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Columnist Dean Juipe: NCAA Tournament Ends with a Lament

Drama and suspense can't be ordered up as if on command.

They may be inherently built into an event, yet that doesn't mean they'll ever really surface.

Both seemed to be in short supply not only Monday night in Indianapolis, but throughout this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament. Despite an electric atmosphere inside the RCA Dome for the final between Michigan State and Florida, the voltage tapered as the evening went on and as it became apparent MSU was clearly the superior squad.

The ease with which the Spartans covered the four-point spread may have been the most memorable aspect of a game that Florida never led, and, arguably, might not win if it were replayed a dozen times.

Taking nothing from the Gators, who finished 29-8 and shared the SEC championship despite having but one senior, their 89-76 loss to the Spartans only reinforced the belief that the injury to Kenyon Martin was the most influential factor in the entire tournament, if not the season.

Martin, the best player on what had been the best team, was lost to then - No. 1 Cincinnati March 9 in a conference tournament game with Saint Louis. Had Martin not broken a leg and remained healthy and had Cincinnati reached the Final Four and, perhaps, the championship game, the excitement the tournament lacked would have been there in abundance.

A Cincinnati vs. Michigan State final may not have forced Lazarus to reprieve his rise from the grave, but it would have ensured the type of close game the final traditionally merits.

As it was, MSU dominated and had some in the big crowd leaving early. For the fellow who reportedly met the Indianapolis scalper's last-minute demand of $7,400 for a pair of court-side tickets to the Final Four, it was not money well spent.

Aided by their three fellow No. 1 seeds departing the tournament prematurely, Michigan State takes a crown that only seemed to have an adjustable headband. While any number of possible suitors took their turns eyeing the prize, in retrospect it's as if it was Michigan State's all along.

It certainly was after Cincinnati, and then Arizona, Duke and Stanford went down.

Florida, a No. 5 seed from the East, tantalized with a mixture of speed, depth and youth, yet the fact is the Gators were outrun in the final and their long bench became tangled in shrink wrap. They looked exactly like their Sagarin ranking: The 10th best team in the country.

Michigan State, 32-7 and No. 4 in the Sagarins, is a worthy champion without a hint of disgrace. It played the cards as they were dealt and met every challenge in March and April, sometimes needing a rally and sometimes winning ugly as the TV people like to say.

The Spartans were experienced, committed and, maybe most of all, adaptable. The fact that they lost to Wright State during the regular season isn't easily explained, but they were a quality, veteran team and the best of the rest after Martin went down.

Aside from its value as conjecture, what might have been isn't relevant. Michigan State won, fair and square.

But fate plays a role anytime a championship is bestowed, and fortune, after looking askance at Cincinnati, redirected its aim the Spartans' way.

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