INDIANAPOLIS—All it took was a shooting clinic for coach Mike Krzyzewski to return to the NCAA title game, his first one since 2001 when the Blue Devils won it all.
However, Krzyzewski wouldn’t let his return to basketball prominence headline the story. “College isn’t about what I’ve done before. College is about what they’re doing right now,” he said.
“These kids can’t identify with a fourth national championship but they can identify with going for their first and their only one.”
Duke shot a mind-blowing 52.7 percent from the field and 52 percent from 3-point range against a vaunted West Virginia defense, that coach Bob Huggins lauded before the game began, en route to a 78–57 beatdown at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Saturday night.
“We were not going to beat West Virginia without a great performance,” Krzyzewski said. “All three of our perimeter guys had outstanding shooting games, so I thought we were difficult to guard as a result of that.”
The only No. 1 seed to make it to the Final Four showed the world that it belonged by taking control early. The Mountaineers held one lead at 4–2 barely two minutes into the game, and never led again.
Junior Nolan Smith, the South Region’s Most Outstanding Player, continued his stellar tournament play with 19 points, 6 assists, and no turnovers. He is now averaging 18.6 points per game in the NCAA Tournament.
“I’m just trying to make sure that it’s not Jon [Scheyer], Kyle [Singler], and Lance’s [Thomas] last game,” Smith said. “We definitely came out and played a very complete game. The team was ready.”
“I shouldn’t have went from playing man to playing 1–3–1 without a dead ball,” Huggins said. “They hit two threes when we switched. I shouldn’t have done it on the fly.”
Guard Joe Mazzulla, who filled in for the injured Darryl “Truck” Bryant and snuck up on Kentucky with a career-high 17 points in his first start of the season, could not sneak up on a Duke team who did its job in scouting. Mazzulla was held to 4 points.
The game was never close as the Blue Devils extended their lead to as much as 75–57 after Jon Scheyer hit a 3-pointer with a little over two minutes remaining. Scheyer finished with a game-high 23 points and 6 assists with no turnovers.
However, Krzyzewski wouldn’t let his return to basketball prominence headline the story. “College isn’t about what I’ve done before. College is about what they’re doing right now,” he said.
“These kids can’t identify with a fourth national championship but they can identify with going for their first and their only one.”
Duke shot a mind-blowing 52.7 percent from the field and 52 percent from 3-point range against a vaunted West Virginia defense, that coach Bob Huggins lauded before the game began, en route to a 78–57 beatdown at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Saturday night.
“We were not going to beat West Virginia without a great performance,” Krzyzewski said. “All three of our perimeter guys had outstanding shooting games, so I thought we were difficult to guard as a result of that.”
The only No. 1 seed to make it to the Final Four showed the world that it belonged by taking control early. The Mountaineers held one lead at 4–2 barely two minutes into the game, and never led again.
Junior Nolan Smith, the South Region’s Most Outstanding Player, continued his stellar tournament play with 19 points, 6 assists, and no turnovers. He is now averaging 18.6 points per game in the NCAA Tournament.
“I’m just trying to make sure that it’s not Jon [Scheyer], Kyle [Singler], and Lance’s [Thomas] last game,” Smith said. “We definitely came out and played a very complete game. The team was ready.”
Zone Failure
Huggins used the 1–3–1 zone to beat a more athletic Kentucky team in the East Regional finals. But the zone that West Virginia has used all year failed them against the Blue Devils. Huggins switched to the zone from the man-to-man and had no success.“I shouldn’t have went from playing man to playing 1–3–1 without a dead ball,” Huggins said. “They hit two threes when we switched. I shouldn’t have done it on the fly.”
Guard Joe Mazzulla, who filled in for the injured Darryl “Truck” Bryant and snuck up on Kentucky with a career-high 17 points in his first start of the season, could not sneak up on a Duke team who did its job in scouting. Mazzulla was held to 4 points.
The game was never close as the Blue Devils extended their lead to as much as 75–57 after Jon Scheyer hit a 3-pointer with a little over two minutes remaining. Scheyer finished with a game-high 23 points and 6 assists with no turnovers.
