By Leonard Shapiro
Wednesday, April 3, 2002; Page D09

For Maryland's basketball team Monday night, there were far too many frazzling moments, several shining moments and one defining moment, all perfectly captured by CBS cameras and commentators.

The defining moment occurred in the seconds after the horn signaled the end of a sloppy 64-52 victory over Indiana and the Terrapins' first national championship. There were senior stalwarts Juan Dixon and Lonny Baxter flopping on the floor in an emotional embrace that may well be the signature image of Maryland's magnificent season.

All that was missing in The Hug was Byron Mouton, the third senior on the team and a major force in this triumph, even if he didn't shoot out the lights. The pictures of Mouton cutting the net, getting down off the ladder and then raising the string heavenward in memory of a brother murdered earlier in the season also provided another lasting goose-bump moment.

Once again, CBS played it totally straight, rarely getting in the way of a maddening game for all concerned. Gary Williams wasn't the only one in the Georgia Dome -- or watching on television -- unable to figure out why his almost always poised and polished team seemed to be undergoing a collective nervous breakdown.

Certainly, the game announcers sensed the trend early on, when play-by-play man Jim Nantz said at the first break, "nerves all over the place are overly exposed." It was a trend that built throughout the evening, finally reaching the point where analyst Billy Packer said in some frustration, "this is one of the poorest Final Four games I've seen in a long time."

Packer, as always, was on the mark with many of his observations, right from the start. In his Packer Points graphic before the opening tip, he began with "Juan-derful matchup" -- the duel between Maryland's Juan Dixon and Indiana's Dane Fife, the gritty Hoosier defender who would be guarding him.

That's exactly how it unfolded, with Dixon constantly shadowed and often denied the ball. Yet, when it mattered most, Dixon hit a three-pointer and an off-balance step-back jump shot to help seal the deal and earn himself the well-deserved Most Outstanding Player award.

Packer said at the start that regional MVP Lonny Baxter had to play far better than in his foul-plagued semifinal performance Saturday night against Kansas. Baxter must have been listening, because he also was a major force in the end -- despite an early propensity to put up wild shots and fumble the ball. He finished with a season-high 14 rebounds and made several critical baskets and free throws in the final five minutes.

Packer also said the Hoosiers had to play the perfect game to prevail. For a brief second-half stretch, Indiana appeared to be paying attention when they took the lead for a span of 8 seconds with a stirring comeback.

"You can see Indiana gaining confidence with every possession," Packer properly said, just before Maryland started playing its own perfect section of the game, going on a 22-5 run that sealed the deal.

As usual, Packer never pulled his punches, and often was prescient in predicting what both coaches were about to do in terms of timeouts, substitution and strategy. He also was tough on Maryland point guard Steve Blake, a brilliant performer all year who struggled in the semifinal and final game.

"He's trying to make home run passes in games that don't require it," Packer said. At one point, after yet another turnover by Blake, he said, "I think Gary Williams will take Blake out of the game." Williams did exactly that, and a few plays later, sent him back out on the court.

"Blake comes right back in," Packer said. "If he [Williams] keeps him out, it sends the message 'I've given up on you.' Nice piece of coaching."

All in all, it was a nice piece of broadcasting by both Packer and Nantz. Lots of information, especially from Nantz, who always manages to weave illuminating anecdotal information about the players and coaches into his superb play-by-play. From Packer, it was typical dead-on analysis without any histrionics, a welcome relief from so many screechers and screamers in his profession.

A few other Final Four observations: Jess Atkinson did a commendable job in his hour-long pregame show on Channel 9, even if he ran out of time and was unable to air a piece on Maryland broadcaster Johnny Holliday.

Atkinson's show did us all a favor, preempting the "Baby Bob" sitcom on the network, and a feature on Mouton also was nicely done. The same could not be said for Dick Enberg's sappy essay on college coaches at halftime, especially when it included clips of graceless Bob Knight and Bob Huggins in a misguided piece meant to deify the profession.

Ratings Game: CBS's ratings for college basketball's championship game fell 3.8 percent from the previous year. The telecast was watched in 15.0 percent of U.S. homes with televisions. Last year's championship game, in which Duke beat Arizona, was seen in 15.6 percent of U.S. homes with TVs, according to Nielsen Media Research Inc.

Overall, about 24 million Americans watched the game on television, Nielsen said.