What most of the country thought would be a hotly contested college basketball game turned into a classic route by the Duke Blue Devils.
Head coach Mike Krzyzewski and Duke blew out Tom Izzo and his Michigan State Spartans by the final of 81-61 in Indianapolis Saturday night, via Associated Press. Aside from a sluggish start, Duke controlled the entire game.
''After the first four minutes, we were a different team. We played great basketball tonight, especially on the defensive end,'' Krzyzewski said. ''I'm so proud of my guys because they beat a great team.''
Coack K is right on the money. Duke's defensive energy was smothering after those first five minutes that saw the Spartans get out to a quick 14-6 lead. From that point on, however, their man to man defense dictated the terms of the game and didn't forced Michigan State to settle for low percentage outside shots.
Justise Winslow once again came up huge for the Blue Devils. He poured in 19 points on 5-7 shooting while collecting nine total rebounds. Jahlil Okafor contributed with 18 points and six rebounds, via CBS.
Michigan State shot only 40 percent for the game. Forward Branden Dawson was limited to 12 points on five of 12 shooting.
The win improves coach K's overall record in National Semifinal games to an absurd 9-3. Duke will now await the winner of Kentucky-Wisconsin, for whoever wins will be matched up with Duke on Monday night to decide the National Championship.