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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Turning back the clock to another era, Michigan State showed it could win at Wisconsin's game in the Final Four.
|  | | The Spartans won despite a subpar, 1-for-7 shooting game by star guard Mateen Cleaves. |
An inspired Morris Peterson provided most of the offense and the
Spartans stifled their Big Ten rivals for the fourth time this
season, moving within one victory of their first national title
since 1979 with a bruising 53-41 triumph over Wisconsin on Saturday
night.
Michigan State (31-7) overcame Wisconsin's in-your-face defense
and 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, where the Spartans will meet Floriday. The Gators beat North
Carolina 71-59 in Saturday's second semifinal.
"It feels good," said star point guard Mateen Cleaves, who
returned for his senior season for a chance to win a championship.
"We've got one more shining moment."
Michigan State failed to score a field goal for the final 11:42
of the first half. It didn't matter in a game dominated by picks
and bricks -- appropriate in the home of the Brickyard.
The Spartans led only 19-17 at the half, falling short of the
score posted in the 1941 title game when Wisconsin was up 21-17
over Washington State en route to the Badgers' only national
championship.
But Michigan State matched every elbow and forearm thrown by the
Badgers (22-14), limiting them to a single basket through the first
7:24 of the second half. Meantime, Peterson scored 10 points during
a 13-2 spurt that pushed the lead to 32-19.
Against a team of limited offensive means like Wisconsin, a
13-point lead was as good as 30.
Michigan State, the only top seed to reach the Final Four, won
its lone national title 21 years ago with Magic Johnson at point
guard, beating Indiana State and Larry Bird in the final.
"You have to give credit to 'Pete,'" Cleaves said. "When he is
hitting his shots, we just get out of the way."
Peterson scored 20 points just two days after attending his
grandmother's funeral. He said Friday that she would have the best
seat at the RCA Dome, and he put on quite a show in her honor.
"It will be real special for us taking court one more time,"
Peterson said. "Hopefully, we will make something happen."
The Badgers shot only 35 percent (15-of-43) and had just one
player in double figures, Roy Boone with 18 points. Most of those
came in the final minutes when the outcome was already decided.
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Bennett's future |
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INDIANAPOLIS -- Dick Bennett promised he would stay five years and
rebuild Wisconsin. He did and he has -- now he needs to decide if he wants to
keep going at his agonizing and mentally exhausting pace.
"I need to step away and evaluate everything," said Bennett, who
has been a head coach for 24 years in college, 35 overall. "We spent so much
time rebuilding and when you do that you experience a lot of losses."
Bennett took the Badgers to the Final Four for the first time since
1941, the second appearance in school history. He has 23 wins over top-25
programs and is the first coach in school history to guide the Badgers to
back-to-back 20-win seasons.
Bennett hasn't signed a new contract, but Wisconsin athletics
director Pat Richter is expected to discuss the matter with him in the
coming weeks. He has discouraged talks prior to this season. The feeling
among those close to Bennett is that he will return, especially with the
Badgers losing only two seniors.
"I just want to step away for a while," Bennett said. "I hope
that's not misinterpreted. I just want to look at it during a time when it's
not as emotional as now."
-- Andy Katz, ESPN.com |
A week ago, Wisconsin coach Dick Bennett said his team had not
figured out a way to score against Michigan State. The Badgers
still haven't and were held to the lowest point total of any Final
Four team since the shot clock was introduced in 1986.
Jon Bryant, the MVP of the West Regional after averaging 16.8
points and shooting 50 percent from the field, was held to two
points on 1-of-5 shooting by the Spartans, who made it difficult
for him to even get off a shot -- much less make it.
"We just didn't get it done," Bennett said. "They're better
than us, and we knew that."
The Badgers, one of two No. 8 seeds at Indy, finished a
remarkable run after getting into the tournament from the bubble.
They knocked out top-seeded Arizona in the second round of the West
Regional, then made it to Indy by defeating Purdue in another All-Big Ten matchup.
But Wisconsin, the sixth-place team in the Big Ten, wasn't quick
enough or athletic enough to handle the Spartans. Michigan State
won both regular-season meetings and defeated the Badgers again in
the conference tournament.
Michigan State is capable of playing defense with the stingiest
of teams, and it simply had too many offensive weapons for the
Badgers, who lost the four games between the teams by an average of
nearly 11 points.
"We were OK at halftime, but Peterson got it going and we just never finished," Bennett said. "I thanked (the players) for this great run and apologized to them for all the goofy things I say to them."
Michigan State dominated the boards, outrebounding Wisconsin
42-20 in a virtual replay of their first meeting this season. That
choked off one of the Badgers' prime objectives for creating
offensive chances.
The Spartans had 14 offensive rebounds and limited Wisconsin to
only two. Andre Hutson led with 10 rebounds, Charlie Bell had
eight, Peterson and A.J. Granger seven apiece.
Michigan State shot 35 percent (16-of-46) as well and overcame a
subpar game by Cleaves. He scored 11 points -- but nine of those
came on free throws. He was 1-of-7 shooting.
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Michigan State NCAA Team Report
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 Tom Izzo says his team had to get more physical.
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Tom Izzo says Charlie Bell is the unsung hero for Michigan State.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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