College Basketball Powerhouses Square Off in Finals
The Duke Blue Devils and the Gonzaga Bulldogs will on Wednesday when they meet at Lahaina Civic Center. They are playing in the 2018 Maui Jim Maui Invitational Finals. Duke is going for their 7th tournament championship. TV: 5 p.m. ET, ESPN LINE: Duke -7; O/U: 164 Duke’s freshman class that includes future NBA lottery picks R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson and Cam Reddish has drawn comparisons to Michigan’s famed Fab Five for its talent. It was unheralded junior center Marques Bolden who stole the spotlight in a 78-72 semifinal victory over No. 8 Auburn. His play was instrumental in moving the top-ranked Blue Devils into Wednesday’s dream championship game matchup with No. 3 Gonzaga in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. The 6-11 Bolden finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and seven blocked shots. That included a crucial trio late in the game as Auburn made a run. He made the play of the game when he blocked a shot under his own basket. He then raced down and finished a fast break with a dunk off a lob pass by standout freshman point guard Tre Jones.“This is the best, by far, that we have protected our basket in a few years,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski told reporters. “I mean for a kid to get seven blocks and change shots in there. … The defense was exquisite. It was at the highest level. Seven blocks and changing some shots, man, that’s a heck of a performance.”The Blue Devils will need another great effort in the title game against Gonzaga. They overcame a slow and sloppy first half to outscore Arizona by 25 points in the second half of a 91-74 victory.