Michigan State and No. 12 North Carolina meet on Wednesday with the opportunity to leave a stacked Maui Invitational with a trophy boasting a 2-1 record the tournament.
While the Spartans (5-2) and Tar Heels (4-2) fell short of reaching the championship game in a tournament field featuring four top 10-ranked teams, Wednesday’s winner and third-place finisher leaves the island above .500 against a treacherous field.
North Carolina, which advanced to the semifinal after overcoming a 21-point deficit against Dayton on Monday, could not replicate the comeback the following day versus Auburn. The Tar Heels again fell behind by double digits, trailing the Tigers by 15 points before trimming it to four just before halftime.
An Auburn run coming out of intermission, and Johni Broome’s monster performance of 23 points and 19 rebounds, proved insurmountable in an 85-72 loss by North Carolina.
“For us to be good, we have to dwell in the trenches … those toughness plays,” Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis said following Tuesday’s game. “Early in the season, we’ve had spurts. The next step for us is to start that and there for a full 40 minutes.
“We have to be able to rebound the basketball. We have to be able to get loose balls. We have to play with composure in situations and games like this.”
Michigan State gave up an 11-0 run midway through the second half that doomed the Spartans in their 71-63 semifinal loss to Memphis on Tuesday.
Jase Richardson came off the bench to score 18 points, knocking down 3-of-5 from 3-point range. The freshman’s career-high scoring effort came on the heels of a 13-point effort in Michigan State’s 72-56 win over Colorado on Monday.
Richardson struggled at the free-throw line by making 5 of 8 attempts The Spartans as a team left almost as many points at the foul line as the margin of defeat, going 12 of 19.
“Jase did some really good things. He was so mad at himself for missing those free throws, but it is what it is,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “For a guy (that) has the (lack of) experience that he has in college so far, I thought he played very well.”
Richardson is one of the new faces playing on Wednesday that was not part of the matchup between Michigan State and North Carolina eight months ago. The two teams faced in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, a game the Tar Heels won, 85-69.
RJ Davis scored 20 points to lead North Carolina in the matchup on March 23. A 2023-24 All-American, Davis erupted for 30 points as the Tar Heels edged Dayton, 92-90, on Monday.
He scored a season-low 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting in Tuesday’s loss. Seth Trimble, who scored 27 points against Dayton, finished with a team-high 17 points versus Auburn.
Michigan State’s top returning scorer from last season’s matchup with North Carolina is Jaden Akins. He notched 11 points in that game and had 12 against Memphis.
–Field Level Media
