NCAA Championship Game 2015: Report Card for Duke vs. Wisconsin

We didn't get the dream matchup that many college basketball fans wanted, but Duke's 68-63 victory over Wisconsin in Monday's NCAA title game was still one of the best finals in recent memory.

On one side you had a team dominated by freshmen, most of whom will be in the NBA in a few months, going against a veteran-laden squad making their second straight Final Four appearance while playing in its school's first title game since the late 1970s.

For Duke fans, it went just as planned, while for Wisconsin backers it means the 2014-15 season ended in heartbreak. But for the casual college basketball follower, we got ourselves a heck of a last game.

Now it's time to pass out some grades for each team's performance in the final, breaking down how their starters, reserves, offense, defense and coaches fared on the game's biggest stage in the middle of Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Duke Starters

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The last time Duke played Wisconsin, on the road in December, it was a coming-out party for freshman guard Tyus Jones. He's had plenty of great performances since then, but few were as huge as what he did in the second half Monday.

Jones led all scorers with 23 points, 19 of that coming in the second half, including a three-pointer with 4:09 left that game Duke the lead for good at 59-58. Jones was 7-of-13 from the field, made 2-of-3 threes and was 7-of-7 from the line

He more than made up for off nights from the rest of the Blue Devils starters, who combined for 27 points on 11-of-27 shooting. Both center Jahlil Okafor and forward Justise Winslow dealt with foul trouble and were mostly nonfactors, aside from a stretch in the second half when Okafor had two baskets in the final three minutes.

Grade: B

Wisconsin Starters

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As he's done all season, Frank Kaminsky was dominant when his team needed him most. The 7-foot senior had 21 points and 12 rebounds, frequently taking Duke's Jahlil Okafor to school on the inside while also mixing it up with outside shooting and drives to the basket.

It was Kaminsky's fourth 20-point game of the NCAA tournament, where he averaged 22 points and 9.3 rebounds per game and shot 51.8 percent from the field.

"What he did in his years at Wisconsin will be remembered for a long time," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said of Kaminsky during the team's postgame press conference, per ESPN College BBall.

But unlike the last few games for the Badgers, junior Sam Dekker didn't come through to be the second half of that dynamic duo. After hot-shooting games to beat Arizona in the Elite Eight and Kentucky in the Final Four, Dekker was 6-of-15 from the field and scored 12 points, but he was 0-for-6 from three-point range.

In his absence, sophomore Nigel Hayes chipped in with 13 points (including three threes) while sophomore Bronson Koenig had nine of his 10 points in the second half.
 

Grade: B+

Duke Bench

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Duke's bench has been almost nonexistent this season, but with foul trouble interfering, coach Mike Krzyzewski had to turn to his little-used reserves—and two of them came up big.

Freshman Grayson Allen, who came into the game averaging less than nine minutes per game, continued his sudden rise to prominence in the title game with 16 points in a backup role. The forgotten member of Duke's four-player freshman class was 5-of-8 from the field and made all five of his foul shots along with a three, throwing himself all over the court with reckless abandon.

Allen also had nine points off the bench in the semifinal against Michigan State.

"Grayson Allen is having himself one helluva Final Four," NBC Sports' Rob Dauster tweeted.

While his numbers weren't as flashy, forward Amile Jefferson was also big in his minutes. Often having to play out of position at the 5, Jefferson had just two points but added seven rebounds, two assists, three blocks and one steal. 

Grade: A

Wisconsin Bench

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Normally a four- or five-player reserve lineup, Wisconsin only gave meaningful minutes to two bench players: senior guard Traevon Jackson and senior forward Duje Dukan.

They had varying results, with Dukan playing with fire that led to five points and three rebounds while Jackson struggled, adding just two points on 1-of-7 shooting.

As a result, Wisconsin's starters began to look tired down the stretch without someone to spell them.
 

Grade: C

Duke Offense

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Duke shot 47.1 percent for the game, but only four of their 24 made field goals were from three-point range. There was a concerted effort to drive to the basket and use a combination of speed and strength to draw fouls. While this didn't work well before halftime, it became much more effective over the game's final 20 minutes.

The Blue Devils drew only two fouls on Wisconsin in the first half, but got 13 in the second half, and they made those fouls work in their favor. Duke was 16-of-20 from the free-throw line, with Tyus Jones and Grayson Allen combining to make all 12 of their foul shots, most of which came from getting fouled while going to the hole.

Duke's second-half offense seemed very predictable with Jones often coming off ball screens, but it kept working and producing points.

Grade: A-

Wisconsin Offense

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This was not the lights-out Wisconsin offense that couldn't miss during the NCAA tournament, particularly in clutch situations. The Badgers shot only 38.7 percent in the first half and 41 percent from the field for the game, hitting only 7-of-21 three-point attempts.

In their previous two games against Arizona and Kentucky, the Badgers were 19-of-35 from three-point range.

Wisconsin had been doing a great job of exploiting mismatches prior to this game, mostly because of defensive switches by opponents. Those opportunities were there all night, but the Badgers didn't take advantage. There were many times when Duke had both Justise Winslow and Jahlil Okafor off the court, and Wisconsin didn't capitalize on this.

Down the stretch, the Badgers became more of a one-on-one team; that didn't work in their favor.

Grade: B-

Duke Defense

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As had become a trend during this tournament, a Duke team that didn't get much respect for its defensive approach was much more focused in that area during the title game. As a result, Wisconsin wasn't able to run its usual offense and get wide-open shots too often.

Duke's interior defense was particularly strong, leading to six blocked shots (three each from Amile Jefferson and Justise Winslow), and Wisconsin was forced to take far more contested mid-range shots than normal.

The only area where the Blue Devils struggled defensively was when it came to rebounding. Wisconsin had 11 offensive rebounds, though only a handful in the second half.

Grade: B+

Wisconsin Defense

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Duke didn't shoot the lights out, but it did make the key shots when necessary. That was because, whether via the drive or the pull-up, the Blue Devils kept getting open looks as Wisconsin failed to recognize the same play being run over and over again.

A high ball screen with Tyus Jones coming around to the top of the key for a shot or a drive, a play backup Grayson Allen was also running, led to numerous chances. Had Wisconsin picked up on a few of those, the result would have been vastly different.

Grade: B-

Duke Coaching

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Mike Krzyzewski had ridden his starters all season, giving very little time to the bench players, but for once he recognized that his reserves are just as talented as the ones getting most of the minutes.

Turning to Grayson Allen as a primary scorer in the national championship game could have blown up in his face, especially with Justise Winslow and Jahlil Okafor on the bench with foul trouble. Instead, Krzyzewski looks like a genius after winning his fifth national title.

It wasn't all perfect though, as Coach K waited too long to call timeout a few times, which contributed to his stars getting in foul trouble.

Grade: B+

Wisconsin Coaching

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Bo Ryan has managed to get his team to find mismatches all season, and they were there again in the title game. Grayson Allen was fronting Frank Kaminsky at one point, for crying out loud.

But either Ryan didn't recognize this or his players didn't follow the call. Either way, Ryan's game plan wasn't as crisp as in the previous NCAA tournament games, and Wisconsin's offense became more of a one-on-one game than ever before.

The Badgers also failed to recognize what Duke was doing on offense in the second half, distracted by a higher-than-normal rate of fouls being called against them. Had Ryan spent a little less time griping to officials and a little more working his players into a solid game plan, Wisconsin might have cut the nets down.

Grade: B-

Duke Overall

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This probably isn't how Duke drew it up—having multiple starters struggling and in foul trouble, then having to rely on rarely-called-upon bench players—but not everything goes according to plan in times of crisis. However, the Blue Devils were good when it mattered.

Despite playing at a pace that often favored Wisconsin, Duke used a spirited effort on defense to go with some unlikely heroes. This translated into frustration from the opponent, which the Blue Devils converted into points on the other end.

One area the Devils were particularly strong in was taking care of the ball, turning it over just five times, including only twice in the second half. 

Grade: B+

Wisconsin Overall

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Other than the freak loss at Rutgers in January, when Wisconsin was without Frank Kaminsky and Traevon Jackson broke his hand, there was no worse game for the Badgers this season. It was a surprising performance considering the momentum they'd built over the past two weekends, but they allowed Duke to take them out of their comfort zone and couldn't get back into it.

Unlike the previous meeting, which Duke won because of its tremendous offense, this was more of a defensive battle. Wisconsin hadn't been involved in a contest of this nature since the tournament began, as its offense had been so efficient. But that wasn't the case on Monday, and Wisconsin couldn't adjust.

Grade: B-

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.