2000_NCAA_Division_I_men's_basketball_tournament

2000 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

2000 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

Edition of USA college basketball tournament

See also: 2000 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game

The 2000 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 2000, and ended with the championship game on April 3 in Indianapolis, Indiana at the RCA Dome. A total of 63 games were played.

Quick Facts Season, Teams ...

Due to a string of upsets throughout the tournament, only one top-four seed advanced to the Final Four. That was Michigan State, who finished the season as the #2 team in the nation and was given the top seed in the Midwest Region. The highest seeded of the other three Final Four teams was Florida, who won the East Region as the fifth seed. Two eight-seeds made the Final Four, with Wisconsin and North Carolina rounding the bracket out. Wisconsin won the West Region while North Carolina won the South Region, with both regions seeing their top three seeds eliminated during the first weekend of play.

Michigan State won their first national championship since 1979 by defeating Florida 89–76 in the final game. Mateen Cleaves of Michigan State was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, while Morris Peterson was its leading scorer.

Despite the string of upsets, no seed lower than 11 won a game in the tournament. The only 11 seed to win was Pepperdine, which defeated Indiana in the East Region's first round in what turned out to be Bob Knight's last game coaching the Hoosiers before his firing that offseason. Also, two teams that qualified as 10 seeds advanced to the Sweet Sixteen as Seton Hall in the East and Gonzaga in the West both advanced.

Because of the upsets, the Elite Eight consisted of one top seed (Michigan State), one second seed (Iowa State), one third seed (Oklahoma State), one fifth seed (Florida), one sixth seed (Purdue), one seventh seed (Tulsa), and two eighth seeds (Wisconsin and North Carolina). This is the most recent title won by the Big Ten Conference.

Schedule and venues

Tucson
Tucson
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City
Minneapolis
Minneapolis
Cleveland
Cleveland
Nashville
Nashville
Birmingham
Birmingham
Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem
Buffalo
Buffalo
2000 first and second rounds
Albuquerque
Albuquerque
Austin
Austin
Auburn Hills
Auburn Hills
Syracuse
Syracuse
Indianapolis
Indianapolis
2000 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 2000 tournament:

First and Second Rounds

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

Teams

There were 30 automatic bids awarded to the tournament - of these, 28 were given to the winners of their conference's tournament, while two were awarded to the team with the best regular-season record in their conference (Ivy League and Pac-10).

Three conference champions made their first NCAA tournament appearances: UNC Wilmington (CAA), Central Connecticut State (NEC), and Southeast Missouri State (Ohio Valley).

While the Mountain West Conference held a conference tournament, the conference was not granted an automatic bid to the tournament until the 2000–01 season.[1]

Automatic qualifiers

More information Conference, Team ...

Listed by region and seeding

More information East Regional – Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New York, Seed ...

Bids by conference

More information Bids by Conference, Bids ...

Final Four

At RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana

National semifinals

  • April 1, Michigan State (M1) 53, Wisconsin (W8) 41
    In the first half it appeared that the Cinderella run of the Wisconsin Badgers had a great chance of continuing. Wisconsin's slow down offense, smothering defense tempo held the game to a Michigan State Spartans 19–17 lead. However, the only number one seed left in the tournament opened the second half with a 13–2 run, including 10 points from senior Morris Peterson. After the run, Michigan State coasted home against Wisconsin's limited offense.[2]
    Despite being behind 18–3 to start the game and trailing at halftime, the North Carolina Tar Heels took control of the early minutes of the second half, and managed to sneak ahead 48–42 on standout freshman guard Joseph Forte's second consecutive three-pointer with 15:44 to play. However, the Florida Gators answered back with a 9–0 run to give them the lead for good. The Gators held the Tar Heels to just six points over a 91/2 minute span to put them in great shape. Foul trouble ultimately doomed the Tar Heels, and the Gators advanced to their first ever National Championship game.[3]

Championship game

Main article: 2000 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Game
  • April 3, 2000
    • Michigan State (M1) 89, Florida (E5) 76
    Michigan State senior Mateen Cleaves limped his way to the Most Outstanding Player (MOP) of the 2000 NCAA Tournament. Cleaves sprained his ankle with 16:18 to play in the 2nd half, and this was after Florida had trimmed Michigan State's double digit halftime lead to 50–44. Cleaves returned about four minutes later, and immediately helped lead the Spartans on a 16–6 run to put the game out of reach. The lone top-seed remaining would bring order to a tournament filled with upsets as they salted away the victory for the school's second national championship (1979). Michigan State coach Tom Izzo earned his first title, from his second straight final four appearance. Morris Peterson led the Spartans with 21 points.[4]

Bracket

East Regional – Syracuse, New York

First round Quarter-finals Regional semifinals Regional Finals
            
1 Duke 82
16 Lamar 55
1 Duke 69
Winston-Salem
8 Kansas 64
8 Kansas 81OT
9 DePaul 77
1 Duke 78
5 Florida 87
5 Florida 69OT
12 Butler 68
5 Florida 93
Winston-Salem
4 Illinois 76
4 Illinois 68
13 Pennsylvania 58
5 Florida 77
3 Oklahoma State 65
6 Indiana 57
11 Pepperdine 77
11 Pepperdine 67
Buffalo
3 Oklahoma State 75
3 Oklahoma State 86
14 Hofstra 66
3 Oklahoma State 68
10 Seton Hall 66
7 Oregon 71
10 Seton Hall 72OT
10 Seton Hall 67OT
Buffalo
2 Temple 65
2 Temple 73
15 Lafayette 47

South Regional – Austin, Texas

First round Quarter-finals Regional semifinals Regional Finals
            
1 Stanford 84
16 South Carolina State 65
1 Stanford 53
Birmingham
8 North Carolina 60
8 North Carolina 84
9 Missouri 70
8 North Carolina 74
4 Tennessee 69
5 Connecticut 75
12 Utah State 67
5 Connecticut 51
Birmingham
4 Tennessee 65
4 Tennessee 63
13 Louisiana-Lafayette 58
8 North Carolina 59
7 Tulsa 55
6 Miami (FL) 75
11 Arkansas 71
6 Miami (FL) 75
Nashville
3 Ohio State# 62
3 Ohio State# 87
14 Appalachian State 61
6 Miami (FL) 71
7 Tulsa 80
7 Tulsa 89
10 UNLV 62
7 Tulsa 69
Nashville
2 Cincinnati 61
2 Cincinnati 64
15 UNC Wilmington 47

# Ohio State vacated 18 wins including all NCAA Tournament wins from the 1999-00 season due to the Jim O’Brien scandal.[5] Unlike forfeiture, a vacated game does not result in the other school being credited with a win, only with Ohio State removing the wins from its own record.

Midwest Regional – Auburn Hills, Michigan

First round Quarter-finals Regional semifinals Regional Finals
            
1 Michigan State 65
16 Valparaiso 38
1 Michigan State 73
Cleveland
8 Utah 61
8 Utah 48
9 St. Louis 45
1 Michigan State 75
4 Syracuse 58
5 Kentucky 852OT
12 St. Bonaventure 80
5 Kentucky 50
Cleveland
4 Syracuse 52
4 Syracuse 79
13 Samford 65
1 Michigan State 75
2 Iowa State 64
6 UCLA 65
11 Ball State 57
6 UCLA 105
Minneapolis
3 Maryland 70
3 Maryland 74
14 Iona 59
6 UCLA 56
2 Iowa State 80
7 Auburn 72
10 Creighton 69
7 Auburn 60
Minneapolis
2 Iowa State 79
2 Iowa State 88
15 Central Connecticut St 78

West Regional – Albuquerque, New Mexico

First round Quarter-finals Regional semifinals Regional Finals
            
1 Arizona 71
16 Jackson St. 47
1 Arizona 59
Salt Lake City
8 Wisconsin 66
8 Wisconsin 66
9 Fresno St. 56
8 Wisconsin 61
4 LSU 48
5 Texas 77
12 Indiana St. 61
5 Texas 67
Salt Lake City
4 LSU 72
4 LSU 64
13 Southeast Missouri St. 61
8 Wisconsin 64
6 Purdue 60
6 Purdue 62
11 Dayton 61
6 Purdue 66
Tucson
3 Oklahoma 62
3 Oklahoma 74
14 Winthrop 50
6 Purdue 75
10 Gonzaga 66
7 Louisville 66
10 Gonzaga 77
10 Gonzaga 82
Tucson
2 St John's 76
2 St John's 61
15 Northern Arizona 56

Final Four at Indianapolis, Indiana

National semifinals National championship game
      
E5 Florida 71
S8 North Carolina 59
E5 Florida 76
M1 Michigan State 89
M1 Michigan State 53
W8 Wisconsin 41

Broadcast information

Television

CBS Sports had exclusive TV coverage. They were carried on a regional basis until the "Elite Eight", at which point all games were shown nationally.

Greg Gumbel once again served as the studio host, joined by analyst Clark Kellogg.

Radio

Westwood One had exclusive radio coverage.

More information Play-by-play announcer, Color analyst(s) ...

Tommy Tighe once again served as studio host.

Local radio

More information Region, Seed ...

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "MWC granted automatic bids". Deseret News. April 29, 2000. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  2. [2]
    "2000 NCAA National semifinals: (MW1) Michigan State 53, (W8) Wisconsin 41". CNN Sports Illustrated. CNNSI.com. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
  3. [3]
    "2000 NCAA National semifinals: (E5) Florida 71, (S8) North Carolina 59". CNN Sports Illustrated. CNNSI.com. Archived from the original on March 26, 2008. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
  4. [4]
    "2000 NCAA national championship: (MW1) Michigan State 89, (E5) Florida 76". CNN Sports Illustrated. CNNSI.com. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
  5. [5]
    "OSU gets probation". ESPN.com. March 10, 2006. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
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