Coach K finally wins his 5th national title!
Following the events of last Saturday’s upset of the century where Wisconsin defeated Kentucky in the final four to end their perfect season; the Badgers continued their campaign as the ONE in 38-and-1. Unfortunately they would come across a team who was just hungrier down the stretch Monday night. With all eyes on the Lucas Oil Stadium for the final game of the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, both finalists would open the game playing the cat-and-mouse game on a series of early turnovers and foul trouble for Duke.
While both teams needed to shake loose from early jitters on the 2nd largest stage in all of college sports, the first half would surprisingly see Duke tied before intermission. With Jahlil Okafor getting worked really bad by Frank Kaminsky, the Blue Devils had to look down their bench to provide help to Tyus Thomas.
Yessssiiiirrrrr!!!! Way to go DUKE!!!!!!!!
— Kyrie Irving (@KyrieIrving) April 7, 2015
In the 2nd half, freshman Grayson Allen would have the biggest contributions from a player in arguably the history of Coach K’s career on the sidelines – scoring 10 huge points in crunch time. Midway through the 2nd half, Duke was down by 9 points, with fans and the bench skeptical of a comeback.
Bronson Koenig came out gunning, shooting lights out in the early stages, but Tyus Jones would put the entire team on his back, scoring 19 of Duke’s 37 points in the 2nd half. Okafor would finally put his imprint on the game (and potential bid for a no. 1 draft pick clinch) with two crucial buckets down the stretch. With only 1:22 left in the game, the Blue Devils had finally completed their run from being nine to eight up, in a 17 point swing.
The Badgers would scare their opponents netting a few clutch shots, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Coach K from finally winning his 5th ever NCAA Division I Tournament Championship. While retirement has been rumored in recent years as Mike Krzyzewski approaches 70, he’s not thinking about the future for the time being.
FINAL: DUKE 68 | WIS 63