Fun facts and more!
- UNC has won three straight NCAA title games(1982, 1993 and 2005). Their last loss was to Indiana in the 1981 NCAA Championship game. The win in 1982 broke a three title game losing streak.
- For the third straight title game UNC will play a Big Ten school(1993: Michigan, 2005: Illinois, 2009: Michigan St.)
- UNC has a 4-0 record versus Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament.
- The Heels have a 3.25 average margin of victory in title games and a 4-4 record overall.
- In 1993 UNC played in Hawaii and also played a their title game opponent during the regular season losing to Michigan in December but beating the Wolverines for the national championship. This season UNC played in Hawaii and also faced their title game opponent in December. UNC won that game.
- It has been exactly 30 years since Michigan St. won the NCAA title with Magic Johnson at the point over Larry Bird and Indiana St.
- UNC is the betting favorite in this game(Heels by 7.5) but they are not the media darling. There is not shortage of storylines being pimped by the media including the ridiculous notion that Michigan St winning the title will salve the misery of jobless people. You also have the whole underdog angle fed by the fact the Spartans lost to UNC by 35 in December as well as the fact they are playing a home game in the Final Four. The most asinine notion is Michigan State is on some sort of miracle tournament run. If that is the case, miracle runs are pretty cheap these days. This is a #2 seed. On the S-curve they are the #8 seed overall. Yes they took out the overall #1 and then the overall #4 but it is not like we are talking about a #5 regional seed here. Michigan St is a good team, period. What they are doing is not a shock.