INDIANAPOLIS – With the national spotlight shining so brightly on Kentucky and John Calipari’s NBA-bound youngsters, there were times this season that Duke’s developing freshmen were not getting the credit they deserved.
Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s kids have grown up. They were men Monday night at Lucas Oil Stadium, rallying from a nine-point deficit with 13 minutes remaining to defeat Wisconsin 68-63 and lift Coach K to his fifth career NCAA championship. That moves him past legendary Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp for sole possession of second place in NCAA history.
Only UCLA’s John Wooden has more with 10.
Those freshmen – Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslo, Tyus Jones and Grayson Allen – combined for 60 of Duke’s points. Jones (7 of 13 from the field, 7-for-7 from the free throw line) scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half and was named Most Outstanding Player. Allen was 5-for-8 from the field and 5-for-5 from the line and scored 16 points. It was only the fifth time this season Allen scored in double figures. He had scored 18 points in the previous five NCAA tournament games.
“We were dead in the water,” Krzyzewski said from the victory podium. “We were nine points down and Grayson put us on his back. And once he got us in striking distance, we just said, ‘Tyus, run high ball screen, and be you. That’s great coaching, I guess.”
The end result was even more amazing considering that Okafor, most likely the No. 1 pick in this summer’s NBA draft, and Winslow were in foul trouble for Duke (35-4).
“My teammates and my coaching staff, they have given me confidence and trusted me and believed in me all year,” Jones said. “There’s never been a moment when they doubted me. They trusted me to make a play and that’s the biggest thing about this team. We never want to let one another down.”
Okafor (10 points, 9 rebounds) picked up his third foul with 16:50 remainig. That’s when Wisconsin (36-4) built the lead to 48-39 with national player of the year Frank Kaminsky (21 points, 12 rebounds) and Bronson Koenig (10 points) leading the way. Okafor went back in the game and Duke used an 11-3 run to cut the Badgers’ lead to 51-50.
That’s when things seemed to turn in Wisconsin’s favor. Okafor picked up fourth foul as Kaminsky hit a twisting layup and completed a three-point play with 9:18 left. That gave Wisconsin a 54-50 lead. But Duke wasn’t into folding like freshmen on this night. The Blue Devils outscored Wisconsin by 14 points over the final 13 minutes and Okafor contributed a couple of big baskets as part of a deciding 10-0 run.
“It was fun to watch my teammates do what they do,” Okafor said. “They’ve had my back the entire season and it was no different tonight. My coaching staff was talking to me and told me to stay ready.”
The game was tied at halftime 31-31. It was the first time a natioinal championship game had been tied at halftime since 1988 when Kansas and Oklahoma played racehorse ball and were knotted at 50 at the break. But Wisconsin wasn’t playing as efficiently as it had all season or the way the Badgers executed in their historic upset of Kentucky on Saturday. The Badgers shot 38.7 percent in the first half and Sam Dekker (12 points) was off his game.
“I don’t know what it was that shot tongith but I was short at first, a few short ones and one long one,” Dekker said.
For the record, he was 6-for-15 from the field and 0-for-6 from 3-point range. The spark that he gave the Badgers during the first five tournament games was missing.
“I guess I just wasn’t in a rhythm like I had been lately,” Dekker said. “Give credit to Duke for throwing a bunch of different defenses at me. It was making it tough for me. . . . I just didn’t do enough for our team. I’m pretty disappinted in myself.”
Wisconsin’s fans, who took over the building on the final night, were left still aching for a national championship. The Badgers have won the NCAA tourney since 1941 – the longest gap for any school. And who knows when that will end now.
“It’s tough to say anything right now,” Kaminsky said. “These guys are my family and I mean that literally I don’t mean that hypothetically. I’ve never been closer to a gropup of guys in my entire life, from the coaching staff on down to every single player on this team. It’s just going to be hard to say goodbye.”
Duke outscored Wisconsin 16-6 from the free throw line, taking twice as many free throws.
“They got to the free throw line a lot,” Wisconsin’s Josh Gasser said. “We just didn’t get it done offensively. We fouled too much the second half. They were just driving it hard. You know, that’s what happened.”
There were times when it appeared Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan’s eyes were about to pop out of his head as he argued calls. He declined to say anything about the officiating when asked after the game. But when pressed, he said, “Sometimes games are played differently and you have to go with the flow.”
Duke did the better job of that. And much like Wisconsin did against Kentucky on Saturday, the Blue Devils were able to win the final minutes.
“The [championship] you’re in this moment with is alwasy the most current, you can feel it the best,” Krzyzewski said. “I haven’t loved a team any more than I’ve loved this team. We have eight guys and four of them are freshmen. For them to win 35 games and win the national title is incredible.
“They’ve been an incredible joy. When you’re already happy and you get happier, it’s pretty damn good. It’s pretty good.”
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