The 2000

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams fro ...

involved 64 schools playing in

single-elimination A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...

play to determine the national champion of men's

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level 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 athleti ...

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

. 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 U.S. state and territorial capitals, state capital and List of U.S. states' largest cities by population, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat, seat of ...

at the

RCA Dome The RCA Dome (originally Hoosier Dome) was a domed stadium in Indianapolis. It was the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise for 24 seasons ( 1984–2007). It was completed at a cost of $77.5 million, as part of the Indiana Convention C ...

. 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 Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It ...

, 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 state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

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

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

and

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

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 Mateen Ahmad Cleaves (born September 7, 1977) is a retired American basketball player. He played parts of six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was an All-American college player for Michigan State, where he led the Sparta ...

of Michigan State was named the tournament's

Most Outstanding Player The term Most Outstanding Player may refer to: * The recipient of the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award * The NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player award * The College World Series Most Outstanding Player in college baseball * The N ...

, 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 in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

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

Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (born October 25, 1940) is an American former basketball coach. Nicknamed "the General", Knight won 902 NCAA Division I men's college basketball games, a record at the time of his retirement, and currently fourth all-ti ...

'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 Gonzaga may refer to: Places * Gonzaga, Lombardy, commune in the province of Mantua, Italy * Gonzaga, Cagayan, municipality in the Philippines *Gonzaga, Minas Gerais, town in Brazil *Forte Gonzaga, fort in Messina, Sicily People with the surna ...

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 Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

), one seventh seed (

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

), 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 The Bert L. and Iris S. Wolstein Center is a 13,610-seat indoor arena located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the campus of Cleveland State University (CSU). It is home to the Cleveland State Vikings men's and women's basketbal ...

, Cleveland, Ohio (Host:

Cleveland State University Cleveland State University (CSU) is a Public university, public research university in Cleveland, Ohio. 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 op ...

) ***

Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (commonly called the Metrodome) was a domed sports stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It opened in 1982 as a replacement for Metropolitan Stadium, the former home of the National Football League' ...

, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Host:

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

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

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

(Host:

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of D ...

) ***

McKale Center McKale Memorial Center is an athletic arena in the southwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. As the home of the university's Wildcats basketball team of the Pac-12 Conference, it is primar ...

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive ...

(Host:

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

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

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

(Hosts: Canisius College, Niagara University, and

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Of its current 11 full members, 10 are located in three states of the northeastern United States: Connecticut, New Jersey, and N ...

) *** Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum,

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...

(Host:

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private university, private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, North Carolina, Wake Forest, north of Rale ...

) **South Region *** BJCC Arena,

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

(Host:

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

) *** Gaylord Entertainment Center,

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

(Host: Ohio Valley University) Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) *March 23 and 25 **Midwest Regional,

The Palace of Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills, commonly referred to as the Palace, was a multi-purpose arena built in 1988 and located in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It was the home of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Detroit Sho ...

, Auburn Hills, Michigan (Host:

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twe ...

) **West Regional, University Arena ("The Pit"), Albuquerque, New Mexico (Host:

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25, ...

) *March 24 and 26 **East Regional,

Carrier Dome The JMA Wireless Dome, originally the Carrier Dome (1980–2022) and colloquially called "The Dome," or more recently "The JMA Dome," is a domed sports stadium in Syracuse, New York. Located on the campus of Syracuse University in the Universit ...

, Syracuse, New York (Host:

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

) **South Regional, Frank Erwin Center,

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

(Host:

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

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

(Host:

Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study in six colleges: the Lacy School of Business, College of Communi ...

and IUPUI) For the third time in a decade, and fourth time overall, Indianapolis was the host city of the Final Four. The tournament saw one new host city and three new host venues included for the first time. The tournament came to Cleveland for the first time ever, hosted on the campus of

. This marked the first new host venue on a college campus since the first appearance of Thompson–Boling Arena in 1990, and the first host city to debut on a college campus since Boise in 1983. The tournament returned to Nashville at the then-four-year-old Gaylord Entertainment Center downtown, with previous tournaments having been hosted in Memorial Gym on the campus of

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

. And for the first time since 1954, the tournament returned to Buffalo, at the HSBC Arena (now

KeyBank Center KeyBank Center is a multipurpose indoor arena located in Buffalo, New York. Originally known as Marine Midland Arena, the venue has since been named HSBC Arena and First Niagara Center. Home to the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey Lea ...

). The first round tournament games coincided with the date of the arena's name change; previously it had been known as Marine Midland Arena. For the fifth, and most recent, time, both the Huntsman Center and McKale Center were chosen as the two first and second round hosts of the West regionals. All 13 venues have gone on to host more tournament games since this season. Any future tournament games to be held in Cleveland would be played at

Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is a multi-purpose arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The building is the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL). It also serv ...

; if in Salt Lake City, Vivint Arena.

Teams

Bids by conference

Final Four

National semifinals

*April 1,

(M1) 53,

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

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

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 sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and whi ...

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 are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...

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 The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as th ...

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

limped his way to the

(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 Tom Izzo (, ); born January 30, 1955) is an American college basketball coach who has been the head coach at Michigan State University since 1995. On April 4, 2016, Izzo was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Izzo has led the Spar ...

earned his first title, from his second straight final four appearance. Morris Peterson led the Spartans with 21 points.

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

East Regional – Syracuse, New York

Southeast Regional – Austin, Texas

Midwest Regional – Auburn Hills, Michigan

West Regional – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Final Four at Indianapolis, Indiana

Broadcast information

Television

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street (Manhattan), 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS ...

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 and Billy Packer – First & Second Round at Winston-Salem, North Carolina; East Regional at Syracuse, New York; Final Four at Indianapolis, Indiana * Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery – First & Second Round at Minneapolis, Minnesota; Midwest Regional at Auburn Hills, Michigan * Dick Enberg and James Worthy – First & Second Round at Birmingham, Alabama; South Regional at Austin, Texas * Gus Johnson and Dan Bonner – First & Second Round at Tucson, Arizona; West Regional at Albuquerque, New Mexico * Kevin Harlan and

Jon Sundvold Jon Thomas "Sunny" Sundvold (born July 2, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics in the first round (16th pick overall) of the 1983 NBA draft. A 6'2" shooting guard from the Univ ...

– First & Second Round at Cleveland, Ohio * Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel – First & Second Round at Buffalo, New York * Tim Brando and

Rolando Blackman Rolando Antonio Blackman (born February 26, 1959) is a Panamanian-American former professional basketball player. He was a four-time NBA All-Star who spent most of his career with the Dallas Mavericks. Blackman was born in Panama City, Panam ...

– First & Second Round at Nashville, Tennessee * Craig Bolerjack and Barry Booker – First & Second Round at Salt Lake City, Utah

Greg Gumbel Greg Gumbel (born May 3, 1946) is an American television sportscaster. He is best known for his various assignments for CBS Sports (most notably, the National Football League and NCAA basketball). The older brother of news and sportscaster Bryan ...

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

Radio

Westwood One Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The company w ...

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 student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

Schedule and venues

Teams

Bids by conference

Final Four

National semifinals

Championship game

Bracket

East Regional – Syracuse, New York

Southeast 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