What Michigan State players said about UNC basketball, March Madness matchup
CHARLOTTE — UNC basketball is a win away from the second weekend of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
The top-seeded Tar Heels (28-7) face ninth-seeded Michigan State (20-14) on Saturday (5:30 p.m. ET, CBS) in a March Madness matchup between two of the sport’s titans.
Overall, UNC is 12-4 in the all-time series against the Spartans. In the NCAA Tournament, Carolina is 5-0, including a win in the 2009 national championship game in Detroit, Michigan.
It’ll be the first meeting matching UNC’s third-year head coach Hubert Davis against longtime Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, who is in his record-setting 26th consecutive NCAA Tournament.
Here is what the Spartans said Friday about the matchup with the Heels.
Michigan State’s Tyson Walker on facing UNC’s RJ Davis
“I've known RJ for a really long time. We've had some good games against each other. So, just to be able to play at this level against each other, there's going to be a lot of people watching. Our senior years. It's going to be big-time. Hopefully, we both can play well.”
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AJ Hoggard on Michigan State’s history vs UNC
“It means a lot for us. Some guys that were here at Michigan State that ran into Carolina, they didn’t come out victorious. So, we’ve got a lot of alumni that we’re holding down. We just gotta go out there, play Michigan State basketball, and let the rest take care of itself.”
Mady Sissoko on if UNC reminds him of anyone Spartans have faced this season
“Definitely Arizona, because they have a player on the perimeter and they have a player inside. … (The Tar Heels) have great inside-out players, so they definitely remind me of Arizona.”
Michigan State’s Jaden Akins on what stands out about UNC
“They’ve got a lot of talent at every position. RJ (Davis) stirs the drink, really. He’s a really good guard who can score the ball and do a lot of good things. They’ve got (Armando) Bacot inside, (Harrison) Ingram, Cormac (Ryan). … They like to run, but they can play a lot of different ways.”
A.J. Hoggard on the challenges the Tar Heels present
“We’ve played that style of basketball before, but their personnel is a little different than the personnel we’ve played. … They can shoot the ball and they’ve got a good inside presence. They’ve got two All-Americans, so that’s it right there.”
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: What Michigan State players said about UNC basketball, NCAA Tournament
