#1- Midwest

The Michigan St. Spartans (32-7) are the 2000 NCAA Champions

                     2000 HWCI NCAA TOURNAMENT POOL
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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.

It was 21 years ago that the championship game between Michigan State and Indiana State -- Magic 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 injured 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. He's what our program embodies."

Cleaves rolled his ankle early in the second half and had to go to the locker room. Earlier, he helped the Spartans build a 43-32 halftime lead by scoring 13 points, including going 3-for-3 from 3-point range, and negated 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 recovering 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 Final 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.

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