Sports: Spartans "Threepeat" with Dramatic Finale

             MSU’s third Big Ten championship, and second straight tournament crown, solidify Tom Izzo’s blossoming basketball program. It lasted only seconds, but it captured the quintessence of Tom Izzo’s rising program at MSU. His teary sideline embrace with Mateen Cleaves during the season’s finale against Michigan reflected all the human effort that was invested into the building of an era—one that was not yet finished. A few minutes later, the Spartans clinched their third straight Big Ten title by routing the Wolverines 114-63—MSU’s biggest margin and offensive output ever in Big Ten competition. No one left Breslin Center as Spartan emotions poured out during the postgame celebration. It was, truly, as good as it gets.

             The next week, MSU mopped up on Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois to win its second straight Big Ten Tournament Championship in Chicago. Izzo—or the “Wizard of Iz,” as headlined in a mock movie poster—has built an enviable program. He made his Yooper work ethic pay off in the recruitment of great team players anchored by the “Flintsones,” a contingent that won three more Big Ten titles than did the Fab Five.

             It was a rocky road paved with tough love, but the tears shed by MSU’s All American captain reflected a dream come true for him, the Flintsones, the Ohio Players, his teammates and the coaches. “They left footprints in the sand,” says a beaming Izzo.

             For this team, individual stats are merely “yabba dabba” appendices to championships. But Mateen set two Big Ten records in the Michigan finale that had meaning. His 20 assists, and his 769 career assists, both reflected “team” play. In that game, MSU notched 36 assists, compared to Michigan’s 23 baskets, dominated the boards with 43 caroms, and won the so-called “effort” stats—steals, tips, etc. Even MSU’s record 16 treys reflected a team effort—everyone wanted to help Mateen get the records he deserved. Ultimately, Izzo is about team. And Mateen, who delayed an NBA opportunity to return for his senior year, is the consummate team leader.

             The 1999-2000 season did not begin auspiciously. Just before its brutal pre-conference schedule, Cleaves suffered a stress fracture in his right foot and would be out for two months, prompting Dick Vitale to drop MSU from 1st to 17th in his pre-season list. The Cleaveless Spartans performed with guts against the likes of Texas, North Carolina, Kansas, Arizona and Kentucky—all ranked teams. MSU beat UNC 86-76 in Chappel Hill in the inaugural ACC/Big Ten Challenge, as Morris Peterson exploded for 31 points in handing the Tar Heels their first home loss since 1928. MSU also beat Kansas 66-54 in the “Great Eight” tournament in Chicago.

             Amid a grueling nine games in 20 days covering 8,650 miles from Puerto Rico to Tucson, the Cleaveless Spartans suffered losses to highly-ranked Kentucky and Arizona. The Spartans also won its own Coca Cola Spartan Classic but stumbled inexplicably 49-53 at Wright State.

              Cleaves returned, somewhat tentatively, on Jan. 5 and helped MSU beat Penn State 76-63 in the Big Ten opener. After beating Iowa and squeaking by Indiana in overtime, MSU met a buzzsaw in Columbus and lost 78-67 to end its Big Ten win streak of 21 games. Freshman phenom Jason Richardson began his mysterious bout with upper body pains. It was a wake-up call. The Spartans regrouped and refocused.

              In the next five games, culminating with an 85-66 destruction of defending national champions UConn, MSU won by margins of 24, 30, 25, 20 and 19—along with an incredible rebounding margin of more than 20 per game. MSU was beginning to boast the “champ” look of Muhammad Ali, a special guest at the UConn game.

             Then began a tough stretch run. MSU lost two tough ones at Purdue and Indiana, but in between outwrestled Wisconsin and won its rematch with No. 6 Ohio State—the eventual Big Ten co-champs.

             MSU won 83-72, with the Flintstones accounting for 73 points. Peterson's monster dunk against the nation’s top rejector, Ken Johnson, made every highlight show. After beating Penn State, MSU lost a nail-biter at Indiana on a fluke play, then mopped up with Minnesota and Michigan for a 13-3 league record.

             Going into the Big Ten tourney in Chicago, Vitale, Jay Bilas and other analysts again picked MSU as his favorite to win the NCAA.