Duke advances to National Championship
By TYLER SMITH
ISL Editor
INDIANAPOLIS — After another exciting NCAA tournament this March, the stage was set for a very intriguing Final Four in Indianapolis. In the first National Semifinal match-up, it was a battle of powerhouse coaches. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and Michigan State’s Tom Izzo are the active leaders among coaches in Final Four appearances with 12, and seven, respectively. That in itself was enough to make for an exciting match-up between the No. 1 seed Duke Blue Devils, and No. 7 seed Michigan State Spartans. In the end, it was Coach K’s Blue Devils dominating on way to an 81-61 win at Lucas Oil Stadium. They have advanced to the National Title game for the 11th time in school history.
The Spartans got off to a huge start, leading 14-6 and connecting on their first four 3-point attempts. Over the next 12 minutes, however, Duke dominated on both ends of the court. The Blue Devils went on a 22-6 run of their own, and eventually took a 36-25 lead into the halftime break. The Blue Devils held the Spartans to just 8-of-27 from the field in the first half.
Three Duke freshmen combined for 22 points in the first half (Okafor, Winslow, Jones). The young Blue Devils had no problem stepping up to the challenge of the Final Four. Duke also got to the foul line a lot, connecting on 12-of-16 free throws. Several Michigan State players battled foul trouble in this one. At halftime, Tom Izzo voiced his displeasure to a sideline reporter, saying: “It’s very hard to play our type of game when we have to battle the whistles as well.” He wasn’t any happier with the officiating after the game, stating: “It’s drive and get fouled. You’re not allowed to touch anybody.”
Michigan State had been playing stellar defense in the second halves of games in this tournament, and were hoping for another strong effort in this game. Instead, Duke came out of the gates hot with an 18-9 run, pushing their lead to 54-34. Despite the seed differences, this type of blowout wasn’t expected. The two teams played even the rest of the way, giving Duke the 20-point victory.
Duke’s Justise Winslow led the way with 19 points, and nine rebounds. He went 9-of-11 from the foul line and was instrumental on both ends of the court. His teammate Jahlil Okafor added 18 points and six rebounds.
For the Spartans, you could argue that only three players showed up for the moment. Denzel Valentine scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead them. Travis Trice added 16 points, and Gary, Indiana native Branden Dawson scored 12 points to go along with seven rebounds. The rest of the team only combined to make 4-of-19 from the field.
Coming into this game, the Blue Devils were shooting exactly 50% from the field in this tournament. They stayed right on pace, making 26-of-50 against Michigan State (52%).
Coach Krzyzewski is on his way to a ninth NCAA championship game: “Our kids played lights out basketball for the last 36 minutes,” Krzyzewski said. “We beat a heck of a team, a championship team, and Tom’s program.”
Michigan State’s season came to an end with a 27-12 record. The Blue Devils will play for another National Title on Monday night at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Follow Tyler on Twitter: @TylerSmith_ISL
