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Tampa subregional
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 24, 2003
It had the potential to be the best game of the Tampa subregion, a clash of styles between two young teams that won their first round games with ease with a couple of announcers -- play-by-play Ian Eagle and analyst Jim Spanarkel -- who have been surprisingly fresh for CBS.
Michigan State ruined all that.
The Spartans were so dominant, Sunday night's telecast suffered, especially in the second half. Eagle and Spanarkel weren't as sharp as they have been, neither were the Gators, and the temptation to switch to ABC to watch the Oscars grew to unbearable levels.
Overall, a C+
NEXT TIME, LEAVE US ALONE: Boy, good thing CBS moved the games in Tampa to give the country an extra broadcast. Viewers were treated to a pair of ugly blowouts Sunday night.
MISSED STORY: It's amazing that James Roberson's story angle -- a Flint, Mich., native who shunned the Spartans by choosing Florida -- never reared its head. It would be easy enough to excuse Spanarkel and Eagle for the lapse, since this was just the second Florida game they've seen, but both local papers played it up. It was a storyline perfect for a good game by Roberson, or a bad one.
Roberson's cold shooting day, in a game in which you know he wanted to be the star, was at least worth a mention. Or maybe a look at how fellow freshman Maurice Ager and best friend Kelvin Torbert outplayed him.
Or maybe a comparison between how he and Paul Davis, Michigan's Mr. Basketball, played, since Roberson claims Davis only won his award because he left the state.
FUNNY LINE: Spanarkel noted that Matt Bonner was checking back in, prompting Eagle to remark: "Which is trouble for a play-by-play guy because he looks just like (Michigan State's Adam) Ballinger."
Bonner and Ballinger could have switched jerseys at halftime and no one would have noticed.
BEST SHOT: As the players walked off the court at halftime, cameras showed Tom Izzo sternly motioning to Paul Davis, then putting his arm around his waist and leading him off the court, no doubt reminding him to rebound after David Lee's last-second tip in.
STAT SHEET: CBS did a good job bringing viewers the key stats, including Izzo's 17-4 record in the NCAA Tournament and 4-0 record in the second round, Michigan State's huge advantage in bench points (18-2 at one point and 24-7 total) and the Spartans 16-7 shot advantage 12 minutes into the second half.
TELL US: Eagle noted that "it appears that Florida has been stuck on 31 points for quite some time."
How long? Someone tell us.
CBS eventually did, but not soon enough.
HELPING HAND ... NOT: Eagle and Spanarkel tried their best to rally the Gators, trying the old announcers' trick of taking a stab at the next thing to happen (which by the way, Spanarkel was very good at this weekend).
On one trip downcourt in the second, Eagle said Florida was looking for someone to spark them, "maybe the senior Bonner," who traveled before Eagle finished his sentence.
A few moments later, Spanarkel said "somebody has to get a hot hand." A second later, a Gator pass went sailing out of bounds.
The Spartans were lucky. Spanarkel said they couldn't keep shooting 75 percent early on, and they responded with a Davis dunk and an Ager 3-pointer.
ON THE MONEY: Spanarkel told viewers to keep an eye on Florida's free-throw attempts, as it would be a factor in the outcome.
It was. Michigan State rarely let the Gators get close enough to the basket to draw fouls with outstanding perimeter defense.