Duke advances to national title game

INDIANAPOLIS - Michigan State's unexpected run to the national semifinals ended abruptly and emphatically Saturday night against the machine that is Duke basketball.

An early Michigan State lead dissipated throughout the first half and culminated in an 81-61 stomping by the Blue Devils at Lucas Oil Stadium. The win takes Duke (34-4) to its ninth national championship appearance under Coach Mike Krzyzewski.

'It's incredibly exciting. It's not a little exciting; it's incredibly exciting,” Krzyzewski said. 'Now they've got a chance to play for a national championship. Damn, how exciting is that? I mean, it's great. It's just great. So happy for them.”

Justice Winslow led Duke with 19 points, followed by Jahlil Okafor's 18. Michigan State's Denzel Valentine paced all scorers with 22 points and Travis Trice added 16.

Duke dominated the Spartans (27-12) in every facet, but especially at the free-throw line. The Blue Devils shot 37 free throws with 27 makes. The Spartans finished 10 of 16 from the free-throw line. Duke outscored Michigan State 42-26 in the paint. The Blue Devils shot 52 percent for the game.

'I think our defense let us down a little bit today,” Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo said. 'Maybe it's because of their good offense.”

Michigan State started hot. The Spartans hit five of their first seven shots from the field, including four 3-pointers. Valentine drilled his first three 3-point attempts to give the Spartans a 14-6 early lead.

Then the Spartans got cold. Bone-chilling cold from the field. Michigan State hit just three of its last 20 shots in the first half. The Spartans missed their last seven shots over the final 6 minutes.

'They did a good job of taking me away,” Valentine said. 'I got hot. They started denying a little bit, started forcing us to take bad shots. Next thing you know, they had a lead.”

The Spartans went on mini-run midway through the second half. After Duke built a 20-point lead, Trice drilled a 3-pointer and then scored on a layup. Valentine followed with a basket on Michigan State's next possession to cut the deficit to 13 points. But Duke steadied itself at both ends of the floor and scored the game's next seven points to regain a 20-point lead.

MSU's improbable journey from a seven seed to the Final Four ended, but Izzo said he was proud of his team fighting from a possible NCAA snub to win eight of its last 10.

'This team, you know, they took a lot this year, from our own fans at times, from people,” Izzo said. 'I understand why. But this team played pretty well all year.”

Krzyzewski now is 9-1 all-time against Izzo, including a 3-1 record in the NCAA tournament. Izzo and Krzyzewski met in the 1999 Final Four, which Duke won 68-62.

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