A balanced scoring attack, led by Ty Lawson's 21 points, gave the Heels a comfortable margin of victory as the Heels jumped out to a 55-34 lead at halftime. After going down 3-2 with 19:13 left in the first half, the Tar Heels led the rest of the way and set the record for the largest lead in a championship game. The win gives the Tar Heels their 5th national championship, tying them with Indiana for third place all-time.
Senior Tyler Hansbrough ends his celebrated college career with his first national title, finishing with 18 points and 7 rebounds.
Even though Michigan State came into the game 10-0 as a #2 seed in NCAA tournament history, their 21 turnovers allowed North Carolina's high-scoring offense to capitalize.
The Tar Heel nation was not too busy celebrating to share their "one shining moment" on Twitter:
bpcoxjr Getting ready to party on Franklin Street! How about those Tar Heels!!!
brentalexander Good job Tar Heels. You came in ready to win, and you did. Now you all are the 2009 NCAA Champs!! Go HEELS!
tednesi Wow, I forgot President Obama had picked the Tar Heels to win it all. I just hope his intuition is that good on the economy
luvRdogs I love Carolina BLUE. Yay Tar Heels. Good job. Off to bed, alarm goes off in 4.5 hours..yuck.
Despite the lopsided loss, there was still a great sense of pride for those Spartan fans on Twitter:
AshHeck i still love you, Spartans. This game won't change that.
mike_holder We can be nothing but proud of the MSU Spartans for what they have done this season...they have made the whole state proud!
mysterialite ahwell. They played hard. Not many seniors, so there's always next year!! Good game Spartans! #NCAA
