Michigan State University
Florida
National Title Rematch Goes To Michigan State
12/6/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 6, 2000
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By LARRY LAGE
AP Sports Writer
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Some of the faces have changed, but the result remained the same.
Second-ranked Michigan State beat No. 8 Florida 99-83 Wednesday night in a rematch of the national championship game.
Freshmen Zach Randolph scored 27 points and grabbed seven rebounds while Marcus Taylor had 15 points and seven assists. Charlie Bell added 20 points.
Michigan State (6-0) extended the nation's longest winning streak to 17 games and earned its 34th consecutive victory at the Breslin Center, which trails only Utah's run of 54 wins in a row at home.
The Spartans beat Florida 89-76 in the title game in Indianapolis. Both teams lost two star players to the NBA draft, but clearly returned plenty of talent to be considered top-10 teams.
Florida (3-1) led for the first five minutes of the game, but Michigan State was in control for the rest of the game. The Gators trailed by double digits for the almost the final eight minutes of the game.
Brent Wright led the Gators with 18 points. Teddy Dupay returned from a one-game suspension to score 17 while being booed throughout the game. In the title game, Dupay got tangled up with Mateen Cleaves, sidelining the Spartans star for several minutes with a sprained ankle.
Matt Bonner added 17 points for Florida. Udonis Haslem, who scored 27 points in the national championship game, fouled out with 12:35 left. Haslem scored just 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting.
After Michigan State had little trouble with Florida's press in the first half, the Gators chose not to press until they trailed by double digits with eight minutes to go.
Florida got off to a good start. It led by as much as six and did not trail until Bell made a 3-pointer five minutes into the game to give Michigan State a 13-12 lead.
The Gators' final lead was 16-15 at the 13:19 mark.
Michigan State led 48-40 at halftime.
Bonner scored the first five points of the second half to cut Florida's deficit to three, but they wouldn't get closer.
Michigan State then took command of the game with 12-4 run, which gave them a 60-49 lead.
Each time the Gators came within a couple of baskets of Michigan State, it would find a different offensive option to maintain the lead. Often, it was one of Michigan State's freshmen who scored critical baskets.
The game marked the 16th time national finalists have met the following season. The defending national champions are 11-5 in such games.
The Spartans and Gators played on the same court as they did at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis last April. Michigan State purchased the floor after their championship victory and gave it a new paint job.
