Duke: 2026 Atlantic Coast Men's Basketball Champions

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- — Isaiah Evans scored 20 points, Cameron Boozer made two free throws with 3.9 seconds to seal the game and No. 1 Duke defeated No. 10 Virginia 74-70 on Saturday night for its second straight Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship under coach Jon Scheyer and its third title in the past four years.

Duke: 2025 Sun Bowl Champions

 

EL PASO, Texas— On the final day of the year, Duke’s storybook year got the perfect sunset. 

Duke: 2024-25: Atlantic Coast Men's Basketball Champions

 

CHARLOTTE — Duke basketball’s championship-level defense earned the top-ranked Blue Devils an ACC Tournament championship. 

Duke buckled down with a dominant stretch of defense in the second half of a 73-62 win against Louisville on Saturday at Spectrum Center. The Blue Devils (31-3) held the high-scoring Cardinals (27-7) below 70 points for the second time this season to win their 23rd ACC Tournament title.

With the win, Duke’s Jon Scheyer is the first ACC coach to win the ACC Tournament in two of his first three seasons. In 2023, Scheyer became the first person to win an ACC title as a player and coach. He won two titles (2009-10) under former coach Mike Krzyzewski. The Blue Devils have won six ACC Tournament championships in Charlotte.

Here are some observations from Duke's win against Louisville in the ACC Tournament.

Kon Knueppel had an ACC Tournament MVP performance

Duke freshman Kon Knueppel had 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists in the championship game. Through two games in the ACC Tournament, Knueppel averaged 22.5 points on 47.7% shooting, including a 46.6% clip from 3-point range to lead the way after Cooper Flagg missed two games with an ankle injury.

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Tyrese Proctor 3-point shooting vs Louisville at ACC Tournament 

Tyrese Proctor has been one of the ACC’s best 3-point shooters throughout the season, but was struggling at Spectrum Center ahead of Saturday’s finale. Proctor was 6 of 29 (20.6%) from long distance across the previous seven games and missed his first 12 shots from beyond the arc before heating up against Louisville. He made a trio of treys in the first half against the Cards and finished with a career-high six 3-pointers.

Louisville’s Terrence Edwards Jr. gave the Cardinals a chance

Louisville’s Terrence Edwards, who had 21 points in the regular-season loss to the Blue Devils, dropped 15 points and played every minute of the first half in the ACC title game. Edwards scored 10 points in the final five minutes, dropping five points during a 7-0 run that helped the Cards take a 38-33 halftime lead. Louisville shot 55% in the first half. Edwards, who had 21 points in the regular season against Duke, had 22 points in the ACC title game with 14:28 left. He scored five points the rest of the way, finishing with 27.

Duke: 2023 Birmingham Bowl Champions

 

Todd Pelino kicked three field goals and Duke relied mostly on defense to defeat Troy 17-10 in the Birmingham Bowl on Saturday in Birmingham, Ala., where interim coaches guided both teams.

Troy didn’t score until the second half but made a game of it until a late interception doomed the Trojans’ final chance.

Pelino had second-quarter field goals from 34 and 37 yards, including the latter on the last play of the first half. Combined with Jaylen Coleman’s 1-yard run late in the first quarter and Nicky Dalmolin’s two-point conversion run, the Blue Devils carried a 14-0 lead to halftime.

Quarterback Grayson Loftis finished the game 19-for-29 for 183 yards with an interception for the Blue Devils.

Duke (8-5) received 73 rushing yards from running back Jaquez Moore and 66 yards from running back Jordan Waters.

Troy quarterback Gunnar Watson completed 21 of 36 passes for 230 yards, and running back Kimani Vidal gained 79 yards on 17 carries. The Trojans (11-3), the Sun Belt Conference champions, had a 10-game winning streak end.

Both teams saw their previous coaches depart for other jobs after the regular season. Mike Elko left Duke to go to Texas A&M, while Jon Sumrall departed Troy for the Tulane position.

Trooper Taylor, the running backs coach, was in charge for Duke. Defensive coordinator Greg Gasparato oversaw Troy.

Troy finally got on the board on Scott Taylor Renfroe’s 44-yard field goal with 1:36 remaining in the third quarter. That capped a 10-play, 53-yard drive.

After Pelino’s 45-yarder with 13:29 remaining, the Blue Devils made a fourth-down stop that seemed critical at the time.

But Damaje Yancey’s interception gave the Trojans the ball back. They got going and moved 87 yards in 10 plays to score on Derrick Graham’s 2-yard run with 5:54 left.

Troy forced a Duke punt and started their last possession at its own 11-yard line with 1:40 left. Two plays later, Jeremiah Lewis intercepted Watson as Duke sealed the outcome to push its bowl winning streak to five games.

–Field Level Media

Duke: 2022-23 Atlantic Coast Men's Basketball Champions

GREENSBORO – Duke basketball found itself in a familiar place Saturday at the Greensboro Coliseum, cutting down nets in celebration of a 22nd ACC Tournament championship. 

No program in league history has won more tournament titles than the Blue Devils, who secured a wire-to-wire 59-49 victory against Virginia on Saturday for their first ACC championship since 2019. 

After a controversial loss at Virginia in February, the 21st-ranked Blue Devils (26-8) had ample motivation and never trailed against the 14th-ranked Cavaliers (25-7). It’s the ninth time Duke has raised a trophy in Greensboro.

First-year head coach Jon Scheyer is the third rookie coach to win the ACC Tournament, joining Duke’s Vic Bubas (1960) and UNC’s Bill Guthridge (1998). He’s the first person to win tournament MVP (2009) and coach a squad to a title. 

Kyle Filipowski, the ACC Rookie of the Year, had 20 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Blue Devils. Junior captain Jeremy Roach supplied 23 points. 

Kyle Filipowski was the best player on the floor in each of Duke’s three games at the ACC Tournament. On Saturday night, the 7-footer had as many points (7) as Virginia in the first 11 minutes. 

After a scoreless performance that included five turnovers in Duke’s OT loss at Virginia, Filipowski had 11 points and five rebounds in the first half. The freshman turned things up in Duke’s first two games in Greensboro. 

He hit 16 of his first 19 shots in the ACC Tournament, scoring 22 points against Pitt before adding 17 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high five assists against Miami. His 15 double-double performances leads all Division I freshmen

Duke’s interior defense

In its rout of Clemson, Virginia scored 40 points in the paint. Things didn’t come as easily for the Cavaliers against Duke, which limited the Cavaliers to six points in the paint in the first half. 

The Blue Devils made a point to keep Virginia from being comfortable on the interior, forcing the Hoos’ guards away from the rim and daring them to shoot over 7-foot-1 center Dereck Lively, who had two blocks in the first half after not recording a block in the loss at Virginia. 

By the end of the first half, the Cavaliers were shooting 27% (6 of 22) and Duke had a 24-17 lead. 

Duke: 2022 Military Bowl Champions

Riley Leonard totaled 236 yards of offense as Duke topped UCF 30-13 at the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Md., on Wednesday.

Leonard completed 19-of-28 passes for 173 yards, carried the ball 10 times for 63 yards and scored two rushing touchdowns.

The victory for Duke (9-4) marked its first bowl win since 2018 and gave the Blue Devils their first nine-win season since 2014. It was just the seventh time in program history that Duke won nine or more games in a single season.

John Rhys Plumlee led UCF (9-5) with 203 yards of total offense, including 182 passing. Isaiah Bowser scored both of the Knights’ touchdowns on short runs.

Duke rushed for 177 yards and each of its three touchdowns came on the ground. Leonard’s first score of the day, a 1-yard second quarter punch-in, gave Duke 30 rushing scores on the season to set a program record. The score put Duke on top 17-7.

The Blue Devils extended that mark when Leonard scored from 3 yards out to seal the victory with 2:29 to play in the game.

Jacquez Moore got the Blue Devils on the scoreboard with 7:47 remaining in the first quarter on a 14-yard TD run. Moore had 43 yards on 12 carries.

Following a career-long 48-yard field goal from Todd Pelino, Duke took a 20-7 lead into halftime. The Blue Devils benefited in the first half from a Tre Freeman sack – the first of his career – a reversed call on a fumble, and a roughing-the-passer call against UCF on a third down.

UCF didn’t tally a tackle-for-loss until the third quarter and had difficulty stopping Duke’s offense.

The Blue Devils had six sacks and a late fourth quarter interception by freshman Chandler Rivers.

Duke won despite playing without leading tackler Shaka Heyward, who was recovering from a tonsillectomy.

–Field Level Media

Duke: 2018-19 Atlantic Coast Men's Basketball Champions

CHARLOTTE—One week ago Saturday, the Blue Devils walked off the court in Chapel Hill ready to hit the reset button prior to starting postseason play.

Three wins, 81 points and 30 rebounds by Zion Williamson later, it's safe to say Duke is back at its best.

The third-seeded Blue Devils clinched their 21st ACC tournament title Thursday after knocking off No. 4 seed Florida State 73-63 Saturday evening. Duke used a 25-11 run in the opening minutes of the second-half to break open a game that was tied at halftime. Williamson capped his stellar tournament for the Blue Devils with a 21-point, five-rebound performance as Duke collected its first piece of hardware of the 2018-19 campaign.

Williamson's scoring total for the week was a program record for a three-game run in the ACC tournament.

The Blue Devils (29-5) struggled to find consistency out of the gates, missing each of their first eight attempts from the perimeter as Florida State jumped out to a 27-19 advantage. Duke then started to push the tempo and took advantage of eight first-half turnovers from the Seminoles (27-7) to tie the game at 27 and entered halftime tied at 36.

Terrance Mann hit a triple out of the locker room to give the Seminoles a three-point lead, but the Blue Devils came right back with a classic Duke second-half run. Tre Jones hit a jumper, Zion Williamson hit a pair of layups, Javin DeLaurier hit two at the line and a reverse layup by Jones in transition capped a 10-0 spurt. The Blue Devils took a 46-39 advantage with 16:29 remaining—then their largest of the night.

Less than three minutes later, Duke went on another 8-0 spurt to open up a 58-44 advantage, forcing a Florida State timeout with 11:11 remaining. The Blue Devils opened the half with 10 consecutive made 2-pointers and coupled that with stifling defense that held Florida State to just three of its first 15 from the field out of the break.

The Seminoles fought back and cut the Duke lead to as little as five, using a 12-3 run to trim the deficit to 61-56 with 5:28 remaining—behind a team-high 14 points from ACC Sixth Man of the Year Mfiondu Kabengele—but Florida State could not slow down the Blue Devils enough down the stretch. A bucket by Jones and a 3-pointer by Cam Reddish from the left wing with 1:20 left put the game away.

Jones continued his recent attacking mentality on offense, but was more efficient than in past games. The floor general added a season-high 18 points, on 8-of-14 shooting, while racking up six assists in the process.

After a slow start from R.J. Barrett, the freshman phenom began to attack and ended up with 11 first-half points and 17 in the contest. Barrett complemented another stellar offensive showing from Williamson, who paced the team with 12 in the opening period and led the Blue Devil scoring game on the interior.

Both teams showed sloppiness in the first half, combining for 15 turnovers. The teams took better care of the ball out of the locker room, as Duke won the turnover battle 13-12.

Duke did manage to improve in an area that it has struggled mightily in throughout the season—at the charity stripe. The Blue Devils finished the contest with a 81.0 percent clip on free-throw attempts. Duke needed every point it could get at the stripe as the Seminoles could not miss, draining their first 13 attempts and finishing the contest 15-for-16

With the win, the Blue Devils will wait to see if they earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. If that is the case when the bracket is revealed Sunday at 6 p.m., Duke will likely be in the East Region and will begin tournament play Friday in Columbia, S.C.

Duke: 2018 Independence Bowl Champions

SHREVEPORT, La. -- Temple was making big special-teams plays, returning interceptions for touchdowns and looking like a team that might crush Duke for a big postseason win.

But the Owls had one problem that couldn't be overcome: Coach David Cutcliffe doesn't lose in Shreveport.

Daniel Jones threw for 423 yards and five touchdowns, T.J. Rahming caught 12 passes for 240 yards and two scores, and Duke recovered from a slow start to blow past Temple 56-27 in the Independence Bowl on Thursday.

Cutcliffe is now 4-0 in the Independence Bowl dating back to 1998.

"When we come to Shreveport," Cutcliffe said with a grin. "Don't bet against us."

Duke (8-5) snapped a two-game losing streak by putting on an offensive show. The Blue Devils scored touchdowns on seven straight drives, flipping a 27-14 deficit in the second quarter to a 56-27 lead by midway through the fourth.

"We kind of hit a lull for a second, but I don't think we ever lost confidence," Jones said. "We knew we had some good stuff and if we caught a few breaks we could catch momentum and keep it rolling."

Jones' five touchdown passes and 423 yards passing both set Independence Bowl records. So did Duke's 56 points. Cutcliffe wasn't surprised by the offensive success because he felt the team's preparation was excellent.

"It was very evident in Durham what their intentions were," Cutcliffe said. "We didn't have a bad minute of practice."

This was Cutcliffe's first Independence Bowl win at Duke. He led Ole Miss to victories in Shreveport in 1998, 1999 and 2002 and is already enshrined in the bowl's Hall of Honor.

Temple (8-5) lost for just the second time in its past eight games.

"We've got a great culture, we love each other and we're tough," Temple interim coach Ed Foley said. "But you still have to go out and make plays. And (Duke) went out and made more plays than us. That's what cost us the game."

The Owls took a 13-7 lead in the first half after Delvon Randall's 52-yard interception return for a touchdown. It was the 10th game this season in which they scored a non-offensive touchdown.

Temple pushed ahead 27-14 late in the second quarter, but Duke responded with 22-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Rahming to pull within 27-21 by halftime.

"When we came in at halftime our offense was hot. It was a just a matter of time," Cutcliffe said.

Temple's Anthony Russo completed 25 of 46 passes for 228 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The Owls didn't score in the second half and gave up 42 unanswered points.

"They brought a little more pressure, but that's on me and the offensive line to get that picked up," Russo said. "I just don't think we found our groove in the second half."

JONES COMPLETES TO ... JONES

Things were going so well for Jones that he completed a 6-yard pass to himself during the fourth quarter. He tried to throw a pass over the middle, but a Temple defender batted it into the air before it fell back in Jones' hands and he sprinted forward to make something out of the play.

BIG PICTURE

Temple: The Owls looked great for most of the first half, but once Duke's offense got going, Temple's defense didn't have an answer. Now Temple will focus on the transition to new coach Manny Diaz, who replaces Geoff Collins.

Duke: It was an impressive win for Duke, which scored just 13 combined points in losses to Clemson and Wake Forest to end the regular season. The lopsided result gives the Blue Devils some momentum heading into 2019.

UP NEXT

Temple loses a senior class that's been to four straight bowl games. But the Owls will return some quality players on both sides of the ball, including Russo. Temple hosts Bucknell in the season opener next year.

Duke should return most of its defense next season, but must replace several offensive starters, including three linemen. The Blue Devils have a difficult game against Alabama in Atlanta to open next season.

Duke: 2017 Quick Lane Bowl Champions

DETROIT -- In mid-November, after a loss at Army, the Duke Blue Devils were looking at spending a second straight holiday season at home.

That made Tuesday's success in the Quick Lane Bowl even sweeter.

After a six-game losing streak dropped them to 4-6, the Blue Devils (7-6) had to beat Georgia Tech and Wake Forest just to get bowl eligible. They managed that, got a bid to spend Christmas in Detroit, and salvaged the season with a 36-14 win over Northern Illinois.

"People ask me how we came back from 4-6, especially since we don't have a star player who we could turn to," Duke coach David Cutcliffe said. "I tell them that we have a roster filled with great teammates. They decided they had to work together if we were going to come up with a decent finish."

Duke quarterback Daniel Jones finished with 338 yards of offense, throwing two touchdown passes while running for a third score, and Shaun Wilson and Brittain Brown added rushing touchdowns.

"We knew Northern Illinois had a lot of success rushing the passer this year, but our offensive line really controlled things," Jones said. "That really opened things up for our offense.

"We were frustrated after losing to Army, but we were finally able to channel that into motivation."

Redshirt freshman quarterback Marcus Childers threw for 234 yards and a score for Northern Illinois (8-5), while fellow redshirt freshman Tre Harbison ran for a touchdown.

"Marcus and I know that this offseason is crucial," Harbison said. "If we work hard, we should have a special backfield next year."

The Blue Devils took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, sandwiching rushing touchdowns around a failed Northern Illinois fake punt on 4th-and-18 from their own 11.

"They were being physical with our gunners, so we thought we could get a pass interference and a first down," Huskies coach Rod Carey said. "They didn't bite, and we had a punter throwing to a defensive back."

The Huskies had two first downs and 46 yards in the quarter, but tied the game with two scores in the first 2:38 of the second. Duke, though, moved back into a 26-14 lead with two touchdowns before halftime.

"We let up for a little while, and they took advantage of our mistakes," Duke linebacker Joe Giles-Harris said. "We knew we had to get focused again, and we shut them out from there."

Jones fumbled on the first possession of the second half, but Northern Illinois turned the ball back over after a failed fake field goal.

THE TAKEAWAY

Duke: Other than the start of the second quarter, where they lost defensive focus on back-to-back possessions, the Blue Devils were in complete control.

"They hit a couple big plays against us, and our offense stalled, so we made some adjustments," Cutcliffe said. "We started passing the ball more, which is what we needed, and our defense started making plays."

Northern Illinois: The Huskies recovered from the disastrous first-quarter fake punt to get back into the game, but couldn't stay with Duke on either side of the ball.

"We were flying around out there, trying to make plays, but we didn't execute our game plan," said safety Mycial Allen, who was playing in his hometown. "Duke came up with the big plays and we didn't."

STUNNING SPECIAL TEAMS MOVE

The Blue Devils were startled by Carey's decision to run a fake punt in such a tough spot, especially in the first quarter of a 7-0 game.

"That was a very risky move," Cutcliffe said. "We're going to jam their gunners at the line, just like in press coverage, but we aren't going to hit them after that. That means you have to complete the pass to get a first down, and that's not easy to do."

UP NEXT

Duke: By winning their final three games, including Cutcliffe's second bowl victory in 10 seasons at Duke, the Blue Devils take some momentum into the offseason.

Jones will be back as a junior next season, while Brown is expected to replace Wilson as the No. 1 running back.


"We showed a lot of mental toughness to finish this season with three wins instead of rolling over and losing the last two games," Jones said. "This is an exciting way to go into the offseason."

Northern Illinois: After winning at Nebraska, the Huskies thought they were on the verge of another big season. However, conference losses to Toledo and Central Michigan knocked them out of MAC title contention and they were overmatched against Duke.

"This is disappointing, but we're going to have a good group of players coming back next year," Carey said. "We can build on this."

LAST WORD

"A month ago, no one thought we had a chance at a bowl game, so this was a great way to finish the season," said Giles-Harris, who was named First-Team All-ACC as a sophomore.

Duke: 2016-17 Atlantic Coast Men's Basketball Champions

NEW YORK -- Jayson Tatum took over in the final three minutes, making key plays on both ends of the floor, and No. 14 Duke became the first team to win the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament with four wins in four days by rallying to beat No. 22 Notre Dame 75-69 on Saturday night.

The freshman forward finished a spectacular week in Brooklyn with 19 points and eight rebounds for the fifth-seeded Blue Devils (27-8). Duke won its first ACC Tournament championship since 2011 and its 20th overall, most in league history.

Bonzie Colson was a beast for third-seeded Notre Dame (25-9), with 29 points and nine rebounds.

The Blue Devils came from double digits down in the second half to beat both No. 10 Louisville and No. 6 North Carolina to get to the finals at Barclays Center and then came from eight back with 11:35 left to defeat the Irish.

Tatum made a running hook to give Duke a 65-62 lead, but Colson's 3-pointer with 2:25 left tied it.

Tatum hit one of two free throws to put Duke back in front, then came through with the play of the night. Or make that, the plays of the night.

He blocked Steve Vasturia's drive to the hoop and then went coast to coast for a layup to make it 68-65 with 1:33 left. Matt Farrell pulled Notre Dame within two with a couple of free throws before Tatum showed off another skill, driving and dishing to Matt Jones for a 3 to make it 71-67 with 50 seconds remaining. It was Jones' only basket of the game.

Tatum then all but sealed it, getting behind the defense on in inbounds pass from Jones for a slam while being fouled. Tatum completed the three-point play for a 74-69 advantage with 25 seconds left.

Luke Kennard had 16 points for Duke and was selected tournament MVP, but it was really Tatum's time to shine. He scored 69 points in the first three games.

BIG PICTURE

Duke: The Blue Devils started the season No. 1 in the country for the eighth time and will head to the NCAA Tournament as ACC Tournament champions for the 20th time. What has transpired in between for the Blue Devils has been anything but routine.

There was Grayson Allen's suspension for tripping an opponent and the intense scrutiny on him that has followed. Coach Mike Krzyzewski missed seven games early in the conference season to have back surgery. Soon after he left, the Blue Devils lost three of four to start 3-4 in ACC play. The nadir was the program's first loss to North Carolina State at Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1995.

After that game there was a report by ESPN that Coach K, still recovering, held a meeting at his home with players, and forbade them to use their locker room or wear Duke gear. Who knows whether there was a direct correlation, but Duke won seven straight from that point on.

Allen then hurt his ankle and the Blue Devils finished the regular season losing three of four. They came to Brooklyn as the fifth seed and a flawed team.

Now it all seems to be coming together.


Notre Dame: The Irish can look no further than their 6-for-25 performance from 3-point range to explain why they came up short. VJ Beachem and Farrell each went 1 for 6. That's a tough way for a team that usually shoots 39 percent from 3 to win.

UP NEXT

Duke: How far will the Blue Devils' late surge push them up the NCAA seed chart? A No. 1 seed has never had as many as eight losses.

Notre Dame: Another NCAA Tournament awaits the Irish. They have reached the round of eight the last two years.

Duke Blue Devils: 2015 Pinstripe Bowl Champions

Indiana and Duke's Pinstripe Bowl matchup went back and forth so many times you'd think it was a basketball game (Indiana and Duke are historically better at basketball than football, you see).

And just like in basketball, Duke came out on top, winning 44-41 in overtime after IU kicker Griffin Oakes — the Big Ten's kicker of the year — missed a 38-yard field goal to win it ... or did he? Field goals can't be reviewed, but Oakes thought he made it, and he may have a point.

This was a special one for the Blue Devils. This wasn't the best season for coach David Cutcliffe since he's been at Duke, as his team won seven games, compared to nine and 10 the previous two years, but Duke had lost bowl games in those seasons, plus the previous year. This was the Blue Devils' first bowl win since a 7-6 win over Arkansas in the 1961 Cotton Bowl.

Duke looked like it had a chance to run away with this game early. Despite an interception, the Blue Devils took advantage of an Indiana turnover on downs and a Hoosiers interception to take a 10-0 lead. However, even through another IU interception, the much-improved Hoosiers defense held and waited for the vaunted passing offense to get going. It did, with two straight touchdown drives and 17 total points in the second half.

The second half is where things got really nutty, like a game involving #CHAOSTEAM should.

IU's offense got rolling, with over 200 rushing yards from Devine Redding, a touchdown from an Alex Rodriguez in Yankee Stadium. However, it was the defense that stepped up, with a fumble recovery, an interception from a defensive tackle and a big fourth down stop deep in their own territory. That's not the Indiana of old, but that's fitting of this season.

IU's offense got rolling (and it got a touchdown from an Alex Rodriguez in Yankee Stadium), but it was the defense that stepped up, with a fumble recovery, an interception from a defensive tackle and a big fourth down stop deep in their own territory. However, the defense couldn't hold at the end of the game, as Duke quarterback Thomas Sirk drove his team down the field for a touchdown with 41 seconds left to send the game to EXTRA INNINGS.

Sirk got injured on third down of Duke's overtime possession, leading to a field goal. The next possession, Oakes, who missed a potential 56-yard game winner at the end of regulation, missed again.

This bowl win is just another milestone for Duke, which continues to become a strong program under Cutcliffe. With the bowl victory, and with a young offense that should get better, the Blue Devils have the momentum of four straight bowl seasons heading into 2016.

Duke: 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Champions

INDIANAPOLIS -- Call them freshmen. Please, do not call them kids.

Led by Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor, Duke's talented group of youngsters outscored Wisconsin by 14 points over the final 13 minutes Monday night to grit out a 68-63 victory for the program's fifth national title.

Okafor, the likely first pick in the NBA draft if he decides to leave, got outplayed by Badgers center Frank Kaminsky but came through when the pressure was highest.

He made two straight buckets over Kaminsky, sandwiched between a pair of 3-pointers from Jones to help the Blue Devils (35-4) turn a one-time nine-point deficit into an eight-point lead with 1:22 left.

"They showed such grit tonight," said coach Mike Krzyzewski, whose five titles puts him alone in second place on the all-time list behind John Wooden. "Our bench was spectacular, and like we said about two months ago, eight is enough. Eight is enough."A furious Wisconsin rally ensued, but it came up short. Then, it was Okafor on the bottom of a rowdy, raucous dog pile -- a scene very reminiscent of the last time the Final Four was Indianapolis, back in 2010 when Duke won that one, too. The Blue Devils also took one here in 1991 -- the Grant Hill, Christian Laettner squad.

Among the eight who share all the playing time are Okafor, Jones and another freshman, Justise Winslow. They all might be one-and-dones.

But Grayson Allen? The most unheralded of Krzyzewski's first-year players, who averages four points a game, stepped up with Okafor on the bench for much of the second half in foul trouble. Allen, the slam-dunk champion at the high school McDonald's All-American contest last year, scored 16 points and kept Duke in it when Wisconsin (36-4) looked like it was about to run away.

Duke certainly didn't look young.

This was a savvy, calm, collected comeback against the team that wrote the book on that all season. Wisconsin kept its cool two nights earlier in an upset over undefeated Kentucky and looked to be pulling away early in the second half of this one.

Then, suddenly, Duke looked like veterans and Wisconsin looked like kids.

Kaminsky outscored Okafor 21-10 but struggled to get a good look down the stretch. On Okafor's first late bucket, Kaminsky tried to wrap an arm around him, but Okafor just powered his way through it for the bucket and the foul. He missed the free throw, but a different point had been made.

Nigel Hayes had 13 points and Sam Dekker, the key guy down the stretch against Kentucky, had a very quiet 13 for the Badgers, who were trying to bring their first title back to Madison since 1941.

Duke 61, Butler 59

Blue Devils back on top with 4th NCAA title

INDIANAPOLIS - All season long, defense and rebounding were the buzzwords that carried Duke to the NCAA title game.

It was fitting, then, that one final defensive possession made the Blue Devils NCAA champions Monday night at Lucas Oil Stadium in a 61-59 victory over Butler.

Trailing by one point, upset-minded Butler gave the ball to leading scorer Gordon Hayward. Guarded by Kyle Singler, he tried driving the right side of the lane but was cut off.

Hayward lofted a high-arcing shot that clanged off the rim with five seconds remaining. Seven-foot-1 Brian Zoubek rebounded for Duke with 3.6 seconds left. He made one free throw, and missed the next intentionally.

A half-court heave by Hayward was long off the backcourt at the final horn. Fireworks cracked and confetti fell, and Duke had its fourth NCAA title.

Singler scored 19 points, Jon Scheyer 15 and Nolan Smith 13 for the Blue Devils.

Duke (35-5), the No. 1 seed out of the South Regional, edged the tough Butler team to earn the school's fourth NCAA title. No. 5 seed Butler (33-5) fell just short of completing one of the most improbable championship runs ever as a highly disciplined team from the mid-major Horizon League.

Butler proved every bit as formidable as Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski had predicted the previous day. The game was billed as a classic meeting of a feisty, determined underdog against a highly skilled traditional power after the Blue Devils crushed Big East tournament champion West Virginia 78-57 in Saturdayís NCAA semifinals.

But Butler had won 25 in a row entering the game and showed why with a gritty defensive performance that caused the Blue Devils fits throughout the game. The Bulldogs backed off forward Lance Thomas, Duke's least accomplished scorer, in order to clog the lane and pressure the Blue Devilsí high-scoring trio of Scheyer, Singler and Smith.

It was a brutal, half-court game that fit the styles of both teams and was tightly contested throughout. Although Duke led for much of the game, neither team ever led by more than six points.

In the opening minutes, Butler coach Brad Stevens proved worthy of the high praise Krzyzewski heaped on him the day before the game. Although Duke had a much bigger lineup, with three starters 6-foot-8 or taller, the Bulldogs immediately attacked in the lane on offense.

Matt Howard, the 6-8 forward who played despite suffering a concussion in the NCAA semifinals against Michigan State, thrashed around in the lane without fear, and Duke quickly paid the price.

Just 3:10 into the game, Duke senior forward Thomas committed his second foul, and he immediately came to the bench. Howard's aggression set the tone on the boards, too, where Duke dominated smaller opponents such as Butler throughout the tournament.

In the first half, the Bulldogs outrebounded Duke 24-17 despite starting three players 6-foot-3 or smaller. Nonetheless, Duke held a slim lead throughout most of the first half.

The Blue Devils scored six of the first seven points, fell behind, and scored eight straight points to lead 26-20 on a Kyle Singler driving layup with 5:13 remaining in the first half. Stevens, who looked like he wanted a traveling call on the Singler basket, called timeout and steadied his team.

Over the last four minutes of the half, Howardís backup, Avery Jukes, hit a pair of 3-point shots and a rebound basket to narrow the margin. After Smith missed the front end of a one-and-one at the free throw line with three seconds left in the half and a jumper at the buzzer, Duke led just 33-32 at halftime.

Butler led briefly three times in the opening seven minutes of the second half before Kyle Singler made a 3-pointer and Krzyzewski immediately called timeout with Duke ahead 45-43 and 13:02 remaining.

Duke led 60-55 with two minutes remaining, but went cold in the final three minutes. Howard scored a layup with 1:42 left and another after Smith missed a layup with 54.8 seconds left to cut the Blue Devilsí advantage to 60-59.

Singler missed a 15-foot jumper, and the rebound went out of bounds off Zoubekís leg with 33.7 seconds remaining. Zoubek deflected a Butler pass out of bounds with 13.6 seconds left.
ktysiac@charlotteobserver.com or 919-829-8942, or @kentysiac on Twitter

Duke 78, West Virginia 57

Duke makes it look easy, to play for title Monday

By Ken Tysiac
ktysiac@charlotteoberver.com
Posted: Sunday, Apr. 04, 2010

INDIANAPOLIS -- One of Duke's coaches shouted to guard Nolan Smith as the shot clock wound down with West Virginia desperately needing to stop the Blue Devils to get back in the game.

"Six, five."

Smith dribbled right, turned the corner at the free throw line and drove for a gorgeous right-handed layup with 7 minutes, 7 seconds remaining.

Too easy. In what was supposed to be a defensive duel, West Virginia never found a way to stop Smith, Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer as Duke rolled to a 78-57 win Saturday night in the NCAA semifinals in front of a crowd of 71,298 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Blue Devils used excellent 3-point shooting and tenacious rebounding by center Brian Zoubek to advance to the NCAA championship game for the first time since they won the 2001 NCAA title.

Duke (34-5), the No. 1 seed out of the South Region, will play No. 5 regional seed Butler (33-4) at 9:21 p.m. Monday in the NCAA championship game.

This season's Duke team crashed its way into the Final Four by depending largely on physical half-court defense. On Saturday, though, Duke's half-court offense cranked into high gear.

Scheyer scored 23 points, Singler 21 and Smith 19 Duke shot 29-for-55 from the field, including 13-for-25 from 3-point range.

"Can't we guard?" exasperated West Virginia coach Bob Huggins pleaded with his team early in the second half.

They couldn't, and Zoubek added to the offense as he crashed the boards hard with his 7-foot-1 frame to grab 10 rebounds. He added three assists, many of them on kick-out passes to 3-point shooters after offensive rebounds.

It wasn't a perfect night for Duke, by any means. West Virginia (31-7), the No. 2 seed from the East Regional, demonstrated on offense in the first half why it had won the Big East tournament and upset top-seeded Kentucky in the regional final.

The Mountaineers shot 13-for-26 from the field in the first half, but West Virginia's defense never found an answer for Duke.

After a week of questions from reporters about how Duke would handle West Virginia's 1-3-1 zone defense, the Mountaineers opened in a man-to-man.

Regardless of the defense used, junior forward Singler was ready after shooting an abysmal 0-for-10 from the field in the Blue Devils' regional final win over Baylor.

The Blue Devils immediately got the ball to Singler in the low post on a set play. The shot was blocked, but Singler bounced back quickly. Coach Mike Krzyzewski clapped his hands hard after Singler scored early on a driving layup.

By halftime, Singler had 14 points on 6-for-12 from the field as Duke was on target from 3-point range. Smith made three 3-pointers and Singler and Scheyer two apiece as Duke led by as many as 11 points in the first half and held a 39-31 advantage at halftime.

West Virginia tried its zone just once before halftime. Smith immediately sank a 3-pointer to take the Mountaineers out of it.

The only negative point for the Blue Devils in the first half was that Smith committed three fouls and spent the final 2:54 of the half on the bench.

Although West Virginia closed the gap to six points early in the second half, Scheyer immediately answered with a 3-pointer from the wing with 15:28 remaining, and Duke began to pull away to a lead that reached 15 points.

ktysiac@charlotteobserver.com or 919-829-8942

Duke 78, Baylor 71

Duke punches another Final Four ticket

By Ken Tysiac
ktysiac@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Sunday, Mar. 28, 2010

HOUSTON -- Duke senior guard Jon Scheyer fiddled absently Sunday evening with the loop he'd cut from the net at Reliant Stadium that represented a lifetime goal fulfilled.

A baseball cap that proclaimed Duke regional champions sat on Scheyer's left knee as the last few reporters hung around the locker room. Scheyer and junior backcourt partner Nolan Smith had just shredded Baylor's zone defense, combining for 49 points to lift Duke to a 78-71 win in the NCAA tournament's South Regional final.

The win propelled top-seeded Duke (33-5) into its first Final Four in six years. The Blue Devils will meet West Virginia, the No. 2 seed out of the East Regional, at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday in the NCAA semifinals in Indianapolis.

"It's a dream come true," Scheyer said. "It just is. To get that win, we had to work our butts off for it, and it felt great."

Smith and Scheyer carried the Blue Devils, combining for nine of Duke's 11 3-pointers against a Baylor zone defense that held Duke to 11-for-38 shooting from two-point range.

With a career-high 29 points, Smith kept talented, No. 3 seed Baylor (28-8) from running away with the win early. He also put Duke ahead to stay after going to the free throw line with the Bears leading by a point with 3 minutes, 36 seconds remaining.

Smith made the first free throw to tie the game, but missed the second. Teammate Lance Thomas tipped the rebound free and dug the ball off the floor. He passed quickly to Kyle Singler, who found Smith open in front of the Duke bench.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski immediately yelled for Smith to shoot it. He did, sinking a 3-pointer that gave Duke the lead, and then shot Krzyzewski a smile.

On Duke's next possession, Brian Zoubek passed out to Scheyer in the short corner opposite the Blue Devils' bench. Scheyer, who's struggled with his shooting for most of the postseason, drilled a 3-pointer and ran back down the court pumping his fist.

Duke led 67-61 with 2:38 remaining, and Indianapolis was coming into focus.

"That kind of took the wind out of them a little bit," Zoubek said. ". . .I think it was a little bit of a dagger."

For much of the game it appeared that Baylor might put the dagger into Duke because of Blue Devil forward Singler's struggles. Singler was held to five points – all on free throws – as he missed all 10 of his field goal attempts.

He spent much of the game chasing around shooting guard LaceDarius Dunn, who led Baylor with 22 points but missed six of his eight 3-point attempts against Singler, who's 6-foot-8.

But Singler, who usually scores easily inside against smaller defenders, couldn't get a shot to fall against a defense that started players measuring 7-foot, 6-10 and 6-10.

"It was frustrating," Singler said. "But the good sign for our team was we played through it. . . .It didn't bother us at all. We were able to keep playing, and it shows the closeness of our group."

Krzyzewski, too, mentioned the closeness and character of Duke's players as a factor that helped a good team that's not a great team get to the Final Four.

This will be Krzyzewski's 11th Final Four trip in 30 seasons at Duke. It comes after four years of steady improvement in Duke's won-loss record and NCAA tournament results over the careers of seniors Scheyer, Zoubek and Thomas.

"It's as close a team as I've had," Krzyzewski said. "You want great things to happen for people who are great with us. I mean, they've been spectacular to coach. . . .I'm ecstatic about it."

As the buzzer sounded, Krzyzewski walked immediately over to Baylor coach Scott Drew to shake his hand. Duke's players jumped in the air, bumped chests and met at halfcourt, their shouting piercing the quiet of the mostly pro-Baylor crowd of 47,492 exiting into the Texas evening.

For Scheyer it was the culmination of a steady climb over four years. For Smith, it's a chance to return to the site of the 1980 Final Four, where his father, the late Derek Smith, won the NCAA title with Louisville.

Now it's Nolan's turn, and he can't wait.

"This team from the beginning of this tournament has been living in the moment, really enjoying every single game, and you know, just playing hard," Smith said. "And it just feels great right now."

ktysiac@charlotteobserver.com or 919-829-8942