t became clear 10 minutes into the first half of last night's NCAA championship that Florida could dominate Michigan State inside. What also became clear was that Florida's heralded press had failed to rattle Spartans point guard Mateen Cleaves.
The CBS analysts were all over the X's and O's and tried to put into words Michigan State's effort.
In the end, Clark Kellog said it was a ''matter of heart and determination.''
No one symbolized that more than Cleaves. He returned for his senior year and gutted out a performance in the championship game that saw him overcome a sprained ankle in the second half. ''He has returned the magic to Michigan State,'' said Jim Nantz, after the Spartans' 89-76 victory.
The not-so-subtle refernce was to Earvin Johnson, who brought a title to Michigan State in 1979.
Armen Keteyian reported in the first half that Johnson met privately with Cleaves before the game and told him to ''leave it all on the floor.''
Cleaves did. ''He has been orchestrating this game like a maestro,'' said analyst Billy Packer, who was not exaggerating. Florida's press had forced 18 first-half turnovers in the tournament. Michigan State went 12 minutes before it committed one.
More troubling for Florida was its inability to take advantage of its strength down low. Udonis Haslem and Donnell Harvey appeared to be able to score at will inside, but they and other Florida big men dropped passes, missed layups, and were unable to score at crunch time.
Greg Gumbel pointed out probably the most important statistic. No team has ever come back to win after being down by 11 points at halftime.
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