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While there are professional impacts of the Carrier Classic between North Carolina and Michigan State, everything, including the score, became irrelevant, in shadow of the scenery, the first College Basketball game on an aircraft carrier, on Veterans Day, with United Stated president Barack Obama watching.

The #1 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels won the game 67-55, with Sophomore Harrison Barnes leading them with 17 points, opposed to the Spartans’ Draymond Green, finishing with an impressive stat line of 13 points, 18 rebounds, 5 turnovers and four personal fouls. Not every stt is good. John Henson (UNC) finished the game with nine blocked shots.

Bottom line, Basketball-wise: Tom Izzo may be saying he’s feeling really good about this group, the best he’s felt in three years about a basketball team, but there’s a lot of work to be done so he can match up with teams like Roy Williams’ Tar Heels, who went through their usual cycle before becoming, again, a contender for the national title.

Everything was special about the evening – From the weather, which despite fears, played out according to plans and hopes. The incredible open court setting, which can rival the NHL’s winter classic under the right, Patriotic settings it had yesterday, is definitely something we should see more off in the coming years. For those who love a little Patriotic (or more than a little) touch to their sporting events every once in a while, this was the game for you.

Having both teams wear U.S.A instead of names on their jerseys, the salutes when introduced on to the court, the president’s speech, and even the date (11-11-11), made it for a game to remember. Not because of the basketball, but because of everything else.