Blue Devils, Spartans take on undercard feel at Final Four

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Any other year, this would probably be the premier matchup of the Final Four.

On one bench sits top-seeded Duke and its record-setting coach, Mike Krzyzewski. On the other is upstart Michigan State and Tom Izzo, one of the finest coaches in the game come March.

But with overall No. 1 seed Kentucky chasing perfection against those loveable goofballs from Wisconsin, the opening game of Saturday night’s national semifinals has an undercard feel.

That’s just fine with the seventh-seeded Spartans (27-11), who feel as though they’ve been overlooked all year. But in the words of star guard Travis Trice, “If we win, people are going to be talking about us.”

Same goes for the Blue Devils (33-4), who are trying to take one step closer to their fifth national championship.