The Gators were the SEC regular season champions, winning a share of the title with a 12–4 conference record. They earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament where they advanced to the Final Four and then made the school's first ever appearance in the NCAA championship game where they lost to Michigan State.
The Spartans finished the regular season 13–3 to win a share of the Big Ten regular season championship for the third consecutive year. They also won the Big Ten Tournament championship for the second consecutive year. As a result of their strong finish in the regular season, the Spartans were awarded the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament. From there, the Spartans cruised to their third consecutive Sweet Sixteen with wins over Valparaiso, and Utah. MSU continued their National Championship push by reaching their second consecutive Final Four with wins over Syracuse and Iowa State. MSU won every game by double digits despite playing the best possible seed in each round. In their Final Four matchup, Michigan State faced off against Big Ten foe, Wisconsin, beating them in a close game, 53–41.
Round
Opponent
Score
First Round
No. 16 Valparaiso
65–38
Second Round
No. 8 Utah
73–61
Sweet Sixteen
No. 4 Syracuse
75–58
Elite Eight
No. 2 Iowa State
75–64
Final Four
No. 8 Wisconsin
53–41
Championship
No. 5 Florida
89–76
Game summary
Michigan State senior Mateen Cleaves limped his way to the Most Outstanding Player of the 2000 NCAA Tournament. Cleaves sprained his ankle with 16:18 to play in the second half, and this was after Florida had trimmed Michigan State's double digit halftime lead to 50–44. Cleaves returned about four minutes later, and immediately helped lead the Spartans on a 16–6 run to put the game out of reach. The lone top-seed remaining would bring order to a tournament filled with upsets as they salted away the victory for the school's second National Championship. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo earned his first title in his second straight final four appearance. Morris Peterson led the Spartans with 21 points. As of 2019, Michigan State's 2000 team is the last Big Ten Conference team to win a National Championship.
