Traditional basketball powerhouse Duke and unheralded Butler will meet for the national championship after winning in contrasting fashions on Saturday.
Duke pounded West Virginia 78-57 while Butler, in their first trip to the Final Four, edged out last year’s runners-up Michigan State 52-50 before a crowd of 71,000 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Jon Scheyer scored 23 points and Kyle Singler added 21 for Atlantic Coast Conference champion Duke, seeking their fourth NCAA basketball championship under coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Duke held an eight-point lead at halftime and were never threatened by a West Virginia team unable to muster the fire they displayed in upsetting Kentucky in the East Region final.
The Blue Devils (34-5) are seeking their first title since 2001 and their fans are in confident mood, chanting “Bring on But-ler” in the final seconds of the dominating victory over the Big East champion Mountaineers.
Today’s title game has a David versus Goliath feel to it, with Duke, one of the US’ most consistent programs, facing a school virtually unknown on the national landscape.
“They’re one of the best teams in the country or else they wouldn’t be playing in the national championship,” Krzyzewski said. “They’ve earned it.”
Butler coach Brad Stevens admitted it had been a fairy-tale season.
“We might not have believed it, but during our first team meeting in the Fall we said: ‘If we focus and do our jobs, then why can’t we play for a national championship?’” Stevens said. “That’s been our focus all along.”
Guard Ronald Nored had misfired from the free-throw line the entire tournament but nailed a pair with six seconds left to give Butler a 52-49 lead.
The Spartans’ Korie Lucious countered with a free throw with two seconds remaining to trim the lead to 52-50. When he missed the second, Butler’s Gordon Hayward grabbed the rebound as the horn sounded.
“We didn’t come here to be one and done,” Butler guard Zach Hahn said. “We wanted to push throughout tonight, take care of business and make our way to Monday. We will celebrate, for the next 30 minutes or so. We have one more game.”
Butler hit just 15 of 49 shots (30.6 percent), but came up with almost every loose ball and held a 20-2 advantage on points off turnovers.
“If I was not playing I would be a Butler fan,” Spartans coach Tom Izzo said. “I like the way they play. They’re physical. I like their story. I like the whole thing.”
Hayward scored 19 points and Shelvin Mack added 14 for the Bulldogs.
The Spartans (28-9) were paced in scoring by Durrell Summers’ 14 points, while Lucious and Draymond Green chipped in 12 apiece.
Butler, a tiny school with 4,500 students whose campus is located just 10km from the site of the Final Four, have held each of their five tournament opponents under 60 points.
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