|
April 1, 2000 SportsLine.com wire reports |
INDIANAPOLIS -- After spending a week preparing for Wisconsin's
throwback offense, Michigan State has one day to get ready for Florida's
racehorse game in the Final Four.
The senior-laden Spartans, champions of the Big Ten conference, play for the
national championship against the Gators, whose roster is bulging with freshmen
and sophomores.
Florida runs down North Carolina Complete March Mayhem coverage Championship game team reports and analyses Michigan State survived a bruising battle with Wisconsin 53-41, a game that
sometimes seemed to be played in quicksand with lids on the baskets. And then
they were joined in the final by Florida, whose run-and-gun attack wore down
North Carolina, 71-59.
"Those are two opposites," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said of the
difference between the Badgers and Gators. "It will be opposite styles from
what we've had to prepare for."
Point guard Mateen Cleaves, who returned for a final season at Michigan
State and one last run at a national championship, knows the Spartans are in
for a track meet against the pressing game of the Gators, the first No. 5 seed
to make it to a national championship game.
"I've watched Florida play all year," he said. "They play intense
defense. They're going to be in your face."
That is the style of the Gators, who were a fraction of a second away from
washing out of the NCAA tournament in their first game against Butler. Mike
Miller saved them with a game-winning basket with three-tenths of a second left
in overtime.
From there, Florida knocked off No. 4 Illinois, No., 1 Duke and No. 3
Oklahoma State to win the East Region. Against North Carolina, they used the
same formula, running the floor, using their depth and speed to wear down the
Tar Heels.
They built a 15-point lead early, saw it disappear, and then reconstructed a
comfortable margin, using their depth to wear out North Carolina.
Michigan State led by just two points against Wisconsin at the half but then
pulled away in the second half to beat the Badgers for the fourth time this
season.
"The first half, we weren't playing as aggressive as we should have," said
Morris Peterson, who led the Spartans with 20 points. "In the second half, we
started playing with a sense of urgency. We started realizing that they could
be our last 20 minutes if we didn't pick it up."
Related Links:
Peterson helps Michigan State get past Wisconsin T O P N E W S
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
Copyright 2000, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved