Somewhere in Michigan State's middle-class brand of Michigan hope and mixed martial basketball, and North Carolina's mechanized cavalry of an offensive attack, there may be a similarity or two lurking somewhere.
But you've got about as good a chance of finding it as you do spotting an opposing fan in Ford Field's South Pacific of Spartan green.
These two teams couldn't be more different if one of them came out in shoulder pads.
And, with Tom Izzo, who invited Vikings' offensive line coach Pat Morris speak to his team before Saturday night's win, and whose teams always play like it's fourth-and-goal from the one, that could very well be the case.
All eyes are on Detroit as we're less than one week away from crowning the national champion and moving on to 2010. So with only four teams still standing in the Big Dance, NCAA Basketball FanHouse got together for a FanHouse Roundtable to discuss what we can expect. Find out why the only thing we love more than the Heels are the head coaches.
The Maui Classic has always been one of the must-see events of the early part of the college basketball season. You get to see coaches in Hawaiian shirts (picture Phil Martelli), beautiful bump shots of the beaches and some good hoops action.
This year's Invitational is no different. The No. 1 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels headline the event which begins today. But they aren't the only story to watch as six of the eight teams in Maui were in the NCAA Tournament last year:
North Carolina: The top ranked team is the favorite to win this thing but the Heels are coming in on shaky ground. Marcus Ginyard is still out as is Tyler Zeller who is done for the year with a broken wrist. The story will be Tyler Hansbrough's shin. He played Friday against UCSB but will see his minutes carefully monitored this week. If he does well, so will the Heels.
Notre Dame: Doesn't everyone want to see a matchup of Hansbrough and Luke Harangody? It could happen if the Irish get by the Texas Longhorns. The key to winning the Maui will be Mike Brey's coaching against some of the biggest names in the nation.
This week, FanHouse is taking an early look at the top teams heading into 2008 with a BlogPoll decided on by our college hoops bloggers. To help with the team capsules, we've brought in some of the top fan bloggers around the internets to give us insights on their teams.
Today, we have enlisted, well, me, The Sportz Assassin, of FanHouse and SportzAssassin.com to break down the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Really, what can be said about these Tar Heels that hasn't already been said? They return nearly everyone from a 36-3 team that reached the Final Four this past April. Player Of The Year Tyler Hansbrough heads the list of returnees. Hansbrough is the first player of the year winner to return to school since Shaquille O'Neal in 1991. "Psycho T" will also attempt to become the first player to be an All-American for four seasons.
The North Carolina Tar Heels are so talented that many feel that injuries are the only thing that could stop them from winning the national championship.
So, of course, they have injury issues.
Tyler Hansbrough and Marcus Ginyard have missed the Tar Heels' first two games of the season. Hansbrough just began practicing after taking a few weeks off to rest a stress reaction in his shin. Ginyard had surgery to fix a stress fracture in his foot and may not be back until after New Year's Day.
Now freshman center Tyler Zeller could miss some significant time with a wrist injury suffered late in last night's game with Kentucky. While there isn't an update on his condition, speculation is that he broke the wrist. He was taken to the university's hospital for x-rays. We will update his status when it becomes known.
It's rare that a meeting between the two winningest programs in college basketball history would be missing something. Yet, there were a few things that weren't available when Kentucky took on North Carolina in the Dean Smith Center.
First was Player Of the Year Tyler Hansbrough. Psycho T has a stress reaction in his shin and was held out of tonight's game. He really wouldn't be missed as Deon Thompson and the Tar Heels beat down the Wildcats, 77-58. The Heels jumped all over Kentucky early, built a 15-2 lead and never looked back.
The stat of the game were the 28 turnovers Kentucky committed. North Carolina trapped Kentucky to force mistakes that turned into quick points for the Tar Heels. Carolina feasted on the fact that Kentucky has no real point guard right now.
"He'll be ok," Hansbrough's father, Gene, told ESPN.com's Andy Katz. "His leg's been bothering him for a couple of weeks. It's a stress reaction and he needs to rest a bit. He just needs time to let it heal. There is no reason for him to limp through it."
According to ESPN medical analyst Dr. Michael Kaplan, the MRI likely showed increased uptake in tibia (leg bone) suggesting a stress reaction. An overload or overuse type phenomenon occurs with inflammation and, ultimately, fatigue failure with stress fracture. This is a precursor condition to stress fracture. A period of rest is mandatory for tissues to quiet down or worsening injury will result.
Hansbrough's absence will mean Carolina will have to rely on junior Deon Thompson and freshman Ed Davis and Tyler Zeller to be the main options in the frontcourt.
With the fall beginning and college basketball just around the corner, it's time to look back at what our favorite teams did during their summer vacations. Some did some good things; some had a bad time. So let's look back at who did what in our How I Spent My Summer Vacation series.
Today's look is the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Roy Williams Hits Jackpot When All His Guys Return
The Tar Heels were at quite the crossroads. After a great season ended with a disappointing loss to Kansas, Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green all decided to take a look at the NBA Draft. Hansbrough decided to come back, but the other three entered the draft with the opportunity to come back to school if they didn't like their draft status.
If any or all left, the Heels were facing some uncertainty heading into the season. Yes, they'd still be a good team but they'd have a few holes.
In a somewhat surprising move, all three Heels decided to come back for one last hurrah. That means Ol' Roy gets everyone back from that Final Four team (sans a transferred Alex Stepheson and a graduating Quentin Thomas -- both role players). They also bring in three McDonald's All Americans.
All around Tar Heel Nation, there are smiles. Ever since April, it has been rare to see such an occassion (with the obvious exception of Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough's decision to not go into the NBA Draft). There was the blowout to Kansas in the Final Four, Roy Williams wearing a KU sticker during the title game and the defection of four players from a team that would've been favored next season.
Today, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green all decided to come back to North Carolina next season. While Ellington and Green aren't total surprises, there was a point that it felt both would actually leave. Lawson returning is a huge surprise since (a) he didn't seem like he really wanted to come back, (b) the arrest in Chapel Hill would mean consequences from Williams and (c) his stock actually seemed to rise into easy first round status.
This is a huge get for Williams and Tar Heel fans. The only two non-returning players (that mattered) from a 36-3 Final Four team are Quentin Thomas (graduation) and Alex Stepheson (transfer) -- both reserves.
The starting lineup will probably stay the exact same: Lawson, Ellington, Hansbrough, Marcus Ginyard and Deon Thompson. The bench will consist of Green (one of the best sixth men in the nation), Bobby Frasor (injured last year, a smart, steady player with a defensive presence), freshman Ed Davis (who will fill the defensive/rebounder role that Stepheson left), William Graves (long range shooter), freshman Tyler Zeller (a 7-foot guy who loves to run) and freshman Larry Drew (solid PG that won't be relied on too much).
North Carolina guard Ty Lawson said Wednesday if he's not confident he'll go 20th or better in the NBA draft, he'll pull out of the process and return to North Carolina for his junior season.
He said his challenge this week at the NBA pre-draft camp is convincing teams his left ankle is healed and showing he'll take -- and make -- jump shots when the opportunity is there.
This goes against Lawson's statement that he doesn't like the "test the waters" phrase since it implies that he's not seriously ready to go to the NBA. However, it is the first nugget of information that Carolina fans have been wanting to hear.
The other is this: guard Wayne Ellington really struggled in his first pre-draft game on Wednesday. He hit just one of his five shots from behind the arc (remember, the NBA arc) and committed six turnovers.
Somewhere in Michigan State's middle-class brand of Michigan hope and mixed martial basketball, and North Carolina's mechanized cavalry of an offensive attack, there may be a similarity or two lurking somewhere. 
The Maui Classic has always been one of the must-see events of the early part of the college basketball season. You get to see coaches in Hawaiian shirts (picture 
This week, FanHouse is taking an early look at the top teams heading into 2008 with a BlogPoll decided on by our college hoops bloggers. To help with the team capsules, we've brought in some of the top fan bloggers around the internets to give us insights on their teams.
It's rare that a meeting between the two winningest programs in college basketball history would be missing something. Yet, there were a few things that weren't available when Kentucky took on North Carolina in the Dean Smith Center.
Defending National Player of the Year 
All around Tar Heel Nation, there are smiles. Ever since April, it has been rare to see such an occassion (with the obvious exception of Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough's decision to not go into the NBA Draft). There was the blowout to Kansas in the Final Four, 
It would seem as if the only drama going on at the NBA's pre-draft camp is the status of 
