The 2000 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game was the finals of the
2000 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
The 2000 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in Single-elimination tournament, single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 20 ...
and it determined the national champion for the
1999–2000 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The game was played on April 3, 2000, at the
RCA Dome 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 ...
and matched No. 1-seeded
Michigan State against No. 5-seeded
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 ...
.
The Spartans defeated the Gators, who were appearing in their first championship game, 89–76, earning the Spartans their second national championship. As of 2025, this is the last time a team from the
Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...
won the national championship.
Participants
Florida Gators
The Gators were the SEC regular season champions, winning a share of the title with a 12–4 conference record. They earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament where they advanced to the Final Four and then made the school's first ever appearance in the NCAA championship game where they lost to Michigan State.
Michigan State Spartans
The Spartans finished the regular season 13–3 to win a share of the Big Ten regular season championship for the third consecutive year. They also won the
Big Ten tournament championship for the second consecutive year. As a result of their strong finish in the regular season, the Spartans were awarded the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament. From there, the Spartans cruised to their third consecutive Sweet Sixteen with wins over
Valparaiso, and
Utah
Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
. MSU continued their national championship push by reaching their second consecutive Final Four with wins over
Syracuse and
Iowa State. MSU won every game by double digits despite playing the best possible seed in each round. In their Final Four matchup, Michigan State faced off against Big Ten foe,
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 ...
, beating them in a close game, 53–41.
Starting lineups
Game summary
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 second 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 title in his second straight final four appearance.
Morris Peterson led the Spartans with 21 points.
As of 2024, Michigan State's 2000 team is the last
Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...
team to win a national championship.
References
{{2000 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball navbox
NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game
NCAA Division I men's basketball championship games
Florida Gators men's basketball
Michigan State Spartans men's basketball
College basketball tournaments in Indiana
Basketball competitions in Indianapolis
NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game
2000s in Indianapolis
NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game