Beyond the Arc: Duke basketball vs. Michigan State

With a dominant 81-61 victory against Michigan State, the Blue Devils are heading back to the national championship game. Duke trounced the Spartans in the paint and used relentless defensive pressure to erase an early 14-6 deficit. With the victory, the Blue Devils advance to their ninth national championship game under head coach Mike Krzyzewski and will look to bring home their fifth title with a win Monday against Wisconsin—which shocked the college basketball world by upsetting undefeated Kentucky—at 9:18 p.m.

Revisiting the three keys to the game

• Generic Script

  Feed Okafor in the post: After running their offense through Justise Winslow during the second weekend of the tournament, the Blue Devils went back to their dominant force in the paint early and often Saturday. The All-American was able to use his superior size to establish deep position down low against the smaller Spartans’ trio of Matt Costello, Gavin Schilling and Branden Dawson. Okafor put his talents on display on the biggest stage, using an array of spins and step-through’s to get easy looks right at the basket. The freshman even displayed some of his pro potential with a jump shot off the window midway through the first half. Although Okafor was the key cog in Duke’s offensive attack, it appeared that the Blue Devils could have fed their freshman star even more if they wanted.
• Slow down Travis Trice: The senior guard’s impressive career came to a sad close as he was held to just 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting. After starting hot from the floor, Trice struggled against Duke’s stifling pressure on ball screens. The Huber Heights, Ohio native appeared to simply run out of gas towards the end of the contest as it became evident that the clock had struck 12 for Michigan State’s Cinderella run.
• Make the necessary adjustments: Despite falling down 14-6 under a barrage of Spartan threes early, Duke responded the way the young team has responded all year long. The Blue Devils were able to apply the clamps on Michigan State’s perimeter weapons and forced their opponent to exclusively take shots from beyond the arc. On offense, Duke recognized that getting open threes against the Spartans defense would be difficult and decided to attack the paint at all costs. Whether it meant posting up Justise Winslow or running the offense through Okafor, Krzyzewski made the key changes necessary to help continue his team’s quest for a fifth national championship.

Three key plays

• 16:19, first half: Michigan State junior Denzel Valentine continues his hot start from beyond the arc, knocking down his third triple in the first five minutes of the contest to put the Blue Devils in their biggest deficit in the tournament.
• 9:38, first half: Duke’s takes its first lead of the game with an emphatic slam by Okafor. The Blue Devils would hold the lead for the remainder of the contest.
• 10:42, second half: With the Spartans cutting the lead to 54-41, a strong finish by Okafor down low stems a 7-0 run that puts the game away for Duke.

Three key stats

After being overlooked for AP Player of the Year in favor of Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky, the Blue Devils star made a statement on the national stage by torching the smaller Spartans down low. Although the freshman has often dominated on offense, it is worth noting that the Chicago native has improved markedly on defense throughout the tournament. After teams exploited Okafor by involving the freshman in ball screens in the regular season, the All American has been better at applying pressure to opposing ball-handlers. If the center can continue his strong play on both sides of the ball Monday, expect the Blue Devils to leave Indianapolis holding another championship trophy.

And the Michigan State game ball goes to…Denzel Valentine

The senior’s career came to a close, but certainly not without a fight. Valentine had Duke fans anxious early in the contest as his three threes in the first five minutes of the contest gave the Spartans hope that another upset may be on hand. Yet, the East Lansing, Mich., native could not lead his team to victory against the collective efforts of the Blue Devils Okafor, Winslow and Quinn Cook. Although Valentine’s NBA potential is still to be determined, his consistent performances during Michigan State’s deep tournament run showed just how good the senior can be.

This article was updated at 5:37 a.m. to reflect that Denzel Valentine is a junior, not a senior.