SPORTS
lay. April 4. 2000
THE BATTALION
Page 9
MSU defeats Florida, 89-76, to win title
MADDEN
Sports in Brief
Hen’s tennis team
osts Rice Owls
The llth-ranked Texas A&M
en’s tennis team will take on Rice
n'versity at 5 p.m. at the A&M Var-
Bennis Center. i
■he Aggies jBHMI
■ ■5) are coming
fa 4-3 win over
;|perdine Uni-
srsity Friday
ghi. The win was
SiM's second
jis season
glnst a top-five
>an. the first
)m;ng Mar. 5 against No. 4 Uni-
jrsty of Florida.
Jne Aggies improved their home
Mird to 8-0 with the win over Pep-
itine, which entered Friday’s
|ch with an 18-0 record.
I&M junior Shuon Madden,
inied second in the nation, will
| to extend his winning streak to
|ne matches tonight. Madden has
)t lost since a Feb. 26 match
linst TCU.
In doubles play, the 25th-ranked
irfbem of Madden and junior Du
ll Caradima will be seeking a
consecutive victory. The duo
is knocked off two top-five teams
trice Mar. 25.
rUART VILLANUEVATut R'
a mechanical engi
iay.
Hggies face off
igainst Cougars
Bthe Texas A&M baseball team
etums home to face the 12th-
anked University of Houston
Hjgars in a non-conference game
3tOlsen Field.
■The Aggies are now tied for sec-
Dnd place in the Big 12 Conference
with Baylor University after taking
two of three games from the Uni
versity of Kansas over the week-
|encl.
®\&M won the first two games
•pm the Jayhawks, 6-3 and 8-6,
pen lost the last game of the se
ries 8-1.
pThe Aggies defeated Houston 9-
$ on Mar. 7 in Houston.
First pitch is set for 7 p.m.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP)—This time there was no Magic,just Mateen.
Michigan State, with Magic Johnson cheering in the stands, won its
second national championship as Mateen Cleaves led the Spartans to an
89-76 victory over Florida on Monday night.
It was 21 years ago that the championship game between Michigan
State and Indiana State — Magie vs. Bird — changed the landscape of
college basketball.
This one may not have the magnitude, but it had the drama thanks
to Cleaves, the Spartans’ limping leader who needed crutches for his in
jured ankle after celebrating with his teammates.
“He has the heart of a lion. He has done it for four years, not just
one,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “That’s why you love him.
I le’s what our program embodies.”
Cleaves, the game’s most outstanding player, rolled his ankle ear
ly in the second half and had to go to the locker room to have it taped.
Earlier, he helped the Spartans build a 43-32 halftime lead by scor
ing 13 points, including going 3-for-3 from 3-point range, and negat
ed Florida’s vaunted full-court pressure with his ballhandling and
passing.
“I told them he’ll be back. Let’s not get our heads down,” Izzo said.
“I just knew.”
When Cleaves left with 16:18 to play the Spartans led 50-44. His
teammates got the lead to 58-50 by the time he returned 4:29 later. But
the senior guard who missed the first 13 games of the season while re
covering from a stress fracture in his right foot, was again the team’s
emotional leader.
His long pass to Morris Peterson for a layup made it 60-50. He was
leveled while setting a screen a few minutes later but it was enough to
spring A.J. Granger for a 3-pointer that started a 16-6 run that made it
84-66 and put the game away.
Michigan State had been on a mission since losing to Duke in the Fi
nal Four last season. Anything short of a national championship would
have been a disappointment.
“We made some promises. We answered the promises,” Izzo said.
Cleaves certainly didn’t beat Florida by himself.
Peterson finished with 21 points on 7-for-14 shooting and Granger
had 19 and was 7-for-11 from the field.
Cleaves was 7-for-11 from the field — all the shots coming before
he was injured — and had 18 points and four assists.
Cleaves returned for his senior year after many thought he would go
to the NBA.
“This is what I came back here for,” he said.
“This is as storybook as it gets for Mateen,” Izzo said. “He gave up
a lot of money, a lot of things to be back here.”
The Spartans (32-7), the only top-seeded team to reach the Final
Four, finished 33-for-59 from the field (56 percent), the best against
Florida’s frantic pace by far in the tournament. The previous best was
43 percent by top-ranked Duke in the regional semifinals.
. Michigan State never seemed fazed by the pressure, beating it early
with long passes. The Spartans were their usual efficient selves when
they did run their halfcourt game, getting good looks and crashing the
hoards when they missed.
The Michigan State bench was considered a key to any chance the
MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
First round Second round Regionals
Thurs., March 16 Sat., March 18
Semifinals
National
Championship
Semifinals
Regionals Second round
Sun., March 19
First round
Fri.. March 17
(1) Arizona
(16) Jackson St.
(8) Wisconsin
(9) Fresno St
(5) Texas
(12) Indiana St.
(4) LSD
(13) SE Missouri
(6) Purdue
(11) Dayton
(3) Oklahoma
(14) Winthrop
(7) Louisville
(10) Gonzaga
(2) St. John's
(15) N Arizona
(1) Michigan State
(16) Valparaiso
(8) Utah
(9) St. Louis
(5) Kentucky
(12) St. Bonaventure
(4) Syracuse
(13) Samford
(6) UCLA
(11) Ball State
(3) Maryland
(14) Iona
(7) Auburn
(10) Creighton
(2) Iowa State
(15) Central Conn St
Arizona 71-47
Wisconsin 66-59
Wisconsin 66-56
Wisconsin 61-48
Albuquerque,
WEST MM.
Purdue 62-61 March 23 & 25
Purdue 66-62
Oklahoma 74-50
Wisconsin 64-60
Florida 87-78
Kansas 81-77 OT
Florida 69-68 OT
Florida 93-76
Purdue 75-66
Gonzaga 77-66
Gonzaga 82-76
St. John's 61-56
Indianapolis
April 1
Michigan State 65-38
[ Michigan State 73-61
Utah 48-45
j Michigan State 75-58
Kentucky 85-80 20T
i Syracuse 52-50
Indianapolis
April 3
Michigan State 53-41
NATIONAL
CHAMPION
Michigan Stale 89-76
Syracuse,
N.Y.
March 24 & 26
Oklahoma St. 75-67
EAST
Oklahoma St 86-66
Oklahoma St. 68-66:
Seton Hall 67-65 OT
Seton Hall 72-71 OT
Indianapolis
April 1
N. Carolina 60-53
N, Carolina 74-69!
Temple 73-47
Stanford 84-65
i N. Carolina 84-70
UCONN 75-67
Tennessee 65-51
Syracuse 79-65
MIDWEST
UCLA 65-57
UCLA 105-70
Maryland 74-59
Auburn Hills,
Mich.
March 23 & 25
N. Carolina 59-55
Michigan State 75-64
Austin, Texas
March 24 & 26
Tennessee 63-58
SOUTH
Miami (Fla.) 75-71
Miami (Fla.) 75-62
? Ohio State 87-61
! Iowa State 80-56
Auburn 72-69
Iowa State 79-60
Iowa State 88-78
Cincinnati 64-47
Duke
(D
: Lamar
(16)
Kansas
(8)
3T DePaul
(9)
Florida
(5)
T Butler
(12)
Illinois
(4)
.... Pennsylvania
(13)
Indiana
(6)
-57 :
—-""I Pepperdme
(11)
Oklahoma St.
(3)
-66
Hofstra
(14)
Oregon
(7)
OT
-•'•L Seton Hall
(10)
Temple
(2)
: Lafayette
(15)
Stanford
(D
--"1 S. Carolina St.
(16)
North Carolina
(8)
: Missouri
(9)
UCONN
(5)
■ j Utah State
(12)
Tennessee
(4)
La. Lafayette
(13)
Miami (Fla.)
(6)
j
1 Arkansas
(11)
Ohio State
(3)
i Appalachian
(14)
Tulsa
—| UNLV
(10)
Cincinnati
(2)
; UNC Wilmington
(15)
Spartans had. Florida’s reserves had outscored il 175-45 in the tourna
ment, but Jason Richardson had nine points as the Spartans’ backups
came up big.
Udonis Haslem had a season-high 27 points for the fifth-seeded
Gators (29-9), while Brent Wright added 13.
The 1979 final is still the highest-rated telecast ofan NCAA basket
ball game — the one that hooked the nation on the NCAA tournament.
“I knew they were going to win, especially when Mateen came back
this year,” Johnson said on the court as the Spartans cut down the nets.
“It’s been tough waiting these 21 years, but they’ve been great the
last couple of years, and I knew they were going to win it all.”
Michigan State, which beat Wisconsin 53-41 in an ugly al 1-Big Ten
national semifinal, won all six games on its title run by at least 11 points.
( )seed
The Spartans closed the season with 11 straight wins and are the first
Big Ten team to win it all since Michigan in 1989.
Florida, looking to become the fourth straight Southeastern Confer
ence team to win the national championship in an even-numbered year,
was making its first appearance in a championship game.
The Gators had seven freshmen and sophomores in their 10-man ro
tation and this was the first game in the tournament that their lack of ex
perience showed.
Cleaves had two 3-pointers in the 14-3 run that gave the Spartans a
33-20 lead with 6:51 to play, but a three-point play by Haslem and a bas
ket by Donnell Harvey got the Gators within 35-29 with 4:05 left.
Charlie Bell and Cleaves sandwiched 3s around a layup by Haslem
and the Spartans had a 43-32 halftime lead.
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