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NCAA Men's Final Four Championship Game Notes
NCAA Men’s Final Four Championship Game Notes
April 5, 2015 – Indianapolis – Lucas Oil Stadium
#1 WISCONSIN (36-3) vs. #1 DUKE (34-4) - National Championship
DUKE
• With its national semifinal victory, Duke will be making its 11th national championship game appearance. The Blue Devils have captured four national titles (1991, 1992, 2001 and 2010); the 1991 and 2010 titles were both won in Indianapolis. Only UCLA and Kentucky (12 apiece) have played for the national title more times than Duke.
• Duke is now 9-2 in NCAA Tournament play in the state of Indiana, 8-2 in Indianapolis and 4-1 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
• The Blue Devils improved to 50-9 as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament; this is the 13th time Duke has earned a No. 1 seed since seeding began in 1979.
• Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski is now 9-3 in national semifinal games. The Blue Devils are 4-4 in national championship games under Krzyzewski. His nine title games appearances are the second-most by a coach in NCAA history behind only UCLA’s John Wooden (12).
• Duke has won 17 of its last 18 games. The Blue Devils’ only loss in that span was to Notre Dame in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament on March 13. Notre Dame also defeated Duke 90-60 on Feb. 7 and is the only team to defeat the Blue Devils since Jan. 13.
• The Blue Devils are 5-1 this season against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 10, including their win at then-No. 2 Wisconsin in December (Duke was ranked No. 4 at the time.). Duke’s only loss versus a top-10 foe was at Notre Dame 77-73 on Jan. 28, but the Blue Devils avenged that with a 90-60 victory over the Irish at home on Feb. 7.
• Duke’s 34 wins so far this season are tied for fourth in school history with the 1992 team (34-2). The Blue Devils won a school-record 37 games in 1999 and 35 each in 2001 and 2010. All four of those previous teams advanced to the national championship game, and three won the national titles.
• Duke’s Jahlil Okafor has scored 647 points on the season, to become the second-Duke freshman to top the 600-point mark. He is 23 points short of Jabari Parker’s school freshman scoring record of 670 set last season. Okafor has scored 24 points or more in eight games this season.
WISCONSIN
• Wisconsin has advanced to its first national championship game since winning the title in 1941 with a 39-34 victory over Washington State in Kansas City, Mo.
• Wisconsin’s 36th win extends its school record and is one shy of Illinois’ Big Ten Conference record of 37 set in 2004-05. Wisconsin has now won 11 straight games and 21 of its last 22; the Badgers’ only loss since Jan. 11 was to Maryland 59-53 on Feb. 24. UW has had two win streaks of 10 or more games this season.
• With the win, Wisconsin became the first team to win a semifinal rematch in back-to-back years. Previously, California beat Cincinnati in consecutive years in 1959-60, and UCLA did the same to Houston in 1967-68.
• With the victory, Wisconsin is now 37-7 away from home (includes road and neutral games) the past two years, which is the most wins among major conference teams.
• Wisconsin improved to 3-5 against No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, with two of those coming within the past week (Arizona in the West Regional final and Kentucky in the national semifinals). The Badgers will face their third straight No. 1 in Duke in the championship game.
• The Badgers have won each of their last four games by seven points (72-62 vs. Oregon, 79-72 vs. North Carolina, 85-78 vs. Arizona and 71-64 vs. Kentucky).
• The 2014-15 Associated Press Player of the Year, Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky will become the third AP POY in the past four years to play for the national title, joining Kentucky’s Anthony Davis in 2012 and Michigan’s Trey Burke in 2013. Kaminsky also received the Oscar Robertson Trophy as the national player of the year by the United States Basketball Writers Association.
• If Wisconsin were to win the national title, they would do so against the toughest schedule possible by seed. The Badgers have defeated No. 16 Coastal Carolina, No. 8 Oregon, No. 4 North Carolina, No. 2 Arizona and No. 1 Kentucky (the overall No. 1 seed) and face fellow No. 1 Duke in the title game.
• Wisconsin senior Frank Kaminsky needs just six points to sets UW’s single-season scoring record as he has 711 points, five behind Alando Tucker’s mark of 716 set in 2006-07. Kaminsky has 1,437 career points and needs 18 to move into ninth place on UW’s career scoring list. He is averaging 18 points per game this season and 22.2 in five NCAA Tournament games.
MATCH-UP
• The national championship game match-up of two No. 1 seeds is the first such clash since Kansas defeated Memphis 75-68 in overtime in the 2008 national title game in San Antonio, Texas. Duke is the No. 3 overall seed, while Wisconsin is the No. 4. (Kentucky was No. 1 and Villanova was No. 2.).
• The two teams’ combined 70 wins (Wisconsin-36, Duke 34) is the second-most for teams entering the national championship game. The record is 74 in 2008 when eventual national champion Kansas had 36 and runner-up Memphis 38. There have been a combined 69 wins twice (69 in 2012 - Kentucky 37, Kansas 32 and in 2007 – Florida 34, Ohio State 35).
• Both head coaches are bidding for their fifth national championships. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski has led the Blue Devils to titles in 1991, 1992, 2001 and 2010. Wisconsin’s Bo Ryan won four national titles at UW-Platteville in Division III in 1991, 1995, 1998 and 1999. Ryan is undefeated in national title games.
• Krzyzewski and Ryan are two of the top-five winningest active coaches in NCAA Division I. Krzyzewski holds the Division I record with 1,017 wins, and Ryan is fifth with 740, only 10 behind Roy Williams of North Carolina. (Of Ryan’s wins, 353 were at Division III UW-Platteville.)
• Wisconsin and Duke played earlier this season, with the Blue Devils winning 80-70 on Dec. 3 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Of UW’s three losses, that is the only one by double digits.
• In that first match-up, Traevon Jackson had a career-high 25 points for Wisconsin and Frank Kaminsky added 17 points and a game-best nine rebounds. Tyus Jones had 22 points and four assists for Duke, which shot 65 percent (30-for-46) from the field and 7-for-12 from three-point range. Duke’s shooting percentage was the best this year against Wisconsin, which had held opponents to only 43 percent entering the Final Four.
• With that early-season win, Duke leads the all-time series with Wisconsin, 2-1. Duke won 82-58 at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Nov. 27, 2007, and Wisconsin won in Madison 73-69 on Dec. 2, 2009.
• Duke has held each of its five NCAA Tournament foes to 61 points or fewer; Wisconsin has scored at least 71 points in its five contests, including two of 85 or more.
April 5, 2015 – Indianapolis – Lucas Oil Stadium
#1 WISCONSIN (36-3) vs. #1 DUKE (34-4) - National Championship
DUKE
• With its national semifinal victory, Duke will be making its 11th national championship game appearance. The Blue Devils have captured four national titles (1991, 1992, 2001 and 2010); the 1991 and 2010 titles were both won in Indianapolis. Only UCLA and Kentucky (12 apiece) have played for the national title more times than Duke.
• Duke is now 9-2 in NCAA Tournament play in the state of Indiana, 8-2 in Indianapolis and 4-1 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
• The Blue Devils improved to 50-9 as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament; this is the 13th time Duke has earned a No. 1 seed since seeding began in 1979.
• Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski is now 9-3 in national semifinal games. The Blue Devils are 4-4 in national championship games under Krzyzewski. His nine title games appearances are the second-most by a coach in NCAA history behind only UCLA’s John Wooden (12).
• Duke has won 17 of its last 18 games. The Blue Devils’ only loss in that span was to Notre Dame in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament on March 13. Notre Dame also defeated Duke 90-60 on Feb. 7 and is the only team to defeat the Blue Devils since Jan. 13.
• The Blue Devils are 5-1 this season against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 10, including their win at then-No. 2 Wisconsin in December (Duke was ranked No. 4 at the time.). Duke’s only loss versus a top-10 foe was at Notre Dame 77-73 on Jan. 28, but the Blue Devils avenged that with a 90-60 victory over the Irish at home on Feb. 7.
• Duke’s 34 wins so far this season are tied for fourth in school history with the 1992 team (34-2). The Blue Devils won a school-record 37 games in 1999 and 35 each in 2001 and 2010. All four of those previous teams advanced to the national championship game, and three won the national titles.
• Duke’s Jahlil Okafor has scored 647 points on the season, to become the second-Duke freshman to top the 600-point mark. He is 23 points short of Jabari Parker’s school freshman scoring record of 670 set last season. Okafor has scored 24 points or more in eight games this season.
WISCONSIN
• Wisconsin has advanced to its first national championship game since winning the title in 1941 with a 39-34 victory over Washington State in Kansas City, Mo.
• Wisconsin’s 36th win extends its school record and is one shy of Illinois’ Big Ten Conference record of 37 set in 2004-05. Wisconsin has now won 11 straight games and 21 of its last 22; the Badgers’ only loss since Jan. 11 was to Maryland 59-53 on Feb. 24. UW has had two win streaks of 10 or more games this season.
• With the win, Wisconsin became the first team to win a semifinal rematch in back-to-back years. Previously, California beat Cincinnati in consecutive years in 1959-60, and UCLA did the same to Houston in 1967-68.
• With the victory, Wisconsin is now 37-7 away from home (includes road and neutral games) the past two years, which is the most wins among major conference teams.
• Wisconsin improved to 3-5 against No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, with two of those coming within the past week (Arizona in the West Regional final and Kentucky in the national semifinals). The Badgers will face their third straight No. 1 in Duke in the championship game.
• The Badgers have won each of their last four games by seven points (72-62 vs. Oregon, 79-72 vs. North Carolina, 85-78 vs. Arizona and 71-64 vs. Kentucky).
• The 2014-15 Associated Press Player of the Year, Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky will become the third AP POY in the past four years to play for the national title, joining Kentucky’s Anthony Davis in 2012 and Michigan’s Trey Burke in 2013. Kaminsky also received the Oscar Robertson Trophy as the national player of the year by the United States Basketball Writers Association.
• If Wisconsin were to win the national title, they would do so against the toughest schedule possible by seed. The Badgers have defeated No. 16 Coastal Carolina, No. 8 Oregon, No. 4 North Carolina, No. 2 Arizona and No. 1 Kentucky (the overall No. 1 seed) and face fellow No. 1 Duke in the title game.
• Wisconsin senior Frank Kaminsky needs just six points to sets UW’s single-season scoring record as he has 711 points, five behind Alando Tucker’s mark of 716 set in 2006-07. Kaminsky has 1,437 career points and needs 18 to move into ninth place on UW’s career scoring list. He is averaging 18 points per game this season and 22.2 in five NCAA Tournament games.
MATCH-UP
• The national championship game match-up of two No. 1 seeds is the first such clash since Kansas defeated Memphis 75-68 in overtime in the 2008 national title game in San Antonio, Texas. Duke is the No. 3 overall seed, while Wisconsin is the No. 4. (Kentucky was No. 1 and Villanova was No. 2.).
• The two teams’ combined 70 wins (Wisconsin-36, Duke 34) is the second-most for teams entering the national championship game. The record is 74 in 2008 when eventual national champion Kansas had 36 and runner-up Memphis 38. There have been a combined 69 wins twice (69 in 2012 - Kentucky 37, Kansas 32 and in 2007 – Florida 34, Ohio State 35).
• Both head coaches are bidding for their fifth national championships. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski has led the Blue Devils to titles in 1991, 1992, 2001 and 2010. Wisconsin’s Bo Ryan won four national titles at UW-Platteville in Division III in 1991, 1995, 1998 and 1999. Ryan is undefeated in national title games.
• Krzyzewski and Ryan are two of the top-five winningest active coaches in NCAA Division I. Krzyzewski holds the Division I record with 1,017 wins, and Ryan is fifth with 740, only 10 behind Roy Williams of North Carolina. (Of Ryan’s wins, 353 were at Division III UW-Platteville.)
• Wisconsin and Duke played earlier this season, with the Blue Devils winning 80-70 on Dec. 3 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Of UW’s three losses, that is the only one by double digits.
• In that first match-up, Traevon Jackson had a career-high 25 points for Wisconsin and Frank Kaminsky added 17 points and a game-best nine rebounds. Tyus Jones had 22 points and four assists for Duke, which shot 65 percent (30-for-46) from the field and 7-for-12 from three-point range. Duke’s shooting percentage was the best this year against Wisconsin, which had held opponents to only 43 percent entering the Final Four.
• With that early-season win, Duke leads the all-time series with Wisconsin, 2-1. Duke won 82-58 at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Nov. 27, 2007, and Wisconsin won in Madison 73-69 on Dec. 2, 2009.
• Duke has held each of its five NCAA Tournament foes to 61 points or fewer; Wisconsin has scored at least 71 points in its five contests, including two of 85 or more.
