Mason Plumlee said all year he made the right decision to come back to school. Now, everyone can see that. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Earlier this week, Mason Plumlee won the Pete Newell award, given annually to the best big man in the country. He was also a consensus second-team All-American Tuesday.

What a difference a year makes.

Last April, Plumlee was deciding between returning to Duke for his senior year or going pro and entering the NBA draft. There was great debate between outsiders about what he should do, and even his high school coach, David Gaines, spoke out in favor of Plumlee leaving.

Seth Curry struggled to find room to get off his shots. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

INDIANAPOLIS—The road ends here for Duke.

"In this situation, you want to play your best basketball game," Ryan Kelly said. "We would have had to play our best basketball game to beat that team."

Duke did not play its best basketball in the season-ending, 85-63 loss. Louisville's game plan was the primary reason for that.

It took 11 minutes and 26 seconds for Seth Curry to attempt his first shot. He only got three in the first half. All were tightly contested. All missed.

“It kind of threw us back at first,” Curry said of the Cardinals defense. “We didn’t know what they were in.”

Rasheed Sulaimon was emotional in the aftermath of Duke's season-ending loss. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

INDIANAPOLIS—For 24 minutes, Duke played Louisville to an even draw. Both teams had elaborate, technical game plans to prevent the other from doing what they do best offensively. Both teams made adjustments, and the score was knotted in a dead heat.

Then everything started to go wrong for Duke, and it spiraled out of control.

The Cardinals took control early the final half in their 85-63 win to earn the last spot in the Final Four. The Blue Devils went more than six minutes without a field goal, and Louisville went on a 20-4 run during that stretch.

“I believed with everything I had that we were going to win the whole thing,” said Mason Plumlee, who finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds. “All it takes is one game and you’re out.”

Louisville coach Rick Pitino told Kevin Ware to stay down after his gruesome compound fracture. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

INDIANAPOLIS—The first half ended with Louisville holding a 35-32 lead on Duke. The game changed irrevocably, though, midway through the period, when Cardinals guard Kevin Ware suffered a compound fracture in his right leg that left his right tibia exposed.

Ware jumped to defend a Tyler Thornton 3-pointer and collapsed in a heap. Lying on his back right in front of the Louisville bench, his right tibia was sticking through his skin. The reaction by his teammates and coaches was immediate.

Mason Plumlee has led Duke to the Elite Eight. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

When: 5:05 p.m.
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
TV/Radio: CBS/WKIX-102.9 FM

Additional reading

Miles, Mason & Marshall Plumlee maybe the most famous players from Warsaw, Indiana, but they had to leave to flourish

Duke needs Quinn Cook to be sharper than he was against Michigan State

Luke DeCock on Mike Krzyzewski and Rick Pitino's past and the future of the ACC

Speaking of Luke, here's his handy work on previewing today's game

Scouting Louisville (32-5)

RPI: 3

How they got here:Big East champion

Keep an eye on:

Giorgui Dieng

Ryan Kelly and Mason Plumlee were all over the boards in the win against Michigan State. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

INDIANAPOLIS—When the Blue Devils arrived at Lucas Oil Stadium, they were assigned to the same locker room they had used during their 2010 national championship run. The three seniors said the memories came flooding back. The underclassmen, though, said not much reminiscing occurred.

That’s because there was—and still is—work to do.

Here's the game story from Duke's 71-61 win over Michigan State .For more reading, here's a column from Luke DeCock. And here are a few more lingering thoughts before we flip the switch to the Louisville rematch:

Seth Curry was raining 3s on the Spartans. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

INDIANAPOLIS—Tom Izzo joked the day before the game that he didn’t think his Spartans had gotten their fair share of wins against Duke. Perhaps this was their time, he said.

Not this year.

Duke played its best basketball of the postseason to beat Michigan State 71-61 and advance to the Elite Eight. It’s the Blue Devils’ first trip to region final since their 2010 national championship.

It was also Mike Krzyzewski’s eighth win (against one loss) when facing Michigan State.

Seth Curry will need all the quickness he has to guard Michigan State's Gary Harris. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Duke vs. Michigan State
When: 9:45 p.m.
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
TV/Radio: CBS/WKIX-102.9 FM
Subplots: Ryan Kelly's body stretches the floor—his shot could stretch the difference on the scoreboard.
Soon-to-be Northwestern head coach Chris Collins feels a bit like a senior now

Scouting Michigan State (27-8)

RPI: 8

How they got here: At-large bid; finished the regular season tied for second in the Big 10

Keep an eye on: Gary Harris

Everybody hates Duke.

At least that's what many media outlets will lead you to believe.

There are, undoubtably, people, many people, that root against Duke. On the flip side, though, there are a lot of people that like Duke and even root for Duke. One way to count that is through social media.

DURHAM — It’s not officially official yet, but Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski didn’t hesitate on Wednesday to praise Chris Collins, the Blue Devils assistant who is reportedly set to become the next head coach at Northwestern.

“I hope that’s what it turns out to be,” Krzyzewski said. “That’s not a done deal. But I hope that it will be, and that will be terrific, and I’ll comment on it if that’s what happens.”