The 2000

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the NCAA Division I, Di ...

involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

. It began on March 16, 2000, and ended with the championship game on April 3 in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

at the RCA Dome. A total of 63 games were played. 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 Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, who won the East Region as the fifth seed. Two eight-seeds made the Final Four, with

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

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 Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

in the East Region's first round in what turned out to be

Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (October 25, 1940 – November 1, 2023) was an American men's college basketball coach (basketball), coach. Nicknamed "the General", he won 902 NCAA Division I men's basketball games, a record at the time of his retire ...

'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 Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

), and two eighth seeds (Wisconsin and North Carolina). This is the most recent title won by the Big Ten Conference.

Schedule and venues

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 2000 tournament: First and Second Rounds *March 16 and 18 **Midwest Region *** CSU Convocation Center,

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

(Host:

Cleveland State University Cleveland State University (CSU) is a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school that had been in oper ...

) *** Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome,

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

(Host:

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

) **West Region *** Jon M. Huntsman Center,

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

(Host:

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

) *** McKale Center,

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

(Host:

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

) *March 17 and 19 **East Region *** HSBC Arena,

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

(Hosts:

Canisius College Canisius University is a private Jesuit university in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in 1870 by Jesuits from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. Canisius offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and minors, and around 34 ma ...

Niagara University Niagara University (NU) is a private Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition in the census-designated place Niagara University, New York, in the town of Lewiston near Niagara Falls. It is run by the Congregation of the Mission and ...

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Its current 13 full members are located in five Northeastern states: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachuse ...

) *** Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum,

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

(Host:

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

) **South Region *** BJCC Arena,

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

(Host:

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

) *** Gaylord Entertainment Center,

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

(Host:

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with ...

) Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) *March 23 and 25 **Midwest Regional, The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan (Host:

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

) **West Regional, University Arena ("The Pit"),

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

(Host:

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

) *March 24 and 26 **East Regional, Carrier Dome,

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

(Host:

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

) **South Regional, Frank Erwin Center,

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

(Host:

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

) National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship) *April 1 and 3 ** RCA Dome,

(Hosts:

Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study within six colleges in the arts, business, communic ...

, IUPUI)

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 The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

and Pac-10). Three conference champions made their first NCAA tournament appearances: UNC Wilmington ( CAA), Central Connecticut State (

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...

), and Southeast Missouri State ( Ohio Valley). While the

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

held a conference tournament, the conference was not granted an automatic bid to the tournament until the 2000–01 season.

Automatic qualifiers

Listed by region and seeding

Bids by conference

Final Four

At RCA Dome,

National semifinals

*April 1, Michigan State (M1) 53,

(W8) 41 *:In the first half it appeared that the Cinderella run of the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the College athletics in the United States, athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I ...

had a great chance of continuing. Wisconsin's slow down offense, smothering defense tempo held the game to a

Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 Varsity team, varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan Army, Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the sc ...

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. **

(E5) 71,

(S8) 59 *:Despite being behind 18–3 to start the game and trailing at halftime, the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

took control of the early minutes of the second half, and managed to sneak ahead 48–42 on standout freshman guard

Joseph Forte Joseph Xavier Forte (born March 23, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. He played two seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was an NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, All-American player at North Carol ...

'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 9 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.

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 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

). Michigan State coach Tom Izzo earned his first and only title, from his second straight final four appearance. Morris Peterson led the Spartans with 21 points.

Bracket

East Regional – Syracuse, New York

South Regional – Austin, Texas

Ohio State vacated 16 games including all NCAA Tournament wins from the 1999–2000 season due to the Jim O’Brien scandal. 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

West Regional – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Final Four at Indianapolis, Indiana

Broadcast information

Television

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...

had exclusive TV coverage. They were carried on a regional basis until the "Elite Eight", at which point all games were shown nationally. * Jim Nantz/ Billy Packer/

Bonnie Bernstein Bonnie Lynn Bernstein (born August 16, 1970) is an American sports journalist and media executive. She has been named one of the most accomplished female sportscasters in history by the American Sportscasters Association, spending nearly 20 yea ...

– First and Second Rounds at Winston-Salem, North Carolina; East Regional at Syracuse, New York; Final Four and National Championship at Indianapolis, Indiana * Verne Lundquist/ Bill Raftery/ Armen Keteyian – First and Second Rounds at Minneapolis, Minnesota; Midwest Regional at Auburn Hills, Michigan * Dick Enberg/ James Worthy/ Spencer Tillman – First and Second Rounds at Birmingham, Alabama; South Regional at Austin, Texas * Gus Johnson/ Dan Bonner/ Beth Mowins – First and Second Rounds at Tucson, Arizona; West Regional at Albuquerque, New Mexico * Kevin Harlan/ Jon Sundvold/ Debbie Antonelli – First and Second Rounds at Cleveland, Ohio * Ian Eagle/ Jim Spanarkel/Dwayne Ballen – First and Second Rounds at Buffalo, New York * Tim Brando/ Rolando Blackman/ Jimmy Dykes – First and Second Rounds at Nashville, Tennessee * Craig Bolerjack/ Barry Booker/Mike Harris – First and Second Rounds at Salt Lake City, Utah Greg Gumbel once again served as the studio host, joined by analyst Clark Kellogg.

Radio

Westwood One had exclusive radio coverage. Tommy Tighe once again served as studio host.

Local radio

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2000 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

Ncaa The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Schedule and venues

Teams

Automatic qualifiers

Listed by region and seeding

Bids by conference

Final Four

National semifinals

Championship game

Bracket

East Regional – Syracuse, New York

South Regional – Austin, Texas

Midwest Regional – Auburn Hills, Michigan

West Regional – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Final Four at Indianapolis, Indiana

Broadcast information

Television

Radio

Local radio

See also

References