INDIANAPOLIS -- The Duke Blue Devils aim for their fifth national title Monday against the Wisconsin Badgers in Lucas Oil Stadium. Here are five reasons why the Blue Devils will cut down the nets:
The ring’s the thing
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has been sporting one of his four national championship rings as a reminder to his players of what their ultimate goal has been all season. Being the winningest coach in Division I men’s college basketball goes a long way to having players believe in what you’re saying. If it’s a close game late and Duke is trailing, the Blue Devils won’t have a doubt in their mind that they can win because of Coach K and his experience in national championship games.
"Every practice, every game when we huddle up, Coach has the ring in the center," Duke forward Justise Winslow said. "It’s a constant reminder of what our goal is, serves as a great motivator every day to get better so one day we can reach our goal."
Man in the middle
For all the talk of what Duke center Jahlil Okafor needs to do to defend Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky, understand, Kaminsky has to figure out how to handle Okafor too. And as talented as Kentucky Wildcats big man and semifinal foe Karl-Anthony Towns is, he is behind Okafor from an offensive standpoint.
The Badgers haven’t faced another center with Okafor’s skill.
"It should be pretty interesting for purists of the game to watch two bigs like that go against one another," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said.
ACC > Big Ten
During the ACC-Big Ten challenge in December, the Blue Devils handed the Badgers their first loss of the season and their only home loss in 16 games.
The past five national championship matchups between the ACC and Big Ten have ended with the ACC team cutting down the nets: 2009 North Carolina Tar Heels over Michigan State Spartans; 2005 Tar Heels over Illinois Illini; 2002 Maryland Terrapins over Indiana Hoosiers; 1993 Tar Heels over Michigan Wolverines; 1992 Blue Devils over Wolverines.
Putting the D in defense
The Blue Devils were maligned for their defensive efforts earlier in the season. They couldn’t stop dribble penetration and had a difficult time defending ball screens. But all that has changed since their first meeting with Wisconsin in December. Duke currently ranks 12th in adjusted defense, according to Ken Pomeroy.
"These guys have learned at a quicker rate, though, than I would have expected from a young team," Krzyzewksi said. "We’ve been outstanding on the defensive end, primarily in the man-to-man, but with some modifications."
Duke runs this town
Indianapolis has been very, very good to the Blue Devils as they’ve won two national championship there. Krzyzewski captured his elusive first title in 1991 -- after four previous trips to the Final Four ended without cutting down the nets -- in Indianapolis. To do so the Blue Devils shocked the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels and ended their undefeated season in the national semifinals before beating Kansas. Duke also ended the Butler Bulldogs’ bid to be a modern-day Hoosiers tale by winning it all in 2010.
