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Heels bring Spartans down to earth with 89-72 romp

DETROIT — It reminded me of Mike Tyson strolling across a boxing ring and eviscerating a reluctant, shivering challenger, Michael Spinks.

That 1988 title fight lasted just 91 seconds, and Spinks had the good sense to never enter the ring again.

Monday night’s NCAA championship went the distance, but only because college basketball rules inhumanely forbid the refs from counting out a dazed challenger before 40 minutes expire from the clock.

The North Carolina Tar Heels won their fifth championship by unleashing a dazzling first-half display of offensive and defensive wizardry, building a 20-point advantage over the Michigan State Spartans before the 10-minute mark.

Don’t be fooled by Michigan State’s minisecond-half comeback. The Tar Heels knocked out the Spartans in the first round. The second half was played solely to satisfy CBS’ television contract.

North Carolina 89, Michigan State 72.

So much for destiny and 50,000 Spartans fans inside Ford Field powering Michigan State to an upset. Destiny can’t topple a talent and skill disparity this wide. Proving their 35-point victory over the Spartans in December was no fluke, the Tar Heels blitzed Michigan State at both ends of the court in the first half.

Throughout the first half, I wondered how the Tar Heels, 34-4, lost four games during the regular season. They trampled all of their tournament opponents by double digits.

You have to hand it to Roy Williams. He built an all-time great team. If his Heels have a flaw, I’m not sure what it is. They defend, rebound, share the ball, shoot from deep, run a lethal break and choke out the opposition when given the opportunity.

They also demonstrated a single-minded focus and maturity. Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington returned to Carolina with the sole purpose of winning a championship. Williams scheduled a regular-season game with Michigan State at Ford Field in preparation for this year’s Final Four.

The pro-Michigan State crowd didn’t bother Carolina at all. It was the Spartans who seemed spooked by the atmosphere. The Spartans played tight early. Many of their first-half turnovers seemed to be a product of nerves and panic.

Maybe the Spartans collapsed under the burden of carrying the dreams of an entire state.

Or maybe the Spartans ran into a team that was just too good.

I’ll go with the latter.

The Tar Heels dominated this college basketball season from start to finish. They have been every bit as dominant as the undefeated Connecticut women’s team. North Carolina’s record isn’t spotless, but its legacy could be just as pristine as the UConn women.

The Tar Heels put together a flawless performance on the biggest stage in the history of the tournament. They won in front of a record crowd of 72,922 and in an extremely hostile environment.

Tonight, Connecticut is likely to blow out Louisville in the women’s championship, but the Huskies won’t do it inside a building filled with 50,000 Cardinals fans. The gap between Connecticut and its competitors is wider than the gap between the Tar Heels and their opponents.

But that’s a statement about how far behind the women’s game is from the men’s.

In this era of men’s college basketball, when the best players exit the game as soon as possible, it’s extremely rare for any program to get a giant leg up on the rest of the competition.

No men’s team has run the table since Bob Knight’s 1976 Indiana team. The last team I remember as dominant as this Carolina squad was the 1990 UNLV team. The Running Rebels walloped Duke, 103-73, in the championship game. UNLV finished the year 35-5, and only one tournament opponent played the Rebels close (Ball State).

No one challenged Carolina in this tournament. The Tar Heels peaked at the right time. They probably got a little lucky. Tyler Hansbrough’s midseason injuries allowed Lawson and Ellington to exert more offensive influence over the team.