams are full of superstars, but a pair of conference Players of the Year will face off at point guard in Kalin Lucas and Ty Lawson. Lucas has averaged a little over 14 points per game in the tournament compared to Lawson's near 21 points per game in just four games in the tournament. Each of these dynamic floor generals bring excitement and energy to each of their respective teams and it will be interesting how they match up Monday night.