Point Spreads - NCAA, Final Four, College Basketball, NBA, MLB, World Series, NFL, College Football, BCS & Super Bowl Point Spreads

When you are the best team in the country, attention usually comes in spades. When you are the best player on the best team in the country, well, it is no different. Ty Lawson, despite Tyler Hansbrough's name recognition, is the engine that powers North Carolina's high scoring attack and that is why he is generating the kind of interest that makes him the favorite to win this year's Final Four Most Outstanding Player award.

Ty Lawson favorite to win Final Four Most Outstanding Player at Sportsbook.com at +100 moneyline odds.

It is no secret that the Tar Heels are able to do what they do because of Ty Lawson's ability to get up and down the floor in the blink of an eye. His has displayed his trademark quickness for three seasons in Chapel Hill and this year it has powered his team to the National Championship game.

Lawson's importance to North Carolina was put on full display in the ACC Tournament. The Tar Heels lost in the second round of play 70-73 to the Florida State Seminoles while the junior point guard sat on the bench with an injured toe. He also sat out the opening game of the NCAA Tournament with the same ailment, but UNC was too much for an overmatched Radford squad, Lawson or not.

For the season, the Maryland native has averaged 16.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per contest. He has shot 53.9 percent from the field and knocked in an amazing 48.6 percent of his three point attempts. During the NCAA Tournament Lawson has taken his play to another level, posting averages of 20.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, and seven assists per game. He has also hit 60 percent from beyond the arc in the Tar Heels drive for a national title.

Lawson's best stat line of the post-season came in UNC's national semi-final win over the Villanova Wildcats. Ty scored 22 points, grabbed seven boards, and handed out eight assists in the 83-69 victory.

Ty Lawson favorite to win Final Four Most Outstanding Player at Sportsbook.com:

Ty Lawson +100

Tyler Hansbrough +300

Goran Suton +500

Kalin Lucas +500

Field (Any Other Player) +300

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)

If the Michigan State Spartans are to upset the No. 1 seed North Carolina Tar Heels tonight, they will need solid play from their three-year captain and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Travis Walton. The MSU senior guard hails from Lima, Ohio and will have a large contingency of family and friends at the National Championship Title Game tonight watching him spot up on North Carolina star point guard and dice thrower Ty Lawson.

"Everybody [would] be watching," stated Michigan State Spartan star Travis Walton about playing basketball as a youth for Lima Senior High School. "You talking trash to your friend, you score on him and try to stop him so he can't talk trash to you. I could stop people."

The oddsmakers at Sportsbook.com don’t give the Spartans much of a chance tonight, the North Carolina Tar Heels are –7.5 point favorites with the total set at 153 points.  The money line betting odds show North Carolina –370 odds and the money line betting odds show Michigan State +305 odds.

Walton has been named to the All-Big Ten Defensive Team for the past few seasons and his coaches and teammates alike have a lot of confidence in the 6’2 guards’ ability to shut the opposing team’s top players down. The Ty Lawson assignment in the National Championship Title Game might be the biggest challenge of Walton’s college career. Lawson is widely considered the best point guard in the NCAA and the 6 foot junior is expected to leave for the NBA after the conclusion of the 2009 NCAA Tournament.

"Sometimes it has been 6-6 guys, sometimes it has been 5-10 guys," stated Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo about Travis Walton's various game day assignments. "Ninety-nine percent of the time, he has answered the bell...If you looked at just talent, I don't know where you'd put him, sixth, seventh, eighth most talented," stated Michigan State Spartan head coach Tom Izzo about three year captain Travis Walton. "If you look at just heart, you'd put him [No.] 1 by a mile."

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The Michigan State Spartans and the North Carolina Tar Heels will square off against each other this evening for the right to be called national champion. Each team has fought their way to five  tournament wins to reach tonight's climactic game, but only one squad can leave Detroit with a national title. The big game is set to tip off at 9:21pm ET at Ford Field and will be broadcast live on CBS.

Michigan State vs North Carolina Betting Preview at Bodoglife.com has the Tar Heels listed as a -7.5 against the spread favorite.

North Carolina is now 33-4 on the year after continuing their extraordinary run through the NCAA Tournament on Saturday evening with a 83-69 Final Four win over Villanova. They have now overcome their tournament foes by an average of 20.8 points per game in route to a 9-1 neutral site record. Roy Williams team has averaged 87.6 points per game in the Big Dance while yielding just 66.8 to their opposition.

The Tar Heels relied heavily on the three point shot in their victory over the Wildcats, connecting on 11-of-22 from beyond the arc. They also held Villanova well under their season scoring average by limiting them to just 32.9 percent field goal shooting and a miserable 5-of-27 from three point range. Ty Lawson led North Carolina, scoring 22 points, grabbing seven rebounds, and dishing out eight assists. Aiding Lawson were Tyler Hansbrough and Wayne Ellington; the two players combined for 38 points and 20 rebounds.

Michigan State improved to 31-6 on Saturday when they took out the favored Connecticut Huskies 82-73. Their second consecutive upset of a Big East squad ran their neutral site record to 10-3 on the season. The Spartans are averaging 72.8 points per game during the tournament and giving up a meager 63.6. 

Michigan State got four players into double figures in scoring against the Huskies in route to their tournament high of 82 points.Tom Izzo's troops also handed out 18 assists and committed only 11 turnovers in the victory. Forward Raymar Morgan came up big for the Spartans, scoring 18 points, snagging nine rebounds, and garnering five steals. Point guard Kalin Lucas had a big game as well; the sophomore scored 21 points and handed out five assists.

These two squads will be meeting for the second time this season when they hook up in tonight's title match. The Tar Heels hammered the Spartans 98-63 at Ford Field back in December. Michigan State center Goran Suton did not dress for that game.

Bodoglife.com's Michigan State vs North Carolina Betting Preview:

Michigan State Spartans +7.5 (-105), Over 153 (-110), +290 (Moneyline)

North Carolina Tar Heels -7.5 (-115), Under 153 (-110), -380 (Moneyline)