Jimmy Sheldrup |
Gonzaga, our WCC brethren, has finally fallen.
In a close game from start to finish, Duke made an early push to gain the lead in the second half and never looked back.
Duke was leading going into the second half, but Gonzaga came out of halftime on fire, scoring 14 of their 26 points in the first five minutes of the second half. From there though, Duke regained the lead and kept it until the very end.
Gonzaga scored 26 points in each half, which falls well short of their season average of 79 a game. This is credited, in large part, to the Blue Devils. Duke did a tremendous job of allowing only difficult shots and slowing down the offensive juggernaut that is Gonzaga.
Coach Krzyzewski of Duke credited the team’s success on both sides of the floor to his freshmen, Justise Winslow, Jahlil Okafor and Tyus Jones. Winslow and Jones had 16 and 15 points respectively, while Okafor had 9 points and 8 rebounds. Sophomore Matt Jones also stepped up, scoring 16 points.
Gonzaga actually did a lot of things right in this game. They limited Okafor to 9 points on 4-10 shooting, and made the Blue Devils shoot a paltry 37.5 percent from the field as a team. But no Gonzaga player was in double figures outside of Kyle Wiltjer and Byron Wesley.
Wiltjer was the player of the game for Gonzaga, scoring 16 points on 6-13 shooting while also pulling down 5 rebounds.
Senior guards Kevin Pangos and Gary Bell Jr. struggled in the game for Gonzaga, chipping in a combined nine points on 4-14 shooting. Duke’s young guards gave Gonzaga’s backcourt everything they could handle.
Looking forward, Duke will play Michigan State in the Final Four next weekend.
Michigan State beat Louisville in the Elite Eight, capping an improbable run. Michigan State, while starting the year slow, has truly come on. They have won 12 of their last 15, including tourney wins over Virginia, Oklahoma and now Louisville. The run has been led by Senior guard Travis Trice, who is making his case for tournament player of the year.
The winner of that game will move to the National Championship, where they will play the winner of Kentucky and Wisconsin.
The undefeated Kentucky Wildcats beat Wisconsin last year in the Final Four. While Kentucky is arguably more talented and has more NBA-caliber players, Wisconsin has a more seasoned team. It should play out to be a great rematch from last year.
In all likelihood, Kentucky’s talent should win, and then beat either Duke or Michigan State. Kentucky is more than capable of finishing the year 40-0. Karl Towns has been nothing short of dominant all year, and will look to bring Kentucky another national championship. But in March, nothing is certain.
Nothing ever is as it should be, as is evidenced by Michigan State’s run to the Final Four. Maybe Kentucky will win it all, but there is always a chance it could be one of the other three teams. And that's why March is the most fun time of the year.
Jimmy Sheldrup is a sports reporter for The Beacon. He can be reached at sheldrup18@up.edu or on Twitter @CJSheldrup.
