Duke, Butler to meet for national title

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Indianapolis — Growing up, Butler’s players followed, watched and admired the Duke men’s basketball program.

It didn’t exactly go both ways.

“You know, not a whole lot,” Duke guard Jon Scheyer said Saturday night when asked if he was aware of Butler’s program growing up in Chicago. “I followed basketball. I was always a big basketball fan, so I knew some Butler — all the teams around here. But I wouldn’t say I’m very knowledgeable about it.”

By Monday night, you can bet the Blue Devils will be as educated as they’ll need to be when they take on the Bulldogs in the national championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis (9:21 p.m., CBS).

“From when I can remember, Duke has always been a powerhouse program,” Butler guard Zach Hahn said Sunday. “For us, we’re on a big stage now playing against the best teams in the country. That’s something we’ve always wanted our whole lives. I think we’re prepared for it.”

The Bulldogs were prepared in their 52-50 national semifinal win against MSU on Saturday. The Spartans became the latest of Butler’s NCAA Tournament opponents to succumb to their stifling defense and fail to score 60 points.

Monday’s title game will be another defensive battle as the Bulldogs make their first national championship game appearance in front of a hometown crowd. Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, on the other hand, is in his 11th Final Four and will coach in his eighth title game.

“Certainly it’s humbling to be standing there with people like that,” Butler head coach Brad Stevens said. “And not just for their excellence in coaching, but for what they give back to the game. … They’re guys you look up to.

“I think the best way I can put it is they write books and I get to read ’em.”

Butler could be without starting center Matt Howard, who appeared to suffer a concussion-like injury Saturday night and was limited to four points and two rebounds in 15 minutes.
“Matt banged his head,” Stevens said.

“We’re just keeping him under observation today. Probably won’t practice today. Will be a day-of-game decision, it sounds like.”

The Bulldogs certainly have earned the right to be taken seriously at this juncture after beating No. 1-seed Syracuse, No. 2-seed Kansas State and No. 5-seed MSU, the last remaining team from last year’s Final Four.

“They’ve been a top-10 team the whole year,” Scheyer said of the Bulldogs. “We know how great of a team they are, especially watching on tape. Those guys have beaten a lot of great teams, big-time programs.”

On the other bench, the Blue Devils were thoroughly decisive in the other national semifinal, a 78-57 handling of West Virginia. Their “big three” — Scheyer, guard Nolan Smith and forward Kyle Singler — combined for 63 points, 12 rebounds, 17 assists and just four turnovers.

“I’ve seen them play a bunch in the ACC Tournament and just the games that are on television, and the thing that worries me the most is just the ‘big three,’” Butler guard Willie Veasley said. “If Kansas State had the best two-guard combination, they have, by far, the best three player — two guards and one forward. We have to just try to contain them and, like against Michigan State, rebound, because they have such a big size advantage against us.”

The Blue Devils capitalized on 19 second-chance points Saturday and also went off for 24 points in the paint. They shot more than 50 percent, something only one team did against Butler in March.

“Coach Stevens always preaches to us that we don’t need to come out and play the perfect game,” Hahn said. “We just need to play better than them and score more points.”

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