Big Ten/ACC Challenge grades: North Carolina, Syracuse at head of classNorth Carolina: A-plus. The Tar Heels went on the road and out-toughed, outhustled, outmanned Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans, 79-65. This stands as the best win for any program to date, given the venue, opponent and the style in which it was achieved. It’s going to be hard for UNC to be consistently great with Marcus Paige as the only player making 3s. (Sporting News)
Storify: Carolina 79, Michigan State 65The Tar Heels beat #1 Michigan State in East Lansing, 79-65. UNC has now won against the current #1 team and the defending national champs (Louisville) in non-conference games this season. (GoHeels.com)
Study Hall: Duke 27, UNC 25Both teams did a pretty good job of staying out of passing downs, but Duke was infinitely more effective when falling behind schedule, and the Blue Devils figured out ways to move the chains when UNC couldn't, usually via air. (Football Study Hall)
Video: Roy Williams Post-Michigan State Press ConferenceNorth Carolina head coach Roy Williams answers questions from the media after the Tar Heels upset No. 1 Michigan State 79-65 Wednesday in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge.
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North Carolina Now Has The Two Best Wins of Any TeamIt’s only the first week of December but unranked North Carolina now has the two best wins of any team in the nation. And that may remain the case for several months. “You could say the same thing at the end of February,” bracketologist Jerry Palm told SNY.tv. UNC won at No. 1 Michigan State, 79-65, on Wednesday, becoming the first unranked team to win at a No. 1 since the 2008-09 season. (Zag's Blog)
Jonathan Cooper takes another step toward returnUnlike some injuries, a broken leg is not the type that should impact Arizona Cardinals guard Jonathan Cooper's game once it is finally healed. He says his progress has been coming along well, as he's feeling much better than he was even a couple of weeks ago, when the boot was first removed. "It felt great," he said of what that felt like. "I was just happy to walk again, so that was the biggest thing." (Arizona Sports)
UNC Women Defend Home Court In Win Over NebraskaXylina McDaniel scored 25 points to lead No. 18 North Carolina to a 75-62 victory over No. 15 Nebraska on Wednesday during the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge at Carmichael Arena. Carolina (7-2) picked up its first win over a ranked team this year and improves to 5-2 in the series with the Big Ten. McDaniel was 11-of-15 from the floor and added eight rebounds in her best game of the season. (GoHeels.com)
Emily Wold, Charlotte Craddock earn field hockey All-America honorsFor the second year in a row, sophomore Emily Wold and junior Charlotte Craddock earned field hockey All-America honors. Wold was named to the first team and Craddock to the second. (Daily Tar Heel)
Tom Izzo despondent; Roy Williams downplays dominanceTom Izzo is never in a good mood after losses, but Wednesday night's loss to North Carolina seemed to hit Michigan State's head coach harder than most any other regular-season defeat in recent memory. "Probably one of the more disappointing performances in my career here,'' said Izzo, whose No. 1-ranked Spartans (7-1) were beaten decisively by No. 25 North Carolina (5-2), by a 79-65 count at Breslin Center. (MLive.com)
Lucas: Sparty CrashersThe Tar Heels went into East Lansing without two rotation players, without the player the head coach has consistently said has been unquestionably the best player on the team in practice, faced the nation's top-ranked team in an environment where they rarely lose, against an opponent that wanted vengeance. And what happened? The Tar Heels played...and then they beat them, 79-65. (GoHeels.com)
Beyond Explanation: Heels Knock Off No. 1Maybe North Carolina’s beatdown of No. 1 Michigan State on Wednesday shouldn’t come as such a surprise given its unexplainable run of dizzying heights and dismal lows. Roy Williams offered the only explanation he could muster to open his postgame press conference following UNC’s 79-65 victory at the Breslin Center. “I don’t know, I don’t know and I don’t know.” (Inside Carolina)
Second Half SurgeTwice this season North Carolina has entered halftime tied with a top-five opponent. And twice UNC has built double-digit leads in the final 20 minutes to coast to monumental upsets. On Wednesday, No. 1-ranked Michigan State closed the first half on a 13-2 run. But for the second time in 10 days, the less-talented and less experienced team was the one to excel in the second half. (Inside Carolina)
Try figuring out UNC -- Spartans couldn'tThe North Carolina Tar Heels could win the national title. Or they could lose the first round of the NIT. At this point, both seem equally plausible. And a month into the season, Roy Williams’ group has proven itself not as consistent, not as hard-nosed, not as untalented, but as the most confusing team in all of college basketball. (ESPN.com)
UNC takes down No. 1 Michigan StateCapturing a win against a top-five team after suffering a loss to an unranked foe seemed improbable the first time, and it felt even more unlikely the second — especially with the added hurdle of playing in a hostile arena. And, yet, as time expired in an emptying and deflated Breslin Center, the North Carolina basketball team was celebrating on the sideline after defeating No. 1 Michigan State 79-65. (Daily Tar Heel)
UNC cements itself as the nation’s most baffling teamNorth Carolina cemented its reputation for the bizarre and unpredictable on Wednesday night in East Lansing, toppling No. 1 Michigan State 79-65 in one of the marquee games of the Big Ten-ACC Challenge. The outcome secured a 6-6 tie for the ACC in the challenge and ensured the Tar Heels would end the night with an unrivaled collection of quality wins and surprising losses. (Yahoo! Sports)
Roy Williams Post-Michigan State QuotesRoy Williams: "We can make this short if you want to because I don’t know, I don’t know and I don’t know. If you have any question that can’t be answered by that, then it will be really something. We’re as happy as we can possibly be. We’re 179 degrees away from where we were after the UAB game. We were really good. When you’re playing Tom Izzo’s team, it's always a big-time battle." (Carolina Blue)
UNC, Roy Williams take care of No. 1 againNo starter scored more than 13 points, but North Carolina got 31 points from its bench and defeated No. 1 Michigan State, 79-65. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Carolina is the first team to beat the AP No. 1 team AND the defending national champion in non-conference, regular-season games since UCLA in 1986-87. (ESPN.com)
Recap & Analysis: UNC 79 #1 Michigan State 65UNC is the first team in 15 years to knock off the defending national champions and beat the AP #1 team in the same non-conference portion of the schedule. The Tar Heels now have two top-five wins for the first time since beating Wake Forest and Duke in 2001. And somehow, despite losing to Belmont at home and UAB on the road, the Tar Heels have arguably the two best wins in the ACC by anyone. (Tar Heel Blog)
Video: UNC-Michigan State Game HighlightsComplete game highlights from North Carolina's 79-65 road win over #1 Michigan State in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge.
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Michigan State knocked off by North Carolina as No. 1 fallsNorth Carolina took full advantage of Michigan State's debilitated roster, using a hot start and a second-half spurt to upset No. 1 Michigan State 79-65 on Wednesday as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Spartans, accustomed to taking first-half punches from teams that had them targeted, never led, unable to recover this time from injuries and inconsistent play. (MLive.com)
UNC continues its weird season, beats No. 1 Michigan StateRoy Williams can't explain it. "I don't know. I don't know. I don't know." That's how UNC's Hall of Fame coach began his press conference after his Tar Heels' surprising and illogical 79-65 victory, according to ESPN.com's Chantel Jennings. And I think it's best to leave it right there for right now because, let's be honest, who are we kidding? (CBS Sports)
UNC strikes again as Tar Heels topple No. 1 Michigan StateJ.P. Tokoto had 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds to help North Carolina beat No. 1 Michigan State 79-65 on Wednesday night, giving the Tar Heels another impressive victory in their inconsistent season. The Tar Heels (5-2) have been talented enough to defeat the top-ranked Spartans and then-No. 3 Louisville this season, but they've also lost to Belmont and UAB. (ESPN.com)
Video: J.P. Tokoto one-handed slam vs. Michigan StateAfter a miss by MSU, Marcus Paige finds a wide open J.P. Tokoto alone for a big one-handed slam in the Tar Heels win at No. 1 Michigan State.
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Instant analysis on North Carolina-Michigan StateHow the Tar Heels Won: The hallmark of Tom Izzo's Michigan State program has been toughness. But undermanned North Carolina was the clear aggressor from the start. In the first 13 minutes, UNC – the same team that UAB dominated on the boards Sunday -- missed 14 shots and grabbed nine offensive rebounds. You don't see the Spartans fail that miserably in the rebounding battle. (USA Today)
Video: Marcus Paige steal and tough layup vs. Michigan StateNorth Carolina guard Marcus Paige takes the ball away on defense then pulls off a tough shot on the other in the Tar Heels win at No. 1 Michigan State.
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UNC vs. Kentucky (BB)Saturday, December 14 5:15 PM ESPN Tickets
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