This latest Final Four — won by Duke on Monday by a 68-63 score against Wisconsin at pristine Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis — was my 20th straight covering the national semifinals and final. It is a stretch that began in 1996 and has included some unforgettable moments, on and off the court.
The text was simple enough. One sentence. More of a promise than statement. This won’t happen next year.
To suggest any Duke basketball team over the past 25 years has flown under the national radar is to suggest Tom Brady can walk into any restaurant across the Northeast unnoticed.
Wisconsin is the reason Kentucky’s season fell two wins short of undefeated, the Badgers having proved a better No. 1 seed with a 71-64 semifinal victory before a Final Four gathering of 72,238 at Lucas Oil Stadium. Kentucky finished 38-1. That close to perfect. That far away.
Barry Rohrssen, a former administrative assistant and director of operations at UNLV under Bill Bayno, is in his first season on John Calipari’s staff at Kentucky. “Slice” has made it to the big time. He never won with the Washington Generals. He hasn’t lost with the Wildcats.
