Duke wins NCAA men’s basketball championship
Duke won the NCAA men’s basketball championship in a thrilling title contest, defeating Wisconsin 68-63 on Monday in Indianapolis.
Duke freshmen guards Tyus Jones and Grayson Allen led Duke with 23 and 16 points, respectively. National freshman of the year Jahlil Okafor had 10 points despite spending most of the second half on the bench. Duke’s fourth prized freshman Justise Winslow scored 11 points.
Jones had 19 points in the second half as the Blue Devils guards got more aggressive in driving to the basket.
The national title is the fifth for Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, moving him ahead of the late Adolph Rupp into second place among Division I men’s coaches.
Wisconsin was sparked by national player of the year Frank Kaminsky, who scored 21 points and had 12 rebounds. Nigel Hayes chipped in 13 points while Sam Dekker added 12, but shot poorly from the field.
The first half was tight, though Duke briefly took a six-point lead midway through the period, before Wisconsin fought back. There were 13 lead changes in the first 20 minutes.
Wisconsin took a seven-point lead in the second half but missed most of its shots down the stretch while Jones and Allen brought Duke back.
