Yes, the NCAA Tournament National Title Game Still Matters

Despite Kentucky’s collapse, tonight’s NCAA Tournament National Championship game between Duke and Wisconsin is still important, and not just for the obvious fact of needing to crown a champion.

Well, it’s back to reality.

Even though we all enjoyed bathing in Big Blue Nation tears the last 48 hours, the time has come to put a big bow on the 2014-15 season with Duke and Wisconsin facing off this evening to determine the NCAA Tournament champion.

More from Duke Blue Devils

Make no mistake, Wisconsin’s thrilling 71-64 win over Kentucky was by far the highlight of the tournament, if only for seeing a team most prognosticators said would steamroll through the season to an unprecedented 40-0 record.

It didn’t happen.

Despite the David vs. Goliath-style win from the Badgers (who, lets face it, were more like another Goliath than David, but why let the truth get in the way of a good story?), they still have one more test from a very formidable Blue Devil team that might actually be playing better right now than Kentucky.

Going into tonight’s game, Duke is averaging 72.6 points with an average margin of victory of 17.8 points. That said, they’re currently a 1.5 point underdog against the Badgers. Even though Duke blew out most of their competition, Wisky is getting the edge.

That alone makes for a pretty compelling storyline.

For those who take their cues from Vegas, it might be of interest that Wisconsin is 6-0 straight up and 4-2 against the spread in its last six tourney games as a Vegas darling on the college basketball betting lines, and 21-1 straight up in its last 22 games overall.

But take away the betting and the storylines and who you want to win, and the biggest reason this game matters is that it’s an example of college basketball as it’s supposed to be played. I made a hot take (as per usual) prior to the Final Four games that I still ardently believe in now:

While Michigan State didn’t hold up their end of the bargain in the 20-point loss to Duke, Wisconsin did and while tonight might not bring with it the ratings gold of Saturday night, it shows that teams that go for true student-athletes can still win. Sure, Duke will have one-and-done players in Jahlil Okafor, but they also boast strong seniors like Quinn Cook.

What seems like a rarity amongst Power 5 schools is a regularity at Wisconsin. The fact that Frank Kaminsky, a senior, is also the AP Player of the Year is a testament to what Bo Ryan is doing with the Badgers, and call me sentimental, but it’s college basketball done the right way.

To see two teams who still have regular Senior nights each season means quite a bit, and it’s why tonight matters far beyond crowning a champion. Regardless as to who’s up at the buzzer, tonight, all of college basketball wins.

Next: BB Podcast: Duke Blue Devils vs. Wisconsin Badgers Preview

More from Busting Brackets

Home/Duke Blue Devils