UNC wins fifth national championship

The University of North Carolina won the national championship on Monday night, easily disposing of Michigan St. 89-72. In what was the last game for Tyler Hansbrough, Danny Green, and Bobby Frasor and most likely Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington, UNC cruised as they have done all tournament long. Wayne Ellington was named MOP of the final four and deservingly so. He was lights out for the entire tournament and that continued Monday night.

It was easy to tell that Michigan State was not going to win this game at the first TV timeout. UNC just had too much firepower that the Spartans could not match. For much of the game the only player that could muster any offense was Goran Suton. He hit a couple of threes and shots in the paint to keep it semi-respectable for a while but UNC just continued to blow it open and led by 21 at halftime. From there it was cruise control as Michigan St. could never get any closer than 13 in the second half.

With this win Roy Williams gets his second national championship of his career (and second in five years). Tyler Hansbrough now will officially go down as one of the best ever to play the college game, regardless of what he does at the pro level. This team was considered the best at the beginning of the year and it was proven to be true last night. When the Heels played consistent defense they were virtually unbeatable. That was the case for this tournament. The closest game that Carolina had the entire tournament was 12 points in the regional final against Oklahoma.

With the departure of Hansbrough, Frasor, and Green and the expected ones of Lawson and Ellington next year will be a reloading year for the Heels. They have the number one class in the country coming in led by Dexter Strickland and John Henson. They will contribute immediately and will keep UNC in the top 10 next season. While a national championship might be a stretch, another great year should be expected from Carolina.