Michigan State vs. North Carolina: Who will win the position battles in this PK80 showdown?

Reserves: Michigan State’s Gavin Schilling, Kenny Goins, Ben Carter, Matt McQuaid and Lourawls Nairn vs. North Carolina’s Seventh Woods, Jalek Felton, Andrew Platek, Sterling Manley and Brandon Huffman

Right now, each team uses five players off the bench, and, while each team has had blowouts to skew the allocation of minutes, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that they’ll each get playing time. That goes especially for the Spartans, whose bench is filled with upperclassmen. Ben Carter and Gavin Schilling are both back from season-ending injuries, and Lourawls Nairn is averaging an impressive 4.0 apg off the bench.

But the best performance was Matt McQuaid‘s 20 point outing against DePaul. With Bridges unable to play and the other players unable to get any offense going, it was the junior guard who stepped up the most to help prevent the massive upset.

What North Carolina’s bench may lack in experience, they make for in raw talent. Sterling Manley is the leading scorer off the bench with 8.2 ppg. He’s the sixth man for the team and the primary backup for UNC in the post, although he may be pushing for a starting gig soon enough.

We’ve seen the Spartans reserves play well when needed, while these newer Tar Heels haven’t been in that kind of spotlight. In a game of this caliber, it’ll be that experience they can rely on Michigan State, something the men in light blue can’t do.

Edge: Michigan State

Next: Preview of the PK80 Victory Bracket

The coaching battle will, of course, be even between the national championship and hall of fame coaches, meaning that it’ll come down to the players themselves to see who’ll win the title. It may seem that UNC has the advantage coming in, but ultimately this will be a toss-up with two title contenders duking it out for everyone to see.