Championship Game Info

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Ryan won all four of his national title games, but they were at the D-3 level, not exactly the same, but he has won four national titles, same as Krzyzewski.
-- Duke shot 67.6% inside arc, 7-12 outside it, scoring 1.29 ppg in a 80-70 win at Wisconsin Dec 3; Duke held Wisconsin to 39.4% inside arc that night in Wisconsin- Jackson had 25 for Badgers that night - he played only 12 minutes Saturday- Badgers' bench played total of only 29:00.

-- Wisconsin is #54 in experience, Duke #331.

-- Blue Devils are 13-2 vs Big 14 teams in NCAAs (since '89).

-- Coach K is 4-4 in national title games, 0-3 vs #1 seeds.

-- Since 1987, favorites are 3-2 in finals with two #1 seeds; in four titles Krzyzewski has won, he was favored by 3.5/6/3/7.5 points in the national final, against seeds 3-6-2-5.

-- Teams from Big 14 are 0-5 in their last five national finals; 2000 was league's last title, when Michigan State won.

-- Favorites are 8-3 vs spread in last eleven national titles.

 

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CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES

? #1 Seed favs are 8-2 ATS
? #5 or worse Seeds are 1-6 SU & 2-5 ATS
? Favorites of 5 < pts are 12-2 ATS
? Favorites who scored 80 > pts in the Final 4 round are 5-1 ATS
? Teams with a win percentage of .810 < are 2-6 ATS
? Dogs > 2 pts who allowed 60 > pts in the Final 4 round are 0-5 ATS
? SEC teams are 3-1 ATS
? ACC teams are 7-3 ATS
? Big 10 teams are 0-5 ATS


Duke's Mike Krzyzewski is:
65-19 SU and 41-41-2 ATS in NCAA tournament
48-12 SU and 35-25 ATS vs Big 10
14-4 SU and 10-8 ATS vs SEC
2-0 SU and 1-1 ATS vs John Calipari
8-1 SU and 5-4 ATS vs Tom Izzo
2-1 SU and 2-1 ATS vs Bo Ryan


Wisconsin's Bo Ryan is:
24-13 SU and 21-14-2 ATS in NCAA tournament
11-10 SU and 15-6 ATS vs ACC
189-83 SU and 135-133-4 ATS vs Big 10
8-5 SU and 7-4-2 ATS vs SEC
0-1 SU and 0-0-1 ATS vs John Calipari
16-12 SU and 12-16 ATS vs Tom Izzo
1-2 SU and 1-2 ATS vs Mike Krzyzewski

 

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in the four parts of the game (1Q: First Ten Minutes, 2Q: Next Ten Minutes, 3Q: First Ten Minutes after Half, 4Q: Last Ten Minutes). Check out Duke?s scoring margins at these times of the games. They?ve outscored their four opponents by a whopping 34 points at the start of ball games, which is essentially saying in the first ten minutes of games they?re outscoring teams by an average of 8.5 points a game. You?ll note that the 2Q and 3Q margins are not as great (just a combined 6 points in the four games), but then you?ll see another rise in that 4th stanza. It is Duke?s offense early on in games that has helped them get to this point, but it is also a direct correlation to their defense. They get a lead when other teams are trying to pound-pound-pound and get something inside, and then when it?s time for the other team to try and get back in the game either by use of speeding up the tempo or utilizing the three-pointer, it?s too late...largely because Duke?s defense is aimed at getting that lead, and ultimately holding it. While you?ve seen Duke?s defensive efficiency climb the charts the past week or so, it?s more a product of them being able to score early and often, which in turn, allows them to execute their defensive game plan to perfection. If you're Michigan State, you don't really need to change anything, and more importantly, try not to over-compensate and depend on those early possession post touches that essentially cost Utah and Gonzaga chances to be in...and win those games (a foul call early in one of these games may have impacted the result, too). If you think you have an advantage down low on Duke (most teams do), you just have to control the game early and let those advantages come to you. Whether or not Michigan State allows that to happen, unlike Utah and Gonzaga, remains to be seen. Everyone talks about the keys to beating Duke, which usually revolves around saying "they're beatable inside." But I think the bigger issue in beating Duke is stopping two extremely athletic guards that can shoot, a 3/4 who is playing out of his mind (Winslow), and containing Okafor all at the same time, which as we've seen, has been a pretty tall task regardless of how great of an advantage you can have on the other end. And as we've seen, it all starts early.

 

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In the past fourteen years, Coach K has had a team that ranks no worse than 24th in the country in opponent three-point attempts. Through four games in the tournament, Duke?s allowed just 58 three-point attempts. That?s probably no surprise though, if you?ve watched the games. In their past three against quality competition, Duke?s opponents have tried to go inside early and often on them because of that interior weakness. SDSU went inside. Utah hammered the ball inside. Gonzaga made it an extreme point of emphasis, sometimes too much, to get the ball inside. All were somewhat successful, but it wasn?t enough in the end. Why? Well, Duke?s early offense in these games has a lot to do with that.