Tyus Jones, Grayson Allen Spark Duke Rally, Blue Devils Beat Wisconsin for the National Title
By Jason McIntyre
Duke forged a memorable comeback, rallying from a 9-point deficit in the second half on the strength of its tremendous freshman to beat Wisconsin 68-63, capturing the school’s fifth National Championship.
Tyus Jones, who spearheaded the Duke comeback with clutch drives and timely jump shots, scored 23 points and was the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player. Grayson Allen, a freshman reserve, scored 16 points for Duke, including 10 in the second half, all of which came after the Blue Devils fell behind.
Wisconsin grabbed a 9-point lead, 48-39, on a Frank Kaminsky layup with 13 minutes left, and Duke was on the ropes. Its star center, Jahlil Okafor, was in foul trouble, and so was fellow freshman Justise Winslow (11 points, nine rebounds).
That’s when Allen took over with eight straight points as Duke clawed back, and for the first time all tournament, Wisconsin started to show signs of fatigue at the offensive end. Did the Kentucky thriller and the aftermath Saturday night wear them down?
Jones made a jumper, then Allen scored in traffic, and finally, Duke had tied the game. The Blue Devils 1st lead of the second half came on a Jones 3-pointer with four minutes left.
Okafor entered the game for the final stretch, and despite struggling all night, he scored inside twice, Wisconsin remained cold, and Jones hit a 3-pointer for an 8-point bulge and Duke survived.