Game 1: #7 Michigan State vs. #1 Duke

It’s difficult to call any Tom Izzo coached team a “cinderella”, but against #1 Duke the Spartans’ run in the tournament finally ended. Michigan State started the game off with a bang, hitting 4 straight three-point shots and jumping out to a double-digit lead. After Coach K settled the team down, they were to tie the game up and go up by 10 at half-time. Duke never looked back as they went on to cruise to a 20 point victory. This Michigan State team that few picked to make the Final Four that also lacks any NBA lottery prospects fought valiantly all tournament. However, their hard work and tenacity was simply not enough to overcame the young, but very talented Duke team who will be playing Wisconsin for the national championship Monday night.

Game 2: #1 Wisconsin vs. #1 Kentucky

The dream of 40-0 is over. Wisconsin handed Kentucky their first loss of the season to drop the Wildcats to a final record of 38-1. Frank Kaminski and Sam Dekker lead the way for the badgers making timely shots and showed the poise of being upperclassmen. The game was an ultra competitive back and forth contest that saw both teams go on big scoring runs as well as long dry spells. The key to the game was down the stretch where Wisconsin was able to execute on offense, while Kentucky had three shot-clock violations and could not get the ball down low to freshman sensation Karl-Anthony Towns. Wisconsin will now play Duke for the national championship Monday night, while Kentucky will be watching from home thinking about a missed opportunity at perfection.