They weren’t leaving Maui without beating North Carolina. Or at least put up the best wire-to-wire fight they could. It’s as if they firmly understood that if you want to be taken seriously,

LAHAINA, Hawaii — Tre Holloman and Xavier Booker combined for eight points in overtime and Michigan State held off No. 12 North Carolina 94-91 on Wednesday night for third place in the Maui Invitational.

MAUI, Hawaii — Memphis basketball took down Michigan State 71-63 Tuesday to advance to the Maui Invitational championship game for the first time in program history. The Tigers (6-0) will face No. 3 Auburn (6-0) on Wednesday (4 p.m. CT, ESPN).