NCAA, refs lay red carpet for Duke

Three good stories unfolded, and then the worst was saved for last. The Final Four was filled out by a predictably tired story Sunday as Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski strolled to graciously shake hands, grin and cut down the nets.

Defying all odds, Coach K is back in the national semifinals for the first time in six years.

It’s not exactly a heartwarming tale.

It’s nothing personal, either. I don’t despise Krzyzewski and his Blue Devils as many others do, but what we’ve just witnessed is something we have already seen too many times.

Duke received a favorable NCAA Tournament draw and took advantage of it.

The Blue Devils brushed aside Arkansas-Pine Bluff and California, struggled to put away a Purdue team missing its best player, and got some timely assistance from the officials on the way to a 78-71 victory over Baylor.

In no way is this to imply a Tim Donaghy-type fix was in, but there are subtle ways that officials can influence the outcome of basketball games.

For an example, let’s examine Baylor-Duke.

The Bears led by two when Quincy Acy drove the right baseline and scored on a layup. Instead of Baylor going ahead by four with 4:37 remaining, the official under the basket jumped in and called a charging foul on Acy, despite Blue Devils center Brian Zoubek sliding in late to undercut Acy.

“The guy was clearly moving. It was the key play of the game,” said Cal Neva sports book director Nick Bogdanovich, who always calls as he sees it. “Zoubek is a 7-footer with slow feet. He didn’t get over in time. I don’t even think it was close.”

The momentum swung completely when Duke’s Nolan Smith buried a 3-pointer on the other end.

There were two more cheap fouls called against Baylor down the stretch. But most irritating was a technical assessed against Acy for bumping an opposing player with 1:19 left. Acy stepped in to react after Jon Scheyer, while being trapped, threw what Bogdanovich aptly described as a “wild elbow.”

Scheyer was not penalized. But Acy was tagged with the tech, and Scheyer made two free throws. Game over. The Blue Devils win and cover as 5-point favorites.

“They don’t need to call that,” Bogdanovich said of the tech on Acy. “But Duke got the calls they always get. Duke is one of those teams you either love or hate.

“Good teams make their breaks. But there’s no question, Duke got a ridiculous amount of breaks in that game. For Duke to cover 5, that was unbelievably fortunate. That’s one of those games that makes you nauseous if you bet Baylor plus-5.”

I have no ax to grind because I bet no money on Baylor. It’s just the same old, tired story: Coach K and the Blue Devils get all the calls, and Dick Vitale goes home happy.

The whistles are the wild card when you bet on a basketball game, and if you bet against Duke, expect to get burned more often than not.

That said, Scheyer and Smith made the winning plays. Smith scored 29 points and Scheyer 20, and Duke deserves credit.

The Bears also committed a bundle of mental errors that contributed to their collapse, and there was no excuse for allowing the Blue Devils to grab 22 offensive rebounds.

A Final Four of Baylor, Butler, Tennessee and West Virginia could have been a ratings nightmare for CBS. But Coach K is in the party, and so is Tom Izzo after Michigan State toughed out a 70-69 victory over Tennessee. The Spartans, who were 1½-point underdogs, are difficult to bet against because Izzo is simply a master in March.

“It was dead-even action on both games,” Bogdanovich said of Sunday’s wagering. “Michigan State is doing it with guts and good coaching.”

Butler opened as a 1-point favorite over Michigan State in one Final Four game Saturday in Indianapolis. Duke is favored by 2 to 2½ points over West Virginia.

“I like it because you’ve got some new blood in there,” Bogdanovich said. “Obviously, Butler is the story. That’s who I’m rooting for, but I usually pull for the underdogs anyway.”

Two weeks ago I filled out an office-pool bracket and came up with a Final Four of Butler, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Duke. No lie. The bracket is in my back pocket.

The same place Coach K has the three officials.

Contact sports betting columnist Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.