National Basketball Association
Duke 81, Michigan St 61
When: 6:09 PM ET, Saturday, April 4, 2015
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana
Officials:
# Patrick Adams, # Mike Eades, # Bryan Kersey
Attendance:
N/A
By SportsDirect Inc.
Duke 81, Michigan State 61: Freshmen stars Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow combined for 37 points on 12-of-18 shooting as the Blue Devils breezed past the Spartans in Indianapolis to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament championship game.
Quinn Cook added 17 points for Duke (34-4), which faces fellow No. 1 seed Wisconsin in Monday's title game. Okafor rebounded from a pair of subpar efforts in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight to record 18 points and six boards, while Winslow registered 19 points and nine rebounds.
Denzel Valentine went 5-of-9 from 3-point range and paced Michigan State (27-12) with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Travis Trice completed a strong showing in the tournament with 16 points and five assists. The Spartans - a No. 7 seed among a trio of No. 1 seeds in the Final Four - failed to help their cause by committing 14 turnovers and 28 fouls.
The Spartans started 5-of-7 from the field with Valentine going 3-of-3 from behind the arc, including a transition triple that created a 14-6 advantage 3:44 into the game. However, Michigan State went 3-of-20 over the remainder of the half as Okafor finished the period with 10 points to help Duke to a 36-25 lead at the break.
Winslow, Cook and Matt Jones each made a layup during a quick 6-0 run to open the second half and Cook later scored four points in six seconds to push the lead to 54-34. The Spartans never got closer than 13 the rest of the way with the Blue Devils' collection of freshmen - including Greyson Allen (nine points, five rebounds) thwarting every rally attempt.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski has won four national championships, with the first (1991) and most recent (2010) coming in Indianapolis. With a win on Monday, he'll become the second coach to win at least five NCAA Tournament titles (John Wooden, 10). ... Duke, which leads the all-time series 10-2, also defeated Michigan State 81-71 on this same court as part of the Champions Classic on Nov. 18. Okafor scored 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting that night. ... Spartans F Branden Dawson notched 12 points, seven rebounds and two blocks but also had five turnovers - three fewer than the Blue Devils had as a team.
Top Game Performances
| Michigan St |
|
Duke |
|
Denzel Valentine 22 |
Scoring |
Justise Winslow 19 |
|
Lourawls Nairn Jr 5 |
Assists |
Tyus Jones 4 |
|
Denzel Valentine 11 |
Rebounds |
Justise Winslow 9 |
|
Denzel Valentine 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Justise Winslow 9 |
|
Branden Dawson 2 |
Steals |
Matt Jones 2 |
|
Branden Dawson 2 |
Blocks |
Jahlil Okafor 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Michigan St
|
61 |
40.0 |
7-20 |
10-16 |
10 |
31 |
3 |
4 |
14 |
| Duke
|
81 |
52.0 |
2-10 |
27-37 |
10 |
36 |
4 |
9 |
8 |
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