NCAA Championship game: Duke wins another title in Indy

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski may want to buy a second home here in Indianapolis.

For the third time in his career, the Blue Devils coach won the NCAA national championship in the Circle City.

Monday night's game between Wisconsin and Duke was every bit worthy of a national title game, as the Blue Devils prevailed 68-63 in a dramatic, back-and-forth contest.

Duke's backcourt of Tyus Jones and Grayson Allen stole the show in the second half as the two combined for 29 of Duke's 37 points after halftime, allowing the Blue Devils to overcome a nine-point second half deficit. Jones, the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player, finished with a game-high 23 points, while Allen finished with 16.

"We were dead in the water, until Grayson bailed us out," Krzyzewski said.

Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky had 21 points and 12 rebounds and was able to get the Duke frontline of Jahlil Okafor and Justice Winslow in foul trouble, but the Badgers couldn't take full advantage.

Okafor straddled with four fouls, re-entered the game a the under-4 minute media timeout and scored consecutive baskets when the Blue Devils needed their All-American the most.

11:20 p.m. -- Nigel Hayes fouls Tyus Jones and the Duke freshman hits both free throws to push Duke's lead to 68-63 with :20 left.

11:18 p.m. -- What a pass from Bronson Koenig to Nigel Hayes for the backdoor dunk, But Duke still leads 66-63 with :42 left. Timeout, Duke.

11:16 p.m. -- Tyus Jones with a huge 3, but Big Frank answers with a 3 of his own. 66-61, Duke with 1:05 left.

11:11 p.m. -- Jahlil Okafor checks back into the game with his four fouls and Duke goes right to him in the post for a basket and a foul on Frank Kaminsky.

A strong defensive set for the Blue Devils forces a shot clock violation and Okafor adds another bucket, pushing Duke's lead to 63-58 with 1:51 left.

11:04 p.m. -- Grayson Allen and Tyus Jones are on absolute fire in the second half. The two Duke guards have combined for 34 points tonight and the Blue Devils lead 59-58 with 4:06 left.

10:54 p.m. -- Duke pulls to within, mainly due to the heroics of Grayson Allen, but Frank Kaminsky draws the fourth foul on Jahlil Okafor with an And-1. Wisconsin leads 54-52.

10:47 p.m. -- Wisconsin was only called for two fouls in the first half. Badgers already at the bonus with 11:43 to play.

10:44 p.m. -- Wisconsin has Bronson Koenig. Duke answers with Grayson Allen. The freshman scores six straight points for the Blue Devils before Nigel Hayes answers with another 3-pointer. Wisconsin leads 51-45, 11:43 left.

10:40 p.m. -- On IndyStar's Live at the Final Four show Monday, Sporting News college basketball editor Kam Mattioli said Bronson Koenig could be the unsung hero. He has 10 big points for the Badgers and Wisconsin enjoys its largest lead, 48-39 with 13:17 remaining.

10:32 p.m. -- Jahlil Okafor picks up his third foul trying to defend Frank Kaminsky. The Badgers big man is getting the better of the marquee matchup so far with 9 points and 8 rebounds. Wisconsin leads 42-39.

10:26 p.m. -- Wow, Sam Dekker with a nifty move along the baseline and the finish. Duke calls timeout, Badgers start fast out of the break, lead 38-33. Wisconsin's largest lead of the game.

10:17 p.m. -- Per the NCAA's David Worlock, this is the first time the national championship game has been tied at the halftime since Kansas and Oklahoma in 1988.

10:02 p.m. -- Halftime: Duke 31, Wisconsin 31. You want more?

Duke is shooting 50 percent from the field, compared to Wisconsin's 38.7. Frank Kaminsky has 7 points and 7 rebounds, while Sam Dekker and Nigel Hayes have added 8 apiece.

Jahlil Okafor has 6 points and Justice Winslow has 7 for Duke, but both Blue Devils big men have two fouls. Something worth monitoring.

9:57 p.m. -- So much for that silly talk about Saturday's Wisconsin-Kentucky game as the "real national championship game." This game is living up to the billing of a potential classic. Already with 12 lead changes. Wisconsin leads 31-29 with 1:43 left in the half.

The Badgers' starting frontcourt of Frank Kaminsky, Sam Dekker and Nigel Hayes have 23 of Wisconsin's 31 total points.

9:53 p.m. -- Frank Kaminsky has 7 points and 6 rebounds already and the Badgers enjoy a 28-27 lead with 3:04 left in the half.

9:49 p.m. -- Jahlil Okafor tries to take it inside on Frank Kaminsky, but Frank the Tank strips him and starts a fast break, which Traevon Jackson finishes with a layup.

The next time down the court, Kaminsky hits the bucket and draws the second foul on Okafor. With Okafor and Justice Winslow saddled with two fouls each, Duke may have some concerns in the frontcourt. Wisconsin leads 24-23.

9:41 p.m. -- The quickness of Duke's guards as well as strong play from Justice Winslow early on (5 points and 3 blocks) has the Blue Devils up 21-17. However, Winslow just picked up his second foul. A big development for Duke.

9:31 p.m. -- A great pace to this game early on. Both teams playing well, though the Badgers have already committed three turnovers. Wisconsin's bigs are hitting 3s (Frank Kaminsky, Nigel Hayes and Duje Dukan each have one), while Duke answers with another Jahlil Okafor throwdown in the post. Duke leads 13-12 with 11:15 left in the first half.

Wisconsin's Josh Gasser is back from the locker room and back on the court.

9:24 p.m. -- At our first media timeout, it's Duke 6, Wisconsin 5. Both teams going inside: Wisconsin to Frank Kaminsky, and Duke to Jahlil Okafor. Dance with the girl that brought you.

Wisconsin senior guard Josh Gasser went back to the locker room after being poked in the eye. Looked like he lost a contact lens.

9:21 p.m. -- Quinn Cook opens the scoring for Duke, but Frank Kaminsky answers with a 3-pointer and then draws an early offensive foul on Jahlil Okafor.

Okafor responds the next time down the court with a slam dunk over Kaminsky. That matchup will be fun to watch all night. Duke leads 4-3 early.

9:05 p.m. -- It's almost tip time. See who our IndyStar Sports staffers think will win tonight.

8:37 p.m. -- Here's today's starting lineups, with no surprises for either team:

Wisconsin: Frank Kaminsky, Nigel Hayes, Sam Dekker, Josh Gasser, Bronson Koenig.

Duke: Justice Winslow, Jahlil Okafor, Matt Jones, Quinn Cook, Tyus Jones.

Much less blue in the crowd today, understandably with the Kentucky fans MIA. But the Duke fans that are here will try to make up for being outnumbered.