MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The matchup everyone dreamed of in the preseason has arrived at last.
Before the season began, it seemed clear that Duke (34-4) and Arizona (28-7) were a cut above the rest of the field. They were both deep, talented and their rosters were almost entirely intact from last season.
Some polls picked the Wildcats on top, others went with the Blue Devils. But everyone had them No. 1 and No. 2 and everyone, even the players, wanted to see them square off head-to-head.
"We've always wanted to play Duke, especially when, going into the season, we knew who was going to be No. 1 and No. 2," Arizona forward Richard Jefferson said. "We asked our coaches why couldn't we just get a one-game scrimmage with them just to have some fun with it."
With tonight's NCAA tournament finals set for 9:18 p.m. in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, the one-game scrimmage between Arizona and Duke is finally here, and the stakes are a national championship.
"It's going to be a special night," Duke forward Shane Battier said. "I don't think you could have two better teams, two better coaches, two better traditions in this championship game."
During their only championship season in 1997, Arizona became the first team in
"I think for us, Maryland's a great team, but I don't know if you'd get as much satisfaction [beating Maryland] as if you could beat a great team like Duke," Jefferson said.
The West Regional champion Wildcats have focused on the East Regional champion Blue Devils for more reasons than their No. 1 seed, though. Billing the matchup as a classic East vs. West showdown, Arizona's players said tonight's championship game will be about more than bringing a title back to their hometown of Tucson. For them, tonight is their opportunity to bring respect back to their entire coastline.
Although Duke has burned teams with its dangerous perimeter shooting and Arizona has thrived off its bang-up inside game, the connotations of East coast and West coast basketball still irk the Wildcats.
"I was always told that the West was finesse and more up-tempo, whereas the East coast was power basketball with bigger and stronger players," Arizona sixth man Eugene Edgerson said. "But when it all comes down to it, it's about who wants it the most. I don't care if you're from the East, the West, the South or the North. The competitors and the people who are the hungriest will get the championship."
Both teams are currently peaking, but before they hit their stride, they gained motivation from naysayers who wrote off their championship aspirations.
As recently as a month ago, Duke was given little chance of reaching this game when the team blew a double-digit lead to Maryland and lost center Carlos Boozer in the process. Arizona's struggles, meanwhile, came early in the season, when the team lost a score of games to begin the year and quickly plummeted in the national polls. The Wildcats continue to draw inspiration not only from their on-court difficulties, but from the mid-season death of coach Lute Olson's wife Bobbi, to whom Arizona's season remains dedicated.
However, the Blue Devils maintain they will not be at an emotional disadvantage when it comes time for tip-off.
"Playing in the national championship is inspiration enough," Boozer said. "We do not need any other inspiration."
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