Making of The Madness

1. ANOTHER MAGIC MOMENT

Michigan State. Tough, street-smart, dynamic point guard without much of a jump shot leads team to national title. Hey, it’s 1979 all over again. Twenty-one years after Magic Johnson led the Spartans to the title, Mateen Cleaves steers his team through rough tournament waters to claim another championship for Michigan State.

2. BUTLER ALMOST DID IT

You could have written Florida’s tournament story on a match book if not for Mike Miller’s rim-crawling, last-second shot to beat Butler in the first round, 69-68. Miller made his shot after Butler’s LaVall Jordan, an 83% free throw shooter, missed two foul shots with 8.1 seconds left. The kicker? When the Gators arrived in Indianapolis, they practiced at Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse.

3. BADGER TO THE BONE

Wisconsin’s improbable four-game run to the Final Four was a masterpiece of defense and coaching fundamentals. It proved that teams with lesser talent can aspire to noble things when teamwork and hard work triumph over individual play.

Wisconsin’s 53-41 loss to Michigan State in the national semifinals?

That was uuuuuuuuugly.

4. CUTTING TO CAPERS

David Messiah Capers of St. Bonaventure wins this year’s bravery-under-fire award. Needing to make three free throws to force overtime against Kentucky in the first round, Capers, a 56% foul shooter, calmly made all three shots. Kentucky Coach Tubby Smith called time out after Caper’s first and second attempts. Kentucky prevailed in double overtime, 85-80, but the lasting memory will be of Capers at the line with a game on the line.

5. LET IT SHINE

Seton Hall became the first team since Louisville in 1980 to win consecutive overtime games in the tournament. The Pirates beat Oregon in the first game when guard Shaheen Holloway drove the length of the court for a layup. In the second round, Seton Hall stunned No. 2-seeded Temple even after Holloway had been lost because of an ankle injury early in the game. Ty Shine, his replacement, scored 26 points against a team many had thought would win the national title.

6. RECURRING KNIGHTMARE

Indiana’s humiliating 20-point loss to Pepperdine in the East Regional’s first round in the wake of more accusations against Bob Knight may be remembered as a turning point in the embattled career of the legendary Hoosier coach. Success on the court has long buffered Knight’s tough-guy treatment of players, but the Pepperdine loss exposed the greater decline of the Indiana program. Since 1997, Knight’s Hoosiers are 21-22 in games after Feb. 1.

7. MAKING IT A CLIFF-HANGER

A great gesture nearly turned disastrous for Auburn Coach Cliff Ellis in a first-round game against Creighton. With 12.7 seconds left and his team leading by nine points, Ellis put Jimbo Tolbert, his team manager, into the game. Improbably, Creighton rallied and missed a three-point shot at the buzzer that would have tied the score.

8. GOING GONZO AGAIN

‘Zags for the memories. They shocked the tournament in 1999 by sweeping Minnesota, Stanford and Florida before losing to Connecticut. So why should this year have been a surprise? Gonzaga, much more a solid program than a novelty act, bullied past Louisville in the first round, then knocked off No. 2-seeded St. John’s to advance to another Sweet 16. Same time next year, fellas?

9. A TURN DE FORCE

The 59-point turnaround, otherwise known as the latest UCLA head scratcher. In a five-day span, Steve Lavin’s Bruins had a 35-point win over Maryland, then suffered a 24-point loss to Iowa State. The high-low swing summed up UCLA’s season in a bombshell: You never knew which team was going to show up on a given night. And you may not know again next season.

10. EUSTACHY-ATING EXPERIENCE

Larry Eustachy, you’re losing a tough game to Michigan State in the Midwest Regional finals. Any comments?

“&*&(&(*&^%$$$$$$!!!!”

Eustachy gets this year’s NCAA tournament “Meltdown Award.” With Final Four dreams slipping away, the Iowa State coach blew a gasket and was charged with two technical fouls in the closing seconds of a hard-fought 75-64 loss. Haven’t seen a guy so incensed since George Brett stormed the field in the pine-tar game.

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Through Monday’s Game

SINGLE-GAME SCORING

31--Richie Frahm, Gonzaga vs. Louisville, first round

30--Desmond Mason, Oklahoma St. vs. Hofstra, first round

28--Joseph Forte, North Carolina vs. Tulsa, regional final

28--Brendan Haywood, North Carolina vs. Missouri, first round

28--Tayshaun Prince, Kentucky vs. St. Bonaventure, first round

28--Reed Rawlings, Samford vs. Syracuse, first round

27--Cory Bradford, Illinois vs. Florida, second round

27--Marcus Fizer, Iowa St. vs. Central Conn. St., first round

27--Udonis Haslem, Florida vs. Michigan St., championship

27--Shaheen Holloway, Seton Hall vs. Oregon, first round

27--Mark Karcher, Temple vs. Seton Hall, second round

SINGLE-GAME REBOUNDING

18--Caswell Cyrus, St. Bonaventure vs. Kentucky, first round

16--Eric Coley, Tulsa vs. Cincinnati, second round

15--Brendan Haywood, North Carolina vs. Missouri, first round

15--Bobby Simmons, DePaul vs. Kansas, first round

14--Eric Coley, Tulsa vs. Nevada Las Vegas, first round

14--Andy Kowske, Wisconsin vs. Fresno St., first round

14--Darius Lane, Seton Hall vs. Temple, second round

SINGLE-GAME ASSISTS

16--Earl Watson, UCLA vs. Maryland, second round

15--Pepe Sanchez, Temple vs. Lafayette, first round

14--Tezale Archie, Pepperdine vs. Okla. St., second round

12--Doug Gottlieb, Okla. St. vs. Seton Hall, regional semifinals

12--Earl Watson, UCLA vs. Ball St., first round

11--Tezale Archie, Pepperdine vs. Indiana, first round

11--Jamaal Tinsley, Iowa St. vs. UCLA, regional semifinals

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Mateen Cleaves--x Michigan State

Morris Peterson Michigan State

Udonis Haslem Florida

A.J. Granger Michigan State

Charlie Bell Michigan State

x--Final Four most outstanding player

CHAMPIONS BY STATE

15--California: Stanford, 1942; San Francisco, 1955-56; California, 1959; UCLA, 1964-65, 1967-73, 1975, 1995.

9--Kentucky: Kentucky, 1948-49, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998; Louisville, 1980, 1986.

7--North Carolina: North Carolina, 1957, 1982, 1993; North Carolina State, 1974, 1983; Duke, 1991-92.

5--Indiana: Indiana, 1940, 1953, 1976, 1981, 1987.

3--Ohio: Ohio State, 1960; Cincinnati, 1961-62.

3--Michigan: Michigan State, 1979 and 2000; Michigan, 1989.

2--Kansas: Kansas, 1952, 1988.

2--Oklahoma: Oklahoma A&M; (Oklahoma State), 1945-46.

2--Pennsylvania: La Salle, 1954; Villanova, 1985.

2--Wisconsin: Wisconsin, 1941; Marquette, 1977.

1--Arizona: Arizona, 1997; Arkansas: Arkansas, 1994; Connecticut: Connecticut, 1999; Illinois: Loyola, 1963; Massachusetts: Holy Cross, 1947; Nevada: Nevada Las Vegas, 1990; New York: City College of New York, 1950; Oregon: Oregon, 1939; Texas: Texas Western (Texas El Paso), 1966; Utah: Utah, 1944; Washington, D.C.: Georgetown, 1984; Wyoming: Wyoming, 1943.