Duke, Wisconsin Head to Final

Kentucky's perfect season ends; Blue Devils go back to Indianapolis
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 4, 2015 10:46 PM CDT
Duke, Wisconsin Head to Final
Duke's Justise Winslow (12) is fouled by Michigan State's Gavin Schilling, rear, on Saturday, April 4, 2015, in Indianapolis.    (Chris Steppig)

Duke trounced Michigan State today, and Wisconsin ruined Kentucky's perfect season to set up the national championship game: the Blue Devils vs. Badgers. In the Duke game, Justise Winslow scored 19 points, fellow freshman Jahlil Okafor added 18, and senior Quinn Cook had 17 to lead top-seeded Duke to an 81-61 victory over Michigan State and into yet another title game in Indianapolis. The Blue Devils won it all there in 1991, their first under Mike Krzyzewski. The winningest men's Division I coach, who has a 9-3 record in national semifinal games, led them to their fourth and most recent title in 2010, also in Indianapolis. "The city's great, and even if we didn't win tonight the city would still be great and the venue would be great," Krzyzewski says. "This team, though, deserved to be in it."

For 38 games top-ranked Kentucky mastered the art of the tune-out, brushing aside the hype, noise, and distractions created by its pursuit of an unbeaten championship season. The Wildcats just couldn't succeed at blocking out Wisconsin and big man Frank Kaminsky, who won 71-64 tonight to turn their dream season into a devastatingly sour footnote, the AP reports. Hoping to become the first team since Indiana in 1976 to finish as unbeaten champions, Kentucky (38-1) instead lost the rematch of last year's semifinal against the Badgers and joined Indiana State (1979), UNLV (1991), and Wichita State (2014)—unbeaten teams that lost in the NCAA Tournament. (More March Madness stories.)

Get breaking news in your inbox.
What you need to know, as soon as we know it.
Sign up
Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X