Despite turnovers, Spartans dominate Tar Heels, 63-45
No. 4 Michigan State thumps No. 9 North Carolina 63-45 ESPN
Joshua Lanford made five 3-pointers and scored 23 points and No. 4 Michigan State toppled No. 9 North Carolina 63-45 on Sunday night to win the “Victory Bracket” of the PK80 Invitational.
Smothering defensive effort lifts Michigan State past North Carolina in PK80 final MLive
Michigan State turned the ball over repeatedly, had its best player limited with an injury and saw multiple players suffer significant foul trouble against a top 10 opponent. And yet with its best big-game defensive effort in recent memory, the Spartans made all that irrelevant as it cruised past the defending national champions.
Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State’s win over North Carolina in the PK80 Lansing State Journal
Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch gives his initial thoughts on Michigan State’s 63-45 win over North Carolina Sunday night in the Victory Bracket championship game at the PK80 Invitational.
Victory lap: Langford’s 23 leads MSU over North Carolina Detroit News
Michigan State headed to the PK80 Invitational with a young team looking to learn something about winning in a tournament setting. The only thing that stood in the way for the fourth-ranked Spartans on Sunday at the Moda Center was No. 9 North Carolina, a team that had steamrolled its way to the Victory Bracket championship and happened to have beaten Michigan State seven straight times.
MSU wins PK80 championship with 63-45 win over UNC Spartan Tailgate
Josh Langford poured in a career-high 23 points to lead No. 4/5 Michigan State past No. 9 North Carolina in the Victory Bracket championship game of the Phil Knight Invitational Sunday night in Portland.
Michigan State fends off late UNC run to win PK80 victory bracket isportsweb
Michigan State made a habit with setting scoring career-highs in the Phil Knight Invitational. With a suffocating defensive performance and a 23 point offensive output from Josh Langford, the Michigan State Basketball team defeated No.9 North Carolina 63 to 45 to record Tom Izzo’s first ever victory against Roy Williams and win the Victory Bracket of the PK80.
Dominant North Carolina win sign of things to come Spartan Avenue
The win, built on defense, is a sign of things to come for the Spartans. They held North Carolina to a program low 25 percent shooting for the entire game and just 1-for-18 from 3-point range. The Tar Heels looked over-matched the entire game and couldn’t get any open shots.
Michigan State uses defense, balance to blast North Carolina, 63-45 Detroit Free Press
Michigan State did it with defense. It did it with offense. It did it to North Carolina, the defending national champions. It will return to East Lansing with the PK80 Victory Bracket championship. And a meaningful win for Tom Izzo against one of his peers, with the kind of defensive and rebounding performances he cherishes.
No. 4 Michigan State manhandles No. 9 North Carolina in ‘shocking’ performance College Basketball Talk
In one of the two titles games of what has proven to be the most exciting early-season college basketball tournament in recent memory, No. 4 Michigan State struggled. They shot 40 percent from the floor, turned the ball over 24 more times and mustered all of 63 points while playing North Carolina, a top ten team and the reigning national champions.
Three quick takes from Michigan State’s win over North Carolina isportsweb
The PK80 tournament, celebrating Phil Knight’s 80th birthday, was six years in the making, and MSU didn’t disappoint, defeating North Carolina to win the championship. MSU played very well on defense, but still has some things to work on going forward.
Behind old school defense and rebounding, Michigan State raises a trophy at PK80 MLive
North Carolina is playing its 108th season of basketball in program history. Sunday night’s game against Michigan State marked the program’s 2,993rd game. It also marked the first time the Tar Heels shot 24.6 percent from the field and 5.6 percent from 3-point range in its recorded history.
Michigan State’s top-level defense and other observations from PK80 Invitational title run Land of 10
If playing in a tournament atmosphere is a skill, Michigan State looked well-practiced this week. No. 4 Michigan State shut down DePaul (73-51) on Thursday, UConn (77-57) on Friday and No. 9 North Carolina (63-45) in the PK80 Invitational in Portland, Ore., to win the tournament’s Victory Bracket.
Cassius Winston named PK80 Victory Bracket MVP Detroit News
Cassius Winston was named the MVP of the Victory Bracket at the PK80 Invitational on Sunday night, and that was big for the Michigan State sophomore. The numbers backed it up — 45 points and 20 assists over three games — but after No. 4 Michigan State’s 63-45 victory No. 9 North Carolina at the Moda Center, the former UD-Jesuit star could just shake his head at the fact it was him, and not someone else.
Michigan State’s ‘dirty work’ stifles North Carolina for PK80 title Detroit Free Press
Michigan State made history – and a statement to the college basketball world – with its defense and rebounding. Against North Carolina, the defending national champions, the fifth-ranked Spartans gave Tom Izzo a vital victory over one of his peers and delivered the kind of performance he cherishes most.
Couch: In thumping Tar Heels, Michigan State wins its first big game of Miles Bridges era Lansing State Journal
Miles Bridges doesn’t see Michigan State’s college basketball world in terms of Indiana, Purdue, Illinois and Wisconsin. In the blue-chipper community he comes from, the Big Ten hierarchy isn’t all that relevant. Players like Bridges don’t go to those schools. So, to him, Sunday night’s 63-45 MSU win over North Carolina in one of the PK80 championship games was a monumental step for a group that, in his eyes, hadn’t done anything yet.
Bill Walton Detailed His Love For Bridges During A Michigan State Blowout UPROXX
On Sunday night, as he broadcast the PK80 game between Michigan State and North Carolina, Walton started talking about Spartans’ star sophomore Miles Bridges, who will be a lottery pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, and how Michigan State was dominating the Tar Heels without needing their star too much. Naturally, that led its way into Walton spending the next minute detailing his love for bridges, the physical construction that allows people to pass over obstacles.