When North Carolina steps onto the court at Ford Field this evening, they will be facing, perhaps, their toughest opponent of the NCAA Tournament. Sure, the Tar Heels have taken out some stout opposition in their run to the Final Four, but the Spartans of Michigan State possess a combination of attitude, talent, and tenacity that UNC has not seen thus far in the Big Dance. Consequently, it should be nothing short of entertaining when these two tip things off at 9:21pm ET in the Motor City. 
Despite what Michigan State and Head Coach Tom Izzo bring to the table, North Carolina is the prohibitive favorite in tonight's National Championship game largely due to the belief that no team can slow them down. 2009 NCAA Finals Odds at SBGglobal.com have Roy Williams squad listed as a -7.5 against the spread favorite.
North Carolina entered the 2008-2009 season with huge expectations; before a ball had ever been dribbled, the Tar Heels were suppose to win the National Championship. That is a lot of pressure to carry through a season, but as Roy Williams' troops have proven out, the prospects of their appearing in the Final Four and the championship game were indeed warranted.
UNC has ran through quality tournament competition seemingly without effort. The only team to provide a semblance of a challenge to the Tar Heels was the Oklahoma Sooners in the South Region finale. North Carolina still won that game by 12 points, and had not the AP Player of the Year, Blake Griffin, put on an amazing basketball display, it could have easily been a 20 plus point margin of victory.
Everyone knows the Tar Heels will come into tonight's game looking to push the pace and run the Spartans into the ground. That has been their objective against every team since Dean Smith walked onto the Chapel Hill campus. Williams, being a Smith disciple, has perfected the fast break attack with his current group of players. They demonstrated their breakneck prowess against these same Spartans in December, scoring 98 points (71 field goal attempts and 29 free throw shots), grabbing 40 rebounds, and dishing out 20 assists.
Can they repeat that performance tonight? It will be difficult as this Michigan State crew is not the same one they dismantled in December. The Spartans have grown in skill as well as confidence since that 98-63 beatdown. However, North Carolina has made a number of quality rivals look foolish this year.
Regardless of the final result, everyone knows the Tar Heels will sprint their way to it.
SBGglobal.com's 2009 NCAA Finals Odds:
North Carolina Tar Heels -7.5 (-110), Over 152.5 (-110), -340 (Moneyline)
Michigan State Spartans +7.5 (-110), Under 152.5 (-110), +280 (Moneyline)
