CHICAGO — As Kentucky hurtled toward an unprecedented 40-0 record last March while Duke less loudly entered the Final Four, the tournament conversation was dominated by a perceived clash between the programs and between their head coaches — national championship-winning, generational talents who are now both in the basketball Hall of Fame.

Kentucky’s loss to Wisconsin in the national semifinals prevented the Wildcats from facing the Blue Devils, who went on to beat Wisconsin for the title. But on Tuesday night, No. 2 Kentucky (3-0) overwhelmed No. 5 Duke (2-1), 74-63, at United Center in an overdue referendum on the wildly different strategies, merits and even morals of Kentucky’s John Calipari and Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski.

Except, like the villain and the hero in the action movie, they are not really so different after all. In a landscape where nearly all the most talented high school players are surefire “one-and-dones” — prospects who plan to compete in college for just one year, in keeping with N.B.A. rules that require players to be a year removed from high school — recruiting such players and doing what you can with them for the season you have them is the only way to be a consistent contender.

Krzyzewski and Calipari may possess varied temperaments. Their fan bases may nurse longstanding grudges (Christian Laettner’s last-second shot in the 1992 N.C.A.A. Tournament still stings in Kentucky). But in reality, the coaches and their programs provide about as much of a contrast as their respective shades of blue — which is to say almost none at all.