North Carolina Has Heavy Crowd Advantage Over Michigan State Tonight

23/03/2024 23:47

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 15: RJ Davis #4 of the North Carolina Tar Heels celebrates in the second half against the Pittsburgh Panthers in the Semifinals of the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 15, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Greg Fiume/Getty Images

North Carolina has the crowd on its side for this Saturday's matchup against Michigan State, there's no question about it.

Joe Rexrode of The Athletic pointed out that about 75 percent of the crowd at the Spectrum Center is cheering for the Tar Heels. This isn't a huge surprise considering the game is being played in Charlotte.

Michigan State will have to avoid giving up an early run to North Carolina if it wants to keep the crowd relatively quiet.

"Spectrum Center is 75 percent Carolina or so," Rexrode wrote on X. "If Michigan State happens to win this game, it will be a ghost town for UT [Texas] vs. UT [Tennessee]. Angry fans of bluebloods don't stick around to watch any more of a tournament if their team has been bounced from it."

The Spartans looked excellent in the Round of 64 in large part because of Tyson Walker and Jaden Akins. They'll need to be sharp this evening against the Tar Heels.

As for North Carolina, it shouldn't really shock anyone that Hubert Davis' squad looked great against the No. 16 seed. RJ Davis led the Tar Heels in scoring with 22 points.

Even though North Carolina is the much higher seed, oddsmakers expect this game to be very close.

You can watch North Carolina and Michigan State battle it out on CBS.