Despite promising start, Michigan State's season ends against North Carolina

Charlotte, N.C. — For a moment on Saturday, it appeared ninth-seeded Michigan State had a chance.

Shots were falling. The defense was getting stops. Top-seeded North Carolina seemed totally caught off guard by the Spartans' ferocious attack at the start of the second-round game.

Maybe Tom Izzo was right. Maybe this team that had been so up and down all season finally figured its issues out and could go on a run in the NCAA Tournament. After all, Michigan State had looked as dominant as any team this season in the opening 12 minutes of Saturday's game.

Those thoughts, though, were fleeting.

North Carolina brought Michigan State back to reality as the Tar Heels throttled the Spartans for the final nine minutes of the first half and eventually pulled away to win, 85-69.

"We played so well the first 12 minutes, and then I don't know, the ball just stuck," coach Tom Izzo said after the season-ending defeat.

In the end, Saturday turned out to be yet another missed opportunity for Michigan State.

Tyson Walker had a game-high 24 points and Malik Hall added 17 points and nine rebounds in what would be their last games of their college careers. But the Spartans couldn’t contain Armando Bacot inside and North Carolina’s guards on the perimeter. 

RJ Davis had 20 points, Bacot had 18 points and seven rebounds, and Harrison Ingram posted 17 points and five 3-pointers to help North Carolina punch its ticket to the Sweet 16 a year after the Tar Heels missed the Tournament entirely.

Michigan State had it all working in its favor early. The Spartans were playing on another level. They were energized and locked in. Michigan State was out-hustling, out-rebounding and out-doing the Tar Heels in just about every way. 

Walker and Hall got going early as the Spartans’ offense was humming and overwhelming North Carolina's defense. Even Mady Sissoko made some post-up moves on 6-foot-11 Bacot. 

It couldn’t have been going better for Michigan State, which finally looked like the team Tom Izzo believed it would be all season. 

Walker hit back-to-back buckets to make it 26-14 with 9:37 left in the first half and stunned a mostly Carolina blue crowd.

BOX SCORE: North Carolina 85, Michigan State 69

"It felt sustainable," Hall said. "We were pretty much getting what we wanted, which is what everybody likes. ... We knew [the Tar Heels] were due for a run just because they're a great team. I mean, we definitely still thought it was sustainable and we'd be able to sustain a run even if they did go on one."

But the Spartans crumbled like an aluminum can over the final nine minutes of the first half. 

Michigan State reverted to its old ways. Turnovers. Defensive lapses. A lengthy scoring drought. It was all too much for the Spartans to overcome. 

Michigan State went without a field goal for nearly six minutes as North Carolina started to take over. Davis and Bacot helped the Tar Heels to a 20-1 run that gave North Carolina an eight-point lead with just more than two minutes left in the first half. 

By halftime, North Carolina was up 40-31. 

Michigan State trimmed the Tar Heels’ lead to two in the second half as Jaden Akins scored eight of his 11 points in roughly 4 ½ minutes, but North Carolina always had answers for the Spartans. 

After Ingram launched a 3-pointer, the ball taunted Michigan State as it danced around the rim before sinking in. Izzo called a timeout, with the Spartans down 69-57 with 6:21 to play. 

The Spartans’ body language as they headed toward the bench said it all. It was over. 

After checking out for a final time with under a minute to go, Walker bowed his head into a March Madness towel as he sat at the end of the bench before patting Hall on his back as a “Tar Heel” chant erupted at Spectrum Center in the final seconds.

Their college careers ended with a crushing loss. 

The postgame locker room mirrored a funeral home, with the team mourning the end of a season that had gone awry. Several players exchanged hugs and pats on the back.

“For sure, it’s gonna hurt," Akins said. "We were up 12 and had a chance to kind build a lead from there but just couldn’t get stops.”

Michigan State came into this season with hopes of going on a Final Four run after it returned most of last year's Sweet 16 team. But a season of more lows than highs resulted in a second-round exit to the Tar Heels, a team against which Izzo has fallen to 0-5 in the NCAA Tournament. 

Every time it appeared the Spartans were finally building momentum and getting their season off the ground, they were pulled back.

“Even though it looked like we got killed, I really believe everything I’ve [said] for really the whole year," said Izzo, who maintained, even in defeat, that his team could've gone on a run this month. "This one’s gonna sting a little longer because I think there were times you saw a very good basketball team but consistency is what we’ve always preached in this program, and we were consistently inconsistent, and I have to be held accountable for that.”

It’s hard to say where Michigan State goes from here. Who will stay and who will go? Will Izzo dip into the portal to address roster concerns for next season? 

Xavier Booker, who had five points and five rebounds, said he'll "definitely" be back for his sophomore season. Sissoko and A.J. Hoggard, who both have one year of eligibility remaining because of the pandemic, weren't quite as sure.

“The work for next year starts today," Booker said. "So I mean things didn’t go our way this year but for the younger guys I guess we got something to look forward to next year so just got to put the work in.” 

mkenney@detroitnews.com

@madkenney