March Madness – (2) Gonzaga vs. (1) Duke

(2) Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. (1) Duke Blue Devils (-2.5)

It’s been a year of milestones for Mike Krzyzewski, head coach of the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils. (32-4, 15-3 ACC). His team’s 63-57 Sweet 16 victory over Utah on Friday gave him a record 85 NCAA tournament wins (which, by the way, is 20 more than UNC legends Dean Smith and Roy Williams).

If Krzyzewski is going to up his win total today, his Blue Devils will have to top the best shooting team in the nation, the No. 2 Gonzaga Bulldogs, (35-2, 17-1 WCC), at NRG Stadium in Houston (5:05 p.m. Eastern).

In recent years, Krzyzewski has increasingly turned to freshman to lead his squad. This year is no different with first-year starters Justise Winslow (21 points, ten rebounds), Tyus Jones (15 points, three assists), and Jahlil Okafor (six points, eight rebounds) playing a key role in the win over the Utes.

“He gave us his trust and just believed in us,” said Winslow. “When you have that, you play like yourself.”

Added Krzyzewski, “This has been one of my favorite groups. They’ve been easy to coach and they really get along. There’s only a good attitude, only a good attitude and a willingness to learn. Sometimes freshmen don’t learn that until they’re older. But these guys knew it from the beginning. That’s why they’ve had a special year.”

The young Duke squad will be facing a much more experienced Gonzaga team today. The Bulldogs are led by four-year starters Kevin Pangos and Gary Bell Jr. in the backcourt, and juniors Przemek Karnowski and Kyle Wiltjer up front.

On Friday, Pangos and company soundly defeated UCLA, 74-62, covering the 8.5-point spread. After leading at halftime 35-28, the Bulldogs withstood a Bruins run that narrowed the lead to just one before putting away UCLA behind the strong play of Karnowski (18 points and nine boards).

“For me it was always a dream to be here and to play deep into the NCAA tournament,” Karnowski said after the win. “And right now I’m here and I’m trying to enjoy every second of it.”

The Bulldogs usually rely on their pin-point shooting, which connected at an NCAA-best 52.4-percent on the year.  But on a night when the Zags’ three-point shooting was uncharacteristically off (3-19), their defense came up huge, repeatedly stifling the Bruins shooters and holding UCLA to just 38.8-percent from the floor.

For Gonzaga head coach Mark Few, this marks his first time playing in the Elite Eight with the Bulldogs. But he isn’t content with an Elite Eight appearance.

“The one accomplishment that we haven’t done is reach the Final Four and we finally have an opportunity to do that,” Few said.

Look for the Bulldogs’ defense to keep this game close.  That’s why taking the Bulldogs and the points (+2.5) looks like the better play.

(Photo credit: SD Dirk (flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode]. Photo has been cropped.)