Color North Carolina coach Roy Williams impressed by Mississippi State, which will host the Tar Heels at 11 a.m. Saturday (ESPN) in the second round of the NIT. Williams' team, the defending NCAA national champion, has had a rough go of it this season with injuries and inexperience, entering this game with a 17-16 mark after dispatching William & Mary in the first round, 80-72.

Williams has watched a handful of MSU games this year, including the two heart-breaking losses to Kentucky.

"The crazy thing is I watched both the Kentucky games, and they either could have or should have both of those games," he said. "It was almost like the stars and the moon were aligned, it wasn't going to happen, because it would've had to be something weird for them not to win."

His quickie scouting report on the Bulldogs (24-11): "It's a well-rounded team. You've got to think about (Jarvis) Varnado inside, he's such a relentless rebounder and even on the offensive end gets his hands on so many balls. … Then their ability to shoot the 3-point shot; four guys in the game all the time that can shoot the 3-point shot and shoot it effectively. And then the other part of it is I think they really guard you."

Williams said he's run across MSU coach Rick Stansbury many times, and while they're not close friends, Williams has respect for his counterpart.

"You don't survive in that league unless you can coach. He's been there a long time and had a great run. ... I think he's a big-time quality coach."

UNC is a No. 4 seed in this tournament. Williams said it hasn't been a problem getting guys from last year's championship team to get motivated for the NIT.

"It's been a tough year for us, we're just happy to be playing," he said.

Williams also raved about MSU point guard Dee Bost, who I'll be writing about for tomorrow's Daily Journal. And I'll have more on the Tar Heels later in my Know the Foe entry.