Duke has advanced 16 times to the Final Four and won four national championships, and Michigan State has made the NCAA semifinals nine times and won two titles. They will meet at 3:09 p.m. Saturday in the first Final Four semifinal in Indianapolis.
NCAA Tournament
Bo Ryan knows how to win basketball games these days, and winning always is cool. The misconception about the Badgers is they win ugly. Those were the old days. This team is different. Wisconsin has run the nation’s most efficient offense this season.
It has been a common theme during Tom Izzo’s 20 years as coach at Michigan State, advancing to seven Final Fours and winning a national title in 2000 without the surplus of can’t-miss players other heralded programs take for granted once the time arrives to recruit another class.
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.
It was April 2, 1990. Jerry Tarkanian, chewing a towel, was on one bench, with Mike Krzyzewski on the other. The UNLV-Duke showdown in the NCAA championship game in Denver was the headline show on the Strip. But Nevada sports books were banned from posting lines and taking action on the Rebels.
If you don’t want to wait to see who will win this year’s NCAA tournament, you’re in luck. Jimmy Fallon figured it out for everyone.
D Las Vegas owner Derek Stevens made a $20,000 wager at 50/1 on the Spartans to win the NCAA Tournament. That means Golden Nugget sportsbook director Tony Miller is routing for Duke on Saturday.
“We have a doggone good game,” the Wisconsin coach says before the Final Four. But many critics are frustrated with low scores, inconsistent whistles and micromanaging from the sidelines.
Duke defeated Gonzaga 66-52 on Sunday to set up the NCAA Basketball Tournament’s Final Four.
Michigan State is going back to the Final Four. The Spartans beat Louisville 76-70 for a thrilling overtime victory in the East Region on Sunday.
William Hill books would suffer six-figure losses if Kentucky (38-0) wins the national championship, due to a prop posted last summer. The Wildcats opened at 50-1 odds to go undefeated, and they entered the tournament as even-money favorites.
Arizona coach Sean Miller is still oh-for-Final Four attempts, his second-seeded team having been sent home by Wisconsin 85-78 on Saturday.
While other matchups in the Elite Eight feature some of the nation’s best players, the East Region final features a different kind of star-studded affair. Michigan State’s Tom Izzo and Louisville’s Rick Pitino are two of the best coaches in the country.
Gonzaga is one win from its first trip to the Final Four, but the last remaining obstacle is a significant one. The Bulldogs have lost only twice all season — by a total of six points — but must get past Duke in the South Region final.
Undefeated Kentucky advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament for the fourth time in five seasons, defeating third-seeded Notre Dame 68-66 in the Midwest Region final at Cleveland on Saturday.