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Saturday, March 31
Arizona-Duke: A title game worth the wait
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
MINNEAPOLIS -- How rare is this? The matchup the consensus predicted, basically wanted to happen, actually will occur Monday night in the NCAA Tournament title game.
Duke vs. Arizona, two teams that took turns gracing the preseason magazine covers, will play for the 2001 title at the Metrodome. It has happened before, two years ago, when Duke and Connecticut met in the title game in St. Petersburg, Fla. But go back through the rest of the '90s and it just didn't occur.
|  | | Loren Woods and the Wildcats shared the preseason spotlight with Duke. Now, the two will share Monday's title-game spotlight.
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"It's going to be a special night," Duke senior Shane Battier said. "I don't think you could have two better teams, two better coaches, two better traditions in this championship game. We're really happy to win this game, we know Monday night is going to be a special game."
Both teams got to the title game playing up to their potential in the final minutes, leaning on the strength that was supposed to be their bread 'n butter entering the season.
Arizona's backcourt, billed as the best to begin the season, dominated Michigan State. Jason Gardner scored 21 points, Gilbert Arenas added 12 and Richard Jefferson tallied 17 in the 80-61 victory Saturday. But those are just a few of the numbers. Arenas picked up an NCAA Tournament semifinal record six steals. Gardner had three. Jefferson two of the 12 swipes Arizona had overall.
The Wildcats' guards were as confident, without being as cocky, as they were in October when they boldly predicted at Midnight Madness that they would win the national title.
But the road to this game was never supposed to be this hard. Arizona had to go through a catharsis most players and teams never endure. They had to deal with an NCAA suspension, selfishness, at least one behavior suspension, and the usual stress of in-season losses that aren't supposed to happen.
And, the worst adversity to befall the Wildcats, occurred on New Year's Day when Bobbi Olson, the rock of a wife and matriarch of the program and to some extent the city of Tucson, died after losing a battle to ovarian cancer.
But somehow this team is here, in the national title game where they were supposed to be all along.
"I've said all along that this is the most talented team I've had," Arizona coach Lute Olson said. "It all depended on whether or not we were going to leave the egos at the door. We had to get them to understand that teams win championships. It's as closely knit a group of guys as I've had."
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(Monday) is going to be a special night. I don't think you could have two better teams, two better coaches, two better traditions in this championship game. ” |
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— Shane Battier |
The Wildcats are on a two-pronged mission. They are doing this "Four Bobbi" and for themselves. Arizona talked about the title, got humbled and wants to prove everyone wrong for thinking the 'Cats were through. But there is the higher meaning to getting to the title game, to put closure, at least on the court, to give the Wildcats emotional mission closure with a national title.
"It's the second time I've ever been to the Monday night game," Olson said after winning the '97 national title in Indianapolis. "I know how special this will be for the players. It's special now, but it won't be special unless we get it done."
Getting it done for Duke is simply getting the ball to Jason Williams and Shane Battier. Sure, Williams struggled shooting 3s Saturday night against Maryland, but he found other ways to score as he always does. Battier was his usual model of consistency hitting a few layups, four 3s, and getting to the line for 9 of 11 shots. The two combined for 48 of Duke's 95 points, which was the type of percentage expected at the beginning of the season. Carlos Boozer's 19 points inside were a bonus, but the kind of production he had the potential to produce when the season began.
Like Loren Woods and Michael Wright inside for Arizona, Boozer was supposed to be a staple. He was when he was healthy and, as Maryland coach Gary Williams said Saturday, he looks like he's back to playing the way he did before he broke his foot in January.
But don't sell Duke's mission short. The Blue Devils might not have the tragedy to fuel their mental makeup, but they've got their passion to win, to play "D", to get out and run on offense just as intense as Arizona.
"We have just as much emotion as Arizona does," Boozer said. "They are going to be fired up. They have a great basketball team and are playing great right now. We're playing great right now and it's going to be a great matchup. Playing in the national championship is inspiration enough; we do not need any other inspiration. They deserve to be there and we deserve to be there, too."
That's what most of us predicted. That's what everyone wanted in October. That's what we'll get Monday.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
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