Duke Tops Wisconsin for NCAA Title

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

With John Calipari seemingly fielding an entire team of future NBA players and Kentucky’s whole undefeated run taking much of the spotlight this season, somewhat overshadowed was the fact that Duke had the top freshman class in the nation. Coach K pivoted a bit in his philosophy during this ‘one-and-done’ era, bringing in 4 McDonald’s All-Americans in Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow, Tyus Jones, and Grayson Allen. As it turned out, he would need every one of them to record his 5th NCAA championship.

Duke’s freshmen scored 60 of Duke’s 68 points. No team of freshmen has ever scored more in a National Championship. pic.twitter.com/U51GXlC7AG

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 7, 2015

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Soon-to-be top-10 NBA picks, both Okafor (10 points) and Winslow (11 points) had quiet games against Wisconsin by their standards. The pair struggled with foul trouble throughout the contest, needing to ride the pine for extended stretches (Okafor moreso than Winslow) and each playing with 4 fouls down the stretch. Fortunately, their fellow freshmen were there to pick up the slack, as Jones and Allen proved to be the difference makers when the pressure turned up in the second half.

The Badgers led 48-39 with 13 minutes remaining and were threatening to run away with things. However, it was one of the more unlikely people who stepped up and basically saved the season for the Blue Devils, as Grayson Allen (16 points) went on a personal 8-2 run to get Duke back into the game. I say unlikely not because the talent wasn’t there, but because aside from a few flashes, Allen hadn’t been given much of an opportunity to shine in his first year amidst the Blue Devils’ stacked roster. It was only the 5th time all year Allen had even reached double figures and he had received only single digit minutes in 3 previous NCAA tournament games. Nevertheless, Allen was an integral reason why Duke received their One Shining Moment.

Duke’s Grayson Allen scored 16 points (5-8 FG), including 8 straight for Duke after the Devils fell down by 9. pic.twitter.com/IE6hKxk56b

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) April 7, 2015

Still, Allen’s heroics simply got Duke back into the game; it was up to the more-heralded freshman guard on the roster to ultimately put the Badgers away. With Duke trailing 58-56, Tyus Jones drained a three to put the Blue Devils back up 1. Then, with just outside of a minute left, he delivered the final fatality with a another triple to extend Duke’s lead to 8, basically extinguishing any hope of a Wisconsin comeback. All in all, Jones had 19 of his game-high 23 points in the second half, shooting 7-13 from the field and a perfect 7-7 from the line. He was absolutely deserving of the Most Outstanding Player award he received at game’s end.

As for the Badgers, it was an admirable run that looks like an end of an era. Player of the Year Frank Kaminsky is heading to the NBA, where he’ll likely have a long NBA career as a stretch big man so integral in today’s pro game. With 21 points and 12 rebounds in the title game, he can know he left the college game giving it everything he had. His teammate Sam Dekker, sputtered out a bit after a meteoric rise through the tournament that has seen him reach late lottery status in current mock drafts. Having gone 0-6 from three against Duke, Dekker certainly didn’t have his best game on the biggest stage. But he’ll always have that game-winning three to end Kentucky’s undefeated run to look back upon.

Sure, college basketball may be in need of an overhaul to stop the exploitation of free labor from the players, and the game may suffer at times from being too slow or a lack of scoring. But you have to love when the kid who looks like he could just as easily be an equipment manager comes up huge on the biggest stage. When in doubt, it never hurts to have the guy who won the McDonald’s All-American dunk contest. In spite of it all, college basketball sure can be fun.