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Sports Watch

By Bill Kwon

Thursday, March 30, 2000

Parity crashes
Final Four’s
big dance

THIS is an NCAA Final Four that only the NFL and its late commissioner, Pete Rozelle, could love.

In a word: parity.

In two words: parity central.

With three regional top seeds - Arizona, Stanford and Duke - getting knocked off, only Michigan State came out of the Midwest unscathed.

Florida got to Indianapolis instead of Duke, Wisconsin instead of Arizona and North Carolina instead of Stanford.

So much for all of the office pools around the country.

Instead, we have Florida-North Carolina and Michigan State-Wisconsin in the Final Four. Four teams with a combined total of 40 losses.

In keeping with the theme of parity in 2000, who else should be playing for the national championship Monday than Wisconsin and North Carolina? Two teams with 22-13 records.

"That would be my sentimental choices," said UH men's basketball coach Riley Wallace, who's on his way to attend his 29th straight Final Four.

But don't worry, it'll never happen, folks.

It'll be Michigan State and Florida with reputable 30-7 and 28-7 records, respectively.

You've heard coaches claiming that it's hard to beat a team three times in one season? Well, maybe not Fresno State's Jerry Tarkanian, whose Bulldogs beat Elite Eight Tulsa three times.

But how's about four times in one season?

Figure on that happening when Michigan State advances to the title game by beating Wisconsin. The Spartans have owned the Badgers this season, winning 61-44, 59-54 and 55-46.

ON the way to their second straight Final Four, Michigan State also defeated North Carolina in the only other match-up among the four finalists this season,

And look for the Gators to end the Tar Heels' postseason fun run in the other semifinal.

So, who'll win the Really Big One?

I'm going with the Spartans, the office pool's last survivor, because of their experience.

Besides, you've got to root for Mateen Cleaves, who decided to return for one more chance to get that the NCAA championship ring instead of leaving early for the NBA draft.

You'd like to think that should count for something.

"Those kids stayed in school, so it wouldn't be bad if they won," Wallace said.

Maybe that would provide an incentive for the underclassmen starters on the young Gators' team.

"They're young. They can be back and win it next year," Wallace said.

But Florida's thinking must be, "Why wait 'til next year?"

It would be quite a story if the Gators can win the national championship in basketball, , something which their football team couldn't do this season.

THE real underdog of the litter is Wisconsin, which is making its first Final Four appearance even before Pearl Harbor.

The Badgers have "lost ugly" a lot of times this season, according to their coach, Dick Bennett. They started the Big Ten 1-4, after also losing to South Florida and Northern Illinois.

The scary thing, though, is that the last and only time they made it this far, the Badgers won the national title.

And if Wisconsin should ever pull it off by winning the whole thing, it'll make every Badger fan forget about football and also ask, "Ron, who?"

"They're the underdogs. I'd like to see Wisconsin win it. I'd like to see some different team do it," Wallace said. "It's been so long for them. I was born the year they last won."

Boy, that really was a long time ago.