'Coach K' says goodbye as North Carolina downs Duke in NCAA Final Four

LOS ANGELES -- North Carolina beat Duke University 81-77 on Saturday to reach the US collegiate basketball national championship game and bring the curtain down on Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski's storied career.

The Final Four matchup at the Superdome in New Orleans between the fierce in-state rivals didn't disappoint.

University of North Carolina's Caleb Love scored the Tar Heels' last eight points in the final 24.8 seconds to end a game that featured 18 lead changes and 12 ties.

North Carolina booked a championship clash with the University of Kansas on Monday. 

The Jayhawks dominated Villanova, leading wire to wire in an 81-65 victory in the other semi-final.

Kansas snapped Villanova's nine-game winning streak and avenged a brutal 95-79 loss to the same team in a 2018 Final Four matchup.

They will play for the national title for the first time since 2012, when they lost to Kentucky in the championship. The Jayhawks last won the title in 2008.

North Carolina coach Hubert Davis could join Michigan's Steve Fisher in 1989 as the only first-year head coaches to win the national crown.

But the pre-game focus was on Krzyzewski, the 75-year-old veteran who had already announced this would be his last season and had hoped to lead the Blue Devils to the sixth NCAA title in his 42 years at the helm.

"Coach K," who also guided the United States to Olympic gold medals in 2008, 2012 and 2016, was emotional toward the end of a 10-minute video tribute that played before the contest.

It featured a number of his former Duke players along with USA players including James Harden and Kevin Durant.

Krzyzewski departs with a record 1,202 coaching victories. He led Duke to titles in 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010 and 2015, and the five championships trail only the 10 won by legendary UCLA coach John Wooden.

His Blue Devils were up 74-73 with 1:24 to play after Wendell Moore's three-pointer.

But North Carolina's RJ Davis was fouled on the ensuing possession and hit both free throws to give the Tar Heels a one-point lead. Love drained a three-pointer to put North Carolina up by four with 28 seconds left.

"I wanted it bad," Love said after scoring 21 second-half points. "Playing Duke for the chance to get the national championship ... it's crazy that we're here right now."

Agence France-Presse

Baylor dominates Gonzaga to win NCAA crown

LOS ANGELES -- The Baylor Bears ended the Gonzaga Bulldogs' quest for an unbeaten NCAA championship season on Monday, clinching the US college basketball title with a 86-70 victory.

The Waco, Texas-based Baylor University team sealed their first ever "March Madness" title with a dominant performance against the Bulldogs, who were aiming to crown an undefeated season with a championship.

Monday's defeat at Indianapolis's Lucas Oil Stadium came just two days after Gonzaga's exhilarating semi-final victory over UCLA on Saturday, when Jalen Suggs' buzzer-beater sealed a 93-90 win.

For long periods on Monday, it looked as if Gonzaga were still nursing a hangover from that win, with Baylor dominating in all departments to build a comfortable lead well before the end.

Jared Butler led the Baylor scoring with 22 points, seven assists and three rebounds, while MaCio Teague had 19 points with two rebounds.

Baylor laid the foundations for success with a blistering start, jumping into a 9-0 lead that they never relinquished.

The Bears had surged into a 19-point lead midway through the first half and also led by 20 points at one stage in the second.

Baylor Bears coach Scott Drew said the fast start reflected his team's "culture of joy."

"They came out and fed off of each other and got off to a great start, and defensively we're pretty good," Drew said.

"Our guys have been motivated all year. It's a player-led team. We're so blessed to have unbelievable leadership. We play with a culture of joy.

"If you're going to war and I'm coaching, then I'm taking these guys."

Gonzaga, meanwhile, were left shattered in defeat, with Saturday's hero Suggs -- who led the Bulldogs' scoring with 22 points -- in tears.

"We just couldn't get anything going, you have to give credit to Baylor," said Gonzaga coach Mark Few.

"They were just so aggressive defensively we couldn't get anything going on the offensive end. Hats off to them. They dominated both ends of the ball all night."

Few had words of solace for his players, who had won 31 straight games this season by an average of 22.4 points.

"You can't go 31-0 and get to the last night and get beat and feel bad about it," Few said. "It was an unbelievable run we've been on. I just said to them this will pass, and they've got to remember what an amazing accomplishment it was just getting to this point."

Agence France-Presse

Duke hires Kara Lawson as women's basketball head coach

Duke University has hired former WNBA guard Kara Lawson as the head coach of its women's basketball team, the school confirmed on Saturday.

The 39-year-old Lawson will replace Joanne P. McCallie, who compiled a record of 330-107 in 13 seasons at Duke. 

Lawson, who played collegiate basketball at Tennessee under the legendary Pat Summitt, was previously an assistant with the Boston Celtics before taking on her first head coaching job.

OFFICIAL.

Welcome to Duke, Kara Lawson! pic.twitter.com/0IIV5WprPD

— Duke Women’s Basketball (@DukeWBB) July 11, 2020

"It's a dream come true for me," Lawson said in a statement. "I have wanted to be a coach since I was a kid."

"To have an opportunity to lead a group of young women at a prestigious university like Duke – I have run out of words; it is unbelievable and very exciting," she added. 

"It wasn't a decision based on emotion, but there was a lot of emotion involved in it because of how excited I am and how ready I am to get started and to work with the players."

Duke's Director of Athletics, Kevin White, said Lawson is "the ideal fit for Duke University."

"Throughout the process, it became abundantly clear that her authenticity, passion, contemporary vision and unwavering commitment to the student-athlete experience align seamlessly with the values of the institution," he added. 

"With her high degree of emotional intelligence, Kara's astute ability to connect with future, current and former student-athletes, as well as the passionate and dedicated supporters of Duke women's basketball, will have an immediate and profound impact on the entire program."

Lawson won a WNBA title with the Sacramento Monarchs in 2005, and was part of the United States team that won the gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She averaged 9.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in her professional career.

Lawson became a well-respected broadcaster and analyst after her basketball career, before eventually being hired as the first female coach in the history of the Boston Celtics franchise. 

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