No. 1 Kansas and No. 2 Duke will square off in the Midwest final Sunday for the last spot in the Final Four – and the stakes are huge even by Elite Eight standards. Mike Krzyzewski is looking to break UCLA legend John Wooden’s record of 12 Final Four appearances.
Kansas coach Bill Self, who recently joined Krzyzewski and Wooden in the Naismith Hall of Fame, is hoping to snap a two-year losing streak in regional finals and a 2-7 personal record in Elite Eights.
After scores of upsets produced some rather strange matchups elsewhere, it’ll be “Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk” vs. Coach K and the Blue Devils in a classic finale in Omaha. “It’s great when you have two programs of this nature, this status in the history of our game play for a Final Four berth. I think it’s great for the sport,” Krzyzewski said.
As for the latest chapter in the Kansas-Duke series, the top-seeded Jayhawks (30-7) are more like a plucky underdog – at least by their high standards – while second-seeded Duke (29-7) and its cadre of ridiculously talented freshmen appear to be rounding into title-contending form. Duke is a betting favorite in the game even though it is the lower seed.
