April 05--INDIANAPOLIS -- Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski slipped a ring onto his right finger this weekend that he rarely wears.
"It's our 2010 national championship ring," he explained on Friday. "I've worn it throughout the tournament just as a reminder to me and to our team of our ultimate goal, to win a national championship. Not for luck or anything, just as a constant reminder of what it is."
The top-seeded Blue Devils only need to look at an NCAA tournament bracket now to be reminded of their reality. After crushing Michigan State 81-61 on Saturday night in the NCAA tournament Final Four, Krzyzewski and his team are in the tournament championship game for the first time since 2010.
The Blue Devils advanced at Lucas Oil Stadium to play the winner of the late Final Four game between top seeds Wisconsin and Kentucky. This marks the ninth national title game appearance for Krzyzewski at Duke.
Against the Spartans, Blue Devils' imposing center Jahlil Okafor led the way with 18 points, helping Duke dominate 42-26 in scoring in the paint.
There's little doubt that the Spartans -- or any of the approximately 70,000 fans on attendance -- saw a throwdown dunk coming from 6-foot-4 guard Grayson Allen, the least known among Duke's freshmen.
The Spartans were expected to have the lifespan of a gnat in the NCAA tournament, entering as a No. 7 seed. But coach Tom Izzo's team found the right mix of toughness, star players and defense to guide the Spartans to his seventh Final Four appearance.
But he ran into his on-court kryptonite. Izzo's record against Krzyzewski fell to 1-9.
Little of that grit showed after the first four minutes on Saturday.
Michigan State entered the game with a sizzling start, prematurely staging upset talk with a 14-6 lead in the first four minutes of the game.
Then, the fizzle.
After hitting five of their first seven shots, including all four 3-pointers, the Spartans made only three of their next 20 shots in the first half, missing the next five 3-pointers.
When Denzel Valentine was tripped up on the court and hobbled around the court near the end of the first half, he gave a literal meaning to the pain Spartans fans were already feeling.
Valentine recovered, leading the way for the Spartans with 22 points.
The Spartans weren't helped as Branden Dawson picked p four fouls early in the second half as big men Matt Costello and Gavin Schilling also fell into fouls trouble.
sryan@tribpub.com
