Then again, the jack-em-up style is what got Florida all the way to the national-championship game, so the Gators had to live or die with the system.

On the perimeter and running the team, freshman guard Brett Nelson showed he probably should have had a heavier hand in running the Gators this season. The low-post game was effective, but Florida just ran into the wrong team at the wrong time.

Why they lost

Florida took the fun out of its fun-n-gun offense by sinking only six of its 18 3-point attempts. Not only could the Gators have used some of those points, but they would have ignited more of its pressing defensive attack -- which started working when it was too late.

Inside the game

It's a young career, to be sure. But Florida sophomore guard Teddy Dupay picked a bad time to register his worst game as a Gator. He missed all four of his shots, had no rebounds and gave out one assist. Two other times, both against Arkansas, he went scoreless, but he had three assists in one and three boards in the other. Monday, he did none of the above.

Key moment

Mike Miller hit a couple of free throws to get the Gators within 65-56 with 8:37 left, but Morris Peterson answered three seconds later with a 22-foot shot that gave Michigan State a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

What worked

Down low, Florida worked Michigan State. Although part of that was due to the way the Spartans extended their zone to harass the Gators outside shooting, Andre Hutson had only one rebound for the Spartans, while Brent Wright (10 rebounds, 13 points) and Udonis Haslem (27 points) had their way in the paint.

What didn't work

The press. Contrary to what the Florida staff had figured, the second pass went to Cleaves, who then found himself in the middle of the court with free reign to drive or dish. The Gators' braintrust had figured the initial inbounds pass would go to Cleaves.

Decisions, decisions

Billy Donovan didn't choose to hit Michigan State with a 2-3 zone defense until the end of the first half, with about three minutes remaining. Charlie Bell immediately burned it for a 3-point shot, but the Gators should have gone to that defense earlier to slow down the Spartans.

Grading the Gators

Backcourt
The kid from West Virginia, Brett Nelson, showed some toughness and desire. He hit four of his 10 shots, and half of his 3-pointers, while mixing it up for four rebounds and three assists. The rest were DOA, shooting 2-for-11.
Grade: D

Frontcourt
Sophomore center Udonis Haslem played his best game of the season, hitting 10 of 12 shots for 27 points, and Brent Wright handled the rest of the slop under the rim, getting 13 points and 10 boards. Donnell Harvey pushed his way to nine points and six rebounds.
Grade: A-

Bench
The Gators outscored the Spartans reserves, but their marksmanship was off. Matt Bonner went down with a knee injury, but games don't come down to his availability. By Florida standards, it was a so-so effort by the secondary players, which did not help the cause.
Grade: C

Staff
Donovan joked Sunday about not pressing the Spartans. What if ... ? That should have been the call, since no team in the nation should run with Michigan State and try to press them. Well, OK, the Lakers could. Donovan waited until the end of the game to zone Duke, and it worked. He waited until the end of the first half to zone MSU, and it didn't work. But it was too late. Although the press and running game is what got the Gators to Indianapolis, they should have recognized sooner that it wasn't effective.
Grade: C-