Mike Krzyzewski

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March Madness: Final Four and National Championship Game Previews and Predicitions

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Here we are. The final weekend of the College Basketball season. Hard to believe that just two weeks ago 68 teams were vying to be the National Champion and now we are down to 4. There have been upsets, history made (a fifteen seed made the Elite Eight) and at the end of it all we have four historically great teams and one monumental, never before happened showdown.

FINAL FOUR PREVIEW

GAME 1: (1MW) KANSAS JAYHAWKS VS (2S) VILLANOVA WILDCATS 

TIP-OFF 6:09 PM EST 

Kansas Ochai Agbaji and Villanova’s Collin Gellespie leas thier teams against each other in the first game of the Final Four. Photo Courtesy: Sporting News

When this tournament first started, I had Kansas as one of my Final Four teams (my other three Gonzaga, Arizona, and Kentucky are all gone). This season there have been questions about Kansas’ toughness and consistency. Safe to say, those questions have been answered. They had a battle with undermanned Creighton in the second round, another struggle against Providence and then a dominant second half against Miami turned a deficit into a 26 point blowout. Kansas has leaned on its stars Ochai Agbaji, David McCormick, and Christian Braun. Arizona State transfer Remy Martin has meshed with the offense at the right time. Kansas is starting to look like the team that many had pegged to win it all. 

Villanova has flown under the radar for most of the season. They won the Big East Tournament behind the shooting of Senior Guard Collin Gillespie. The Wildcats have had to be gritty all season long. They only go 6-7 players deep and have lost second-leading scorer Justin Moore to a torn Achilles. On the surface, they should be in trouble. But head coach Jay Wright has been here before and knows how to the most out of his team in these situations.

What I see happening in this game is, Villanova cannot get into a track meet. They have to make this game slow and keep it a half-court game. Kansas is a strong defensive team (especially in this tournament). Gillespie must have a big game and the Wildcats have to find a way to get Kansas into foul trouble to even up the depth issue they will face. To combat this, Martin needs to be the star he is morphing into in this tourney. This takes the pressure off the other three stars and will allow them to operate freely. If this happens, Villanova will be in for a long night. 

I have a hard time picking against Wright. But, Kansas is playing so well right now and they seem destined to play Monday night. The loss of Moore is going to be monumental here and as good as Gillespie is, Kansas is more complete. I got the Jayhawks moving onto Monday night. 

PREDICTION: KANSAS JAYHAWKS 71 VILLANOVA WILDCATS 55

GAME 2: (2W) DUKE BLUE DEVILS VS (8E) NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS 

APPROX TIP OFF 7:49 PM (30 MINUTES FOLLOWING FIRST GAME)

Wendel Moore Jr of Duke drives against Leaky Black of North Carolina
Phot Courtesy: Getty Images

In history, there have been many rivalries and feuds. In college sports, it does not get any better than Duke and North Carolina. These two teams have had monumental battles throughout the ACC and Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski has no bigger rival than the Tar Heels. This is just purely poetic to have him face off with them in the Final Four in his final season. Add in the fact these two storied rivals have never faced in the NCAA Tournament and this is going to be a massively historic matchup. 

Duke has handled this being their legendary head coach’s final year throughout this season. At his point, it is safe to say they are used to it. Of greater concern is the fact that Carolina dominated Duke in Durham in the last game of the regular season for Coach K and his last home game. The Tar Heels did this using a frantic defense that kept Duke out of rhythm all night, especially Stars Paolo Banchero and Wendell Moore Jr. 

North Carolina is spearheaded by a three-pronged attack led by Armando Bacot, Leaky Black, and Brady Manex. During this tourney, the Tar Heels have played exception defense while shooting lights out. They have frustrated opponents by getting out to leads early and using their pace to take teams out of their game. 

Duke, much like Kansas, is showing their preseason promise. Banchero, Moore, and Mark Williams have been dominant this tournament and have shown that they are worthy of all the NBA hype they have received. Add in the rise of Trevor Keels and the timely hot hand of Jeremy Roach and the Blue Devils are a load to defend. If you zone them, they find the soft spots in the zone and get to the line. If you play man, their length is a mismatch because all five players can shoot from anywhere, and that threat allows them to drive the lane with impunity. 

The key is going to be, can North Carolina replicate their performance from Cameron? If they can disrupt Duke early and shake their confidence they can then rely on their three-headed monster to get out, run and force Duke to chase them around. If they cannot do this, Duke will be able to move the ball around and pick their shots. That will then allow them to set their defense and play their game at a moderate pace and wear down their rival. 

This game means everything in this rivalry. If UNC wins, they can say they ended Coach K’s career. If Duke wins they are one step closer to giving their coach a championship ending to his career. This will be ugly early with both teams feeling each other out. However, I think Duke will be too much and their newly found championship resolve will shine through. Banchero hits a late shot and the Blue Devils salt it away at the line. 

PREDICTION: DUKE BLUE DEVILS 68 NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS 63

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: KANSAS JAYHAWKS VS DUKE BLUE DEVILS 

In 1992 when Duke won their first National Tittle they beat the Kansas Jayhawks. It was the first of 5 for Coach K and was the beginning of his ascent to greatness. 

These two teams are nearly identical. They both have star power, they both are playing phenomenally at the right time and both were preseason picks to be here (depending on who you listened to or what you read). 

The key to the game will be one thing. Fouls and mistakes. These two teams are reasonably deep, so whoever can get the other into foul trouble first will have a major advantage. Kansas does have issues of cold shooting and turning the ball over. Against Miami in the Elite Eight, Kansas had an eight-point deficit at the half. This was due to bad shot selection and turnovers. They were able to overcome this and win by 26 points. Against Duke, they won’t be able to turn the tide like that. I also feel that Duke’s starting five will be able to keep Kansas off the offensive glass and limit them to one-shot opportunities. Their size will also disrupt the offensive flow of Kansas and force them into mistakes. 

Finally, it will just be poetic for the greatest coach ever to win a championship in his final game against the team he beat for his first national title. Duke wins their sixth title in an explosive, nail-biting fashion. 

Coach Mike Krzyzewski cutting the nets down in 1991 after defeating the Kansas Jayhawks for his first national championship. History repeats itself for his final championship. Photo Courtesy: CBS Sports

PREDICTION: DUKE BLUE DEVILS 83 KANSAS JAYHAWKS 79

I hope everyone enjoys the conclusion to what has been an excellent college basketball season.  

What is Greatness Without K?

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By: Erich R Pilcher

Goat in American English: (goʊt) NOUN

1. Word forms: plural goats or goat

a. any of a genus (Capra) of wild or domesticated bovid ruminants with hollow horns

b. US Rocky Mountain goat

2. a lecherous man

3. US, Informal a person forced to take the blame or punishment for others; scapegoat

That is the technical definition of Goat. Sadly the acronym for Greatest of All Time (G.O.A.T) is not listed. The world of sports who is the greatest is often debated. Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth, Pele, Wayne Gretzky are usually at the forefront of this debate. However, coaching is one aspect that is not as definitive.

I’m here to say the debate is over. There is a clear-cut and definitive choice. It is Duke University Men’s Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski, and the debate is not even close. 

Mike Krzyzewski at his introductory press conference in March 1980.
Image: Google Images

Krzyzewski took over the head coaching job at Duke in 1980 following a five-year stint as the head coach for Army (Where he went 73-59 with one National Invitational Tournament berth). Since then, Duke has been the preeminent program in college basketball. Duke has made the NCAA Tournament 37 out of 40 years (They missed in 2021 due to COVID and will make the tournament this season), he holds the record for both most wins and most tournament wins (1,195 wins overall and 97 in the tournament), he has an astounding 12 Regular season and 15 conference tournament titles in arguably the toughest basketball conference, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

Coach K cutting the nets following his first national title in 1991.
He has since won four more across three different decades.
Image: Google Images

Finally, he has won a national title in three different decades and five overall (1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, and 2015), led his team to 12 Final Four and he rejuvenated United States basketball on the global stage, leading the team to three consecutive gold medals in 2008, 2012 and 2016 (following the unmitigated disaster and near-catastrophic showing in the 2004 Summer Games). 

Coach K with the United States Men’s Basketball team following winning the Gold Medal at the 2008 Summer Games.
This team was dubbed the “redeem team” after the disaster that was the 2004 team.
Coach K would lead the team to two more gold medals in 2012 and 2016
Courtesy: Google Images

Those stats alone would justify his lofty standing. Then we ignore the intangibles. This is where he truly shows his greatness. He has done most of this from a private university in Durham, North Carolina. A school was known as the “Ivy League of the South”. He has outlasted his rivals. When he started he had to combat Dean Smith and Bobby Knight (who he eventually passed in most measurable categories) throughout his career he has had wars with Rick Pitino, Roy Williams, Jim Calhoun, Jim Boeheim, Tom Izzo, and many more. Not only has he thwarted them, but he has also lapped them. Krzyzewski has also done so by running a clean program, with no major infractions or controversies. Something not many of his foes can say. 

In this debate, people will throw out other names such as Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, former Iowa Wrestling coach Dan Gable, or pro basketball coach Phil Jackson. In regards to the professional coaches, they often have a say in what players they get and ultimately how long they stay. Krzyzewski does not. 

Early in his career, Krzyzewski would only get kids that would stay for four years and graduate. Once “one and done” became common, many thought Duke would be finished. Not only has Krzyzewski evolved, but he also succeeded. He embraced the one-and-done and has modified his program’s approach to getting kids ready for the pros. His offense and defense are less basic and more fluid. It is based on the players he has not the scheme he wants. 

His control is limited to his recruiting pitch. After that the decision is the kids, how long they stay, and if they venture to Durham. Pro coaches can offer, or get management to offer, long-term deals, re-negotiate contacts and get more money. This is a luxury not afforded to Coach K and he has won despite it.

Then, some will point to the championships won by Lombardi and Gable. To that point, competition has to be debated. Lombardi won most of his championships in an eight-team league and to be fair it was a glorified YMCA dad league. Gable also had limited competition and Iowa is a wrestling-rich state. So not only did he have limited competition, he had his pick of the top-tier talent. 

Most impressive is the fact that Coach K was able to get NBA players to believe in him as he led them for 12 years across three Olympic Games. When he was first hired, many felt that he could not do this. There were egos, such as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and others. The thought was his approach would not be accepted by NBA players. But not only did he get them to buy in, the players often shower adulation and praise on the legend. Something that shows he transcends levels and can get anyone to believe in him and his approach. 

Anyone is welcome to debate me on this. But the stats and intangibles do not lie. What Krzyzewski has done is something we have never seen before and will never see again. Nearly 40 years of consistent dominance from a small campus, shrouded in Gothic decor and high academic standards. He succeeded despite a constantly changing environment. 

Coach K arguing with an official at his last game in Chapel Hill against rival North Carolina earlier this season
Courtesy: Google Images

This Saturday night “The Man” coaches his final game, in front of his people, The Cameron Crazies. A fan base he cultivated by his success. I would advise any sports fan to watch and see because it is something we will never see again.