INDIANAPOLIS (Sporting Alert) — When Duke and Wisconsin face-off in Monday night’s NCAA men’s basketball championships game, it will be the first time since 2008 two No. 1 seeds go head-to-head for the national title.
NCAA Championship Game Information
Live Streaming Online Coverage on NCAA Website
Date: Monday, April 6
Venue: at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis
Tipoff Time: 9:18 p.m. ET.
TV Channel: CBS, with Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson
Live GameCast Stream and Box Score
Online Video Play Highlights and Updates
Wisconsin (36-3) confidently dispatched the top overall seed and the previously unbeaten Kentucky in Saturday’s Final Four battle to earn a date with Duke and go in search of its first title in 74 years.
Man of the moment Frank Kaminsky led the way for the Badgers against Kentucky with 20 points and 11 rebounds and Sam Dekker added 16 points in the win that ended the Wildcats’ 38 game undefeated run.
Duke, in the meantime, spanked the seventh-seeded Michigan State, 81-61 in their Final Four contest, with Justise Winslow scoring 19 points, Jahlil Okafor, 18 and Quinn Cook, 17 in the victory.
The Blue Devils (34-4) won 80-70 when these two team met on Dec. 3, when freshman guard Tyus Jones came alive to score 22 points in a leading role for Mike Krzyzewski’s team.
“A lot of people thought they had a pretty good team because they spanked our team at our place in December,” Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. “I can’t say that they were ignored, that’s for sure.”
Duke, which is on the hunt for a fifth national title, heads into this contest averaging 80.6 points per game and shooting 50.2 percent from the field.
They are holding opponents to an incredible 55 points per game in this year’s tournament and scoring 72.6 point per game at the other end.
The Atlantic Coast Conference powerhouses will face a Badgers club that is shooting 48.0 percent from the field on the season, but allowing 57.9 points per game, which makes for a tight battle on Monday night.
Wisconsin was never No. 1 this season in the college basketball rankings — which is understandable, giving Kentucky’s undefeated run at the time, but Duke coach Krzyzewski always believed they were the top club.
“Coming into the year, I thought they’d be the best team in the country, and they have been,” Krzyzewski said.
“It’s just that Kentucky’s undefeated performance has overshadowed just how good Wisconsin has been, until (Saturday) night.
“There aren’t any shadows anymore.”
STAR PLAYERS STATS
DUKE BLUE DEVILS
| POINTS | PPG | FG% | FT% | 3PT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| J. Okafor | 17.7 | .669 | .511 | .000 |
| Q. Cook | 15.7 | .454 | .891 | .399 |
| REBOUNDS | REB | OFF | DEF | BPG |
| J. Okafor | 9.0 | 3.9 | 5.1 | 1.4 |
| A. Jefferson | 6.0 | 2.4 | 3.6 | 0.7 |
| ASSISTS | APG | SPG | TO | AST/TO |
| T. Jones | 5.8 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 2.8 |
| Q. Cook | 2.7 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 2.1 |
WISCONSIN BADGERS
| POINTS | PPG | FG% | FT% | 3PT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F. Kaminsky | 18.2 | .553 | .759 | .395 |
| S. Dekker | 13.0 | .514 | .708 | .304 |
| REBOUNDS | REB | OFF | DEF | BPG |
| F. Kaminsky | 8.0 | 1.5 | 6.5 | 1.6 |
| N. Hayes | 6.4 | 2.1 | 4.4 | 0.4 |
| ASSISTS | APG | SPG | TO | AST/TO |
| T. Jackson | 2.9 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 1.8 |
| F. Kaminsky | 2.7 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 1.8 |
