Duke Comes Back To Beat Wisconsin for NCAA Crown

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Published on April 7 2015 6:24 am
Last Updated on April 7 2015 6:29 am
Written by Millie Lange

INDIANAPOLIS -- Over a matter of mere minutes, the youngsters at Duke grew into salty old pros. Call them freshmen. But please, do not call them kids.

Led by Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor, Duke's talented group of potential one-and-doners played like veterans down the stretch, outscoring 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.

"It shows a lot about their confidence," said Quinn Cook, Duke's only senior starter.

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

The 6-foot-11 freshman 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.

A furious Wisconsin rally ensued, but it came up short. Then, it was Okafor on the bottom of a rowdy dog pile, a scene reminiscent of the last time the Final Four was Indianapolis, back in 2010 when Duke edged out Butler in another scintillating final. The Blue Devils also took one here in 1991 -- the Grant Hill, Christian Laettner squad.

"It was heaven," coach Mike Krzyzewski said of the stadium where he's now 4-0 in Final Fours. "It was really divine."

Krzyzewski now has five titles, alone in second place on the all-time list, behind only John Wooden.