NCAA Bracket 2015: Schedule and Predictions for Championship Game

If we wanted to be hyperbolic, Saturday night could have been seen as a battle for the soul of college basketball. On each side of the bracket, there was a representation of the two polar-opposite sides of team-building prevalent in the sport.

Kentucky and Duke, with a couple of exceptions, were defined by their McDonald's All-Americans and future lottery picks. Wisconsin and Michigan State built their resumes on the backs of veterans who slowly built themselves into collegiate stars. For those who grew up on short shorts, four-year collegiate stars and the glory of the student-athlete, the Final Four could have been proof positive that slow team-building can still reign supreme.

Instead, we'll get that "answer" Monday night. 

Matchup	Spread	Time (ET)	Watch
Duke vs. Kentucky	PK	9:18 p.m.	CBS

Duke got the evening off with an outright thrashing of Michigan State, dominating on both ends of the floor en route to a 81-61 win. Justise Winslow, Jahlil Okafor and Quinn Cook each scored in double figures, and the Blue Devils defense created 14 turnovers to send Mike Krzyzewski to his ninth championship game.

"It's an amazing thing, I mean, just to be in the Final Four, but to play on Monday night is the ultimate honor," Krzyzewski told reporters, per ESPN.com. "I hope our guys get their rest and we can get the same type of effort we got tonight. Now they've got a chance to play for a national championship, and damn, damn, how great is that?"

In many ways, the win helped continue the evolution of the Krzyzewski legacy. Once a proponent of the slower team-building prevalent on the opposite sideline, the Duke legend in recent years has embraced the one-and-done culture. Winslow and Okafor are near-locks to leave Durham after one season, and Tyus Jones would likely be a late first-rounder if he followed. That would make for the fourth time in the last five years a Duke freshman has been a first-round selection.

"What Coach K has done in my judgment, and I think Calipari has done the same thing, they've adapted to the landscape, and they are dealing with it in a positive way," ESPN analyst Jay Bilas told Aaron Beard of The Associated Press (via The Columbus Dispatch).

The change in team-building has undoubtedly helped push Duke into the national title hunt. Winslow and Okafor will be competing with each other Monday night for the Most Outstanding Player award if Duke wins. While Okafor is considered a potential No. 1 overall pick and was the consensus top overall player coming into school, it's been Winslow who has consistently stepped up his play in the tournament.

The do-everything forward is averaging 15 points and 9.4 rebounds over the Blue Devils' five victories and has helped spearhead their defensive renaissance. Leaky and inattentive defensively for most of the regular season, Duke has defended at a near-Kentucky level for the last few weeks. Winslow, whose motor runs through the roof, has used the tournament to establish himself as a potential top-five pick.

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

“He’s a terrific competitor and kid, exceptional athlete, who is becoming an exceptional basketball player,” Krzyzewski said, per Will Hobson of The Washington Post. “In this tournament he’s been one of the key guys for us.”

On the other sideline, becoming "a guy" has been a longer process.

Frank Kaminsky was no high school slouch, but he was a 3-star recruit who came to Madison without pomp and circumstance. The same goes for Traevon Jackson and Nigel Hayes. Sam Dekker was filled with national plaudits when he arrived, yet the story played out similarly for all four Wisconsin stars.

Freshman seasons were learning experiences. Kaminsky and Jackson were all but irrelevant. Hayes and Dekker were talented role players. And with each passing season, their responsibilities grew. Irrelevant turned to integral, and talent became ascendant March production.

The poise that comes with experience was on display Saturday night. Down 60-56 with more than six minutes remaining, it appeared that the Badgers were running out of gas. The wildly talented Wildcats had just gone on an 8-0 run and were finally clamping down on defense. Wisconsin did not score a field goal from the 11:37 mark to the 4:28 mark in the second half.

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

But instead of folding, the Badgers held fort as Kentucky collapsed. It was as if John Calipari's team froze the moment it took the lead. Shot-clock violations became almost an expectation as Kentucky tried draining the game clock, and Dekker's jumper at the 4:28 mark sparked an 8-0 run the Badgers' way that decided the contest.

“We got down today a little bit, but we didn’t change our expression,” Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said, per Zach Schonbrun of The New York Times. “We didn’t change what we did. We didn’t freak out. We knew if we played our game, we’d get back into it—come back, crawl back.”

There is no team in the country better at playing "their" game than Wisconsin is. It's rarely a thing of beauty. Watching a basketball team work the ball around the perimeter for 30 seconds at a time can frankly be a damn bore. The fact that the Badgers' ascent to national prominence has created a copycat coaching tree where teams slow the game down to a screeching halt almost makes me want to move to Durham overnight and rock the blue and white.

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

But this team has garnered something of an appreciation. Wisconsin doesn't play the way it does because it lacks other options; it does so because this collection of talent is smart enough to execute the offensive game plan to perfection. Ball movement can be a thing of beauty when it's not pointless, and rarely is there a wasted motion in Wisconsin's offense—even if there is a lot of it.

Monday night, some will get their answer to the good-versus-evil team-building question. Others will merely root against whichever team makes them angry. But those of us without a battle to fight will get to see two great teams at the absolute peaks of their powers going head-to-head for a national championship.

For all the flies in the college basketball ointment, that's not a bad way to end a season.

Score Prediction: Wisconsin 70, Duke 68

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.

All advanced stats via KenPom. All recruit rankings via 247Sports.