Tonight the Big Ten/ACC Challenge presents a rematch of the 2009 National Championship between University of North Carolina and Michigan State. Interestingly this is the 2nd time this decade that the Big Ten/ACC challenge has offered a title rematch (in 2006 UNC faced off against the Illini of Illinois) but this matchup is widely considered to be a bigger deal since both teams were preseason top 5 and currently sit in the AP top 10. The hype surrounding the rematch got me wondering how the programs stack up against each other. Besides both schools producing one of the All Time Greats (MSU’s Magic Johnson, UNC’s Michael Jordan) comparing the two schools basketball pedigree heavily favors the Tar Heels. Unless you ask yourself which school had a better decade?

The Case for the Spartans: If you played at Michigan State in the 2000s chances are you played in a Final Four and if you suited up for Tom Izzo for four years it is guaranteed. Coach Izzo is the only coach in the country who can tell a recruit that every player he has coached for four years has played in the Final Four. Michigan State started the 2000s strong winning the 2000 National Championship defeating Florida 89-76 in Indianapolis. The Spartans returned to the Final Four in 2001 and Tom Izzo won the 2001 Coach of the Year. In 2003 Izzo led his team Elite 8 and brought his Spartans back to the Final Four in 2005. In 2009 the Spartans had a magical run to the National Championship game defeating Kansas, Louisville and Connecticut on their way to the Final.

The Case for the Tar Heels: The 1999-2000 Tar Heels started the decade off strong reaching the Final Four under head coach Bill Guthridge. In 2005 Roy Williams led the Tar Heels to the programs 4th National Championship defeating Illinois 75-70. The 2005-2006 year was predicted to be a down year for Roy Williams but he had success with a strong freshmen class and won the 2006 Coach of the Year. In 2007 the Heels returned to the Elite 8 and in 2008 the team reached their 3rd Final Four of the decade, led by the National Player of the year Tyler Hansbourgh. Widely the best team in the country by leaps and bounds UNC marched to their 5th National Title (2nd of the decade) defeating every team they faced in the tournament by double digits.

The Case against the Spartans: Looking at the big picture both teams have the same number of finals fours and though the Spartans have more NCAA tournament appearances, the Heels have more wins (251-248) and more national titles. No matter how you slice it two national titles are greater than one national title. Carolina also won 4 of the 5 meetings between the teams in the 2000s including in the 2005 Final Four and the 2009 National Championship game where Heels won 89-72 and the Spartans looked completely outmatched.

The Case against the Heels: If it was a question about who was better in the second half of the decade it is almost impossible to argue against the Tar Heels but this is a question of the entire decade. Carolina missed the NCAA tournament twice, in 2002 and 2003. In 2002 the team had the worst season in program history finishing 8-20. The Spartans have been consistently good throughout the decade having been to the Final Four twice in the early part of the decade and twice in the end of the decade, the Tar Heels have been great under Roy Williams but the 2001-2002 season cannot be ignored.

Given each school’s recent pedigree which program do you think had the better decade Carolina or Michigan State? Would you rather play for Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans or Roy Williams and the Carolina Tar Heels?

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