MATEEN SPIRIT: After courageously leading the Spartans to the national title, Mateen Cleaves got his hands on the hardware.
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Player to watch
Jason Richardson. Are you ready for Morris Peterson, Vol. II? Richardson doesn't have MoPete's silky outside touch, but he's already a better finisher and rebounder. Memo to Richardson: Get to know incoming freshman Marcus Taylor soon -- and tell him you like those lob passes nice and high.
Random thought
Mateen Cleaves, quarterback. Morris Peterson and Jason Richardson, wide receivers. Charlie Bell, tailback. A.J. Granger, tight end. Andre Hutson, Al Anagonye and Adam Ballinger, offensive linemen. We're liking this team on the gridiron, too.
Stat of the day
Michigan State and Florida combined to shoot 49.6 percent (59-for-119) from the floor. Looks like that RCA Dome shooting background wasn't so bad after all.
Glory in defeat
In all the hosannas that were going out to Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson and the rest of the Spartans, did anyone notice Udonis Haslem? Florida's big man was nearly unstoppable down low, showing incredibly soft hands and a nose for the basket in scoring a game-high 27 points.
User message of the day
Billy Packer says "Cleaves is the greatest player in MSU history." Yeah, right. Thanks for nothing, MAGIC.
-- kcaj99
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Versatility the new trend
Michigan State learned a few years ago that simply being tough wasn't enough to
climb to the top of the Big Ten pile, let alone all of college basketball.
The Spartans needed to be more athletic, a bit more versatile and certainly more entertaining.
The mandate was given by coach Tom Izzo to find players who were a little bit of everything -- shooters,
rebounders, defenders, and, certainly agile enough to win outside of the rough-and-tumble Big Ten.
Throughout the NCAA Tournament, the Spartans were thrown into situations where they had to adapt.
Valparaiso forced them to defend and shoot 3-pointers. Utah was physical in the interior. Syracuse
zoned the Spartans and made them create in the lane or shoot over the top. Iowa State was closest to
the Spartans in skill and desire, but the Cyclones couldn't keep up in the final few minutes.
Wisconsin...well, the Badgers, simply made it tough to score -- and ugly to watch.
Florida let the Spartans run, exactly the way Michigan State always wanted to this season.
For more of Andy Katz's take on the title game, click here.
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QUESTION OF THE DAY
How would you rate this Final Four? |
ESPN.com's Andy Katz
The games weren't as close as I would have liked and, even though Michigan State won, I still wish I could have seen the Spartans play a full-strength Cincinnati team. Pitting those two teams against each other would have had the best playing the best. Kenyon Martin's season-ending injury cheated us all out of what could have been one of the best national title games in recent memory. Florida did well to get to the title game, but you still wonder what would have happened if the Bearcats were healthy in this tournament.
ESPN.com's Greg Collins
You saw three teams exceed previous levels of play to get to Indianapolis but ultimately find out the gap between them and whoever they lost to was too large to overcome. Wisconsin and North Carolina played until their weaknesses were exploited, and Florida was in it until the Gators found a team that not only wasn't intimidated by their fullcourt pressure, but actually thrived because of it. The Spartans avoided the potholes that swallowed up most of the other high seeds. For that reason, this will be remembered as Michigan State's Final Four and all else will be forgotten.
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TOURNAMENT CHALLENGE
The Madness is over, and we have a winner! Out of 590,011 brackets, Bill Madden finished with 1,310 points and won a $1,000 Final Four party as the Challenge's highest scorer. The top one percent of all entries are now entered in a drawing for a trip for two to next year's Final Four in Minneapolis. Click here to check your brackets.
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ESPN BRACKETS
Not only did ESPN's Jay Bilas pull double duty this weekend at the men's and women's Final Fours, but he also had the best bracket at Bristol U. To check out all the ESPN brackets, log on to the Challenge main page with your entry, and then check out the Featured Group Great Minds of Bristol U. |
Tournament Top 10
10. Indianapolis: The city opens up for this event. Whether they have a ticket or not, everybody in town is a fan of the game. The feeling energizes you when you walk around town, from the arena to the convention center to all the restaurants and bars within walking distance.
9. First round follows suit: Only three "upsets" out of 32 first-round games? Where's this parity we keep hearing about?
8. No. 1s done: Oh, here it is. Three of the four No. 1 seeds were bounced before the regional finals, along with three No. 2s and three No. 3s.
7. Gonzaga does it again: Maybe the Bulldogs should petition the committee to make them a 10-seed every year. For the second tournament in a row, the Bulldogs pulled off a convincing win in round one and then upset a No. 2 seed in the second round.
6. Miller Time/Holloway finds the way: This wasn't the tournament of buzzer beaters, but Florida's Mike Miller and Seton Hall's Shaheen Holloway didn't let that stop them on the second day of the tourney. Miller's leaner lifted Florida over Butler, and Holloway dashed the length of the court to send Oregon home.
5. Self-esteem: Tulsa coach Bill Self went from a guy insiders knew was a good coach to the hottest commodity in the country. But instead of using his team's run to the Elite Eight as a springboard out of Tulsa, he made a long-term commitment to stay with the program and try to keep it among the nation's elite. Bravo, Bill.
4. Last call: We're sorry to see a strong group of seniors leave without tasting the national title. Chris Carrawell, Mark Madsen, Brian Cardinal, A.J. Guyton, Desmond Mason, Scoonie Penn, Kenyon Martin, Eduardo Najera -- you all made this a better game. Thank you.
3. Crazy eights: Wisconsin and North Carolina silenced critics by making it to the Final Four. Sure, they didn't fare too well once they got there, but what they did should give hope to countless programs who think they've drawn a bad seed come next March.
2. Billy Ball: Billy Donovan's system blends playground ball and discipline. The Gators play assigned roles, but also freelance enough to make it exciting. They don't bark about a lack of minutes, but have enough attitude to let you know you don't want to cross them. A team of contrasts. A team for the future.
1. Showing Cleavage: Mateen Cleaves started the ball rolling with a stellar first half, and then the rest of the Spartans picked up the slack when he went down with an injury. For a tournament seeking an identity, they delivered one of heart, determination and character.
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