Duke, Gonzaga to meet in NCAA Tournament South Region final

NO. 2 Gonzaga vs. NO. 1 Duke

■ SITE: NRG Stadium, Houston

■ TV: 2:05 p.m., CBS (8)

■ LINE: Duke -2½; total 144½

■ STORYLINE: Gonzaga is one win from its first trip to the Final Four, but the last remaining obstacle is a significant one. The Bulldogs have lost only twice all season — by a total of six points — but must get past Duke in the South Region final. Gonzaga is in its first Elite Eight since 1999, while Duke is one win from its 16th appearance in the Final Four and its first since 2010.

The Blue Devils won the national title that year with a veteran lineup, but the current group of Duke stars is a trio of freshmen complemented by a sturdy senior in the backcourt. Justise Winslow starred in Duke’s Sweet 16 victory over Utah, while fellow freshman Jahlil Okafor matched a season low with six points and hopes to bounce back against Gonzaga with NBA scouts watching him closely. The Bulldogs rode their two big men, Przemek Karnowski and Domantas Sabonis, to a regional semifinal win against UCLA but likely need more production from their star players today.

■ ABOUT GONZAGA (35-2): Karnowski and Sabonis are the third- and fifth-leading scorers for the Bulldogs, but they combined for 30 points and 17 rebounds while their teammates struggled to 13for-47 shooting against UCLA. Among the players who need to step up are Kyle Wiltjer, who averages a team-high 16.8 points but totaled eight on 4-for-12 shooting Friday, and Kevin Pangos (11.8 points), who shot 1 of 7 from 3-point range en route to 10 points against UCLA. “The one accomplishment that we haven’t done is reach the Final Four and we finally have an opportunity to do that,” said Bulldogs coach Mark Few, whose team shot 10 of 16 on 3-pointers in the round of 32 before going 3 of 19 in the Sweet 16.

■ ABOUT DUKE (32-4): Winslow, a native of Houston, shot 8 of 13 from the field including 3 of 4 3-pointers en route to 21 points and 10 rebounds against Utah for his third double-double in the last four games. “Justise played like a man all night. He did everything we needed,” said senior guard Quinn Cook, who had 11 points to join Winslow and freshman Tyus Jones (15) in double figures. The Utes employed constant double-teams on Okafor, who attempted only six shots and took one free throw while committing four turnovers in perhaps the worst game of his Blue Devils career.

■ TIP-INS

1. Karnowski has shot at least 50 percent from the field in 24 of his last 25 games. As a team, the Bulldogs shoot 52.4 percent, best in the nation.

2. Cook’s school-record streak of 45 straight games with a 3-pointer ended in the regional semifinals.

3. The last time the teams played each other was in 2009, when Duke held Gonzaga to its lowest point total in 25 years in a 76-41 rout at Madison Square Garden.

■ PREDICTION: Gonzaga 66, Duke 59

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