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Show Pro Basketball,... BYU women's gymnastics team advances to the NCAA championship meet. B3 The B2 Baseball .................... B6 Scoreboard B7 Weather B8 EDITOR: TAD WALCH TH SUNDAY, APRIL 2, 200Q THE DAILY HERALD (www.HaricTheHerald.com) 0 NCAA TOURNAMENT r cnAMT rmur mm Jim Litke 7 Perhaps that was Big Ten football I just witnessed JFI ;jmrl .i . Michigan State claws way to Monday's finale A' ' Ok Ik INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Turning back the clock to another era, Michigan State showed it could win at Wisconsin's game in the Final i INDIANAPOLIS Baskets seemed like happy accidents. The best action almost always took place away from the ball. All that was missing from this Big Ten run-iwas snow on the field. Michigan State 53, Wisconsin 41 would have been a great game if they were playing football. "Win 6r lose, when you play Wisconsin," Spartans guard Mateen Cleaves said, "it's going to be an ugly game." It could have been worse. At halftime, Cleaves, one of the best playmakers in the country, had zero assists. His team had a total of one. Four. An 50-poi- Dee-fense- e, two-tim- e d 8 Jim Litke is the national sports columnist for The Associated Press. defense and Wisconsin's slowdown offense, relics from the days before the shot clock and dazzling dunks. "We finally broke them down a little bit," Spartans coach Tom Izzo said, "They're a tough team." Michigan State, which has been focused on a title since losing to Duke in the national semifinals a year ago, advanced to Monday night's championship against Florida. "It feels good " said star point TOM STRAITMANThc Associated Vicm guard Mateen Cleaves, who returned I feel good! Michigan State's Morris for his senior season for a chance to Peterson celebrates the Spartans' trip win a championship. "We've got one to ; Monday's title game. more shining moment." Michigan State failed to score a "You have to give credit to Pete," field goal for the final 11:42 of the said. "When he is "hitting his Cleaves first half. It didn't matter in a game we shots, just get out of the way." dominated by picks and bricks scored 20 points just two Peterson appropriate in the home of the after attending his grandmothdays Brickyard. He said Friday that she funeral. er's at The Spartans led only best seat at the RCA have the would, the half, falling short of the score and be Dome, put on quite a show in posted in the 1941 title honor. her game when Wisconsin was "It will be real special for over up lis taking the court one Washington State en more time," Peterson said. route to the Badgers' we will make "Hopefully, only national champisomething happen." onship. The Badgers shot only But Michigan State 35 percent (15 of 43) and matched every elbow and had just one player in forearm thrown by the double figures, Roy Boone limiting Badgers with 18 points. Most of those them to a single basket through in the final minutes when came the first 7:24 of the second half. outcome was already decided. the Meantime, Peterson scored 10 points coach Dick A Wisconsin week ago, during a 13-- spurt that pushed the not fig-- ' had his team said Bennett lead to to score a out ured against way Against a team of limited offensive f still The State. Badgers Michigan lead means like Wisconsin, a lowest held to the were and haven't was as good as 30. total of any Final Four team Michigan State, the only top seed point introduced in to reach the Final Four, won its lone since the shot clock was national title 21 years ago with Magic 1986. Jon Bryant, the MVP of the West Johnson at point guard, beating Indiana State and Larry Bird in the See MSU, B4 final. . half-doze-n If the Spartans' confidence was fragile, imagine what must have been going on across the hall. Wisconsin had three assists, and all of 17 points. And still only trailed by two. "I started getting tight after I missed, like, my first 10 shots," the Badgers' Scott Vershaw said. "That's natural." And that's the Badgers' leading scorer talking. There are precious few teams in college basketball that a ballplayer can , say that about and not open himself up to ridicule. The Spartans are at the top of that list, or very near it. Vershaw averages only 11 points a game, but in four meetings with Michigan State, he managed that many exactly once. It's the same number of times Wisconsin cracked the barrier. The Spartans defend so well that occasionally their fans lapse into " chants of when Michigan State has the ball. "We know how incredible they are," Wisconsin guard Mike Kelley said. "It's not nice to have to say it in this situation, but they dominated us on both ends again." Contempt isn't the only thing familiarity breeds. Barely six minutes into Big Ten the game, Kelley, the defender of the year, tried to attach to the elbow of himself like a Band-Aibest State's scorer, Morris Michigan Peterson. To scrape Kelley off, Peterson ran through three screens. The first Spartan tried to slow Kelley down by grabbing his jersey as he went by. The second planted an elbow in Kelley's chest. The third prowithout an appointvided a facial ment. The whole sideshow went for naught when Aloysius Anagonye stepped in front of a pass directed for Peterson and rolled in a layup. That pretty much was the way accidenoffense was played all night tally. Sensing that, Izzo instructed Cleaves to take the air out of the ball. Michigan State was leading 17-- at the time. It almost backfired. The Spartans went the last 11:42 of the first half without a basket. The players will be the first to say that games like this one are only slightly more entertaining on the floor than on the tube. When Cleaves hugged the Wisconsin players after beating them for the third time earlier this month in the final of the conference tournament, his affection was genuine. But only because he believed then he was seeing the Badgers for the final time in college career. "Now I know I won't play them again," he said Saturday night. "Ever." 4 53-4- 1 . That's because they had only a baskets on 6 for 24 shooting. They were missing so badly, in fact, that Michigan State coach Tom Izzo must have been relieved when most of them walked into the locker room ana landed on their stools. "Instead of the usual halftime session," he said, "we had a little ' Aide x inspired Morris Peterson provided most of the offense and the Spartans stifled their Big Ten rival for the fourth time this season, moving within one victory of their first national title since 1979 with a bruistriumph over Wisconsin on ing Saturday night. overcame Michigan State (31-7- ) n "Dee-fens- 13 jL ' . vL i -4 r ?V" " ' ?' K. v- y i m &rfr" a6' I.V? '....V i J -:- , CHUCK ROBLNSONThc Associated Press Coming through: Rorida's Donnell Harvey takes the ball to the basket over North Carolina's Brendan Haywood in the second half Saturday. - 19-1- 7 21-1- 7 Florida depth halts Heels With INDIANAPOLIS (AP relentless energy and stifling pressure, 'Florida wore down yet another opponent and will play for its first national title. The Gators, using the same press and rotation, balanced scoring that brought them to the Final Four, ended North 10-ma- full-cou- n rt Carolina's improbable tournament run with a victory Saturday 71-5- 9 night. Florida (29-7- ) will meet Michigan in State, which beat Wisconsin national champiMonday night's onship game at the RCA Dome. Freshman Brett Nelson led the Gators with 13 points, while Mike 53-4- 1, Miller and Udonis Haslem added 10 each. "Our guys played with great intensity," Florida coach Billy Donovan said. "North Carolina did a great job to get back into it. I'm just proud of the kids to get this far." An 18-- lead in the opening eight minutes made it look as though the Gators wouldn't need the late edge that brought them earlier teams like wins over higher-seedeIllinois, Duke and Oklahoma State. an But the Tar Heels felt shouldn't who seed many eighth have even made the tournament field . 3 fifth-seede- d d (22-14- ), See FLORIDA, B4 Bramwell, Young win 2 32-1- 13-poi- nt Jazz, Sloan tossed in loss 9t 20-poi- nt I Antonio DENVER (AP) McDyess scored 33 points, Nick Van Exel 27 and rookie James Posey 20 as the In an impressive repeat of last season, BYU seniors Guard Young and Cortney Bramwell each won individual event titles at the NCAA men's gymnastics championships Saturday at Caryer-Hawkey- e Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. Young, who placed second in the individual competition Friday, successfully defended his vault title from last year1 by scoring a 9.825. California's Andrew Hampy placed second with a score of 9.7875. Bramwell also successfully defended his title on the still rings, an event he has dominated this season. He scored a 9.950 to defeat Michigan's Scott Vetere, who finished the competition with a score of 9.900. . (22-14- ), J. event titles IOWA CITY, Iowa mm 1 y 'J Ml J yam x ( 2 all-arou- ( , CHARLIE NEIBERGALLThe Associated Press Deep concentration: BYU's Cortney Bramwell steadies himself during the still rings competition at the NCAA championships on Saturday. Bramwell won the individual title with a score of 9.95. In Bramwell won the title last year and placed third his sophomore year. Coming into the NCAA meet he and Vetere were tied for first in the event with an average of Denver Nuggets beat-th- e Utah Jazz 112-9Saturday night. The Nuggets outscored the Jazz in every quarter ' and never trailed, with- in rallies both Utah standing the third and fourth periods." Raef LaFrentz had 11 rebounds and McDyess 10 for the Nuggets, who had lost three straight to the Jazz. Posey was 6 of 8 from range. when a fall caused him to fin- 9.933; Young also competed in ish seventh with a score of the event finals on pommel ,9.4875. Ihe top six tinisners horse and parallel bars. He in each event are named to earn status on the pommel horse See BYU, B2 All-faile- d Karl Malone had 27 points and 13 rebounds for onH TTtah W WWW, MAIM Rpunn RiiQcall Ubll added 17 points. Utah coach Jerry Sloan was ejected after drawing " See JAZZ, B2 |