National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Duke 71, Michigan St 61
When: 9:45 PM ET, Friday, March 29, 2013
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana
Officials: # Pat Driscoll, # Mike Scyphers, # Mike Stuart
Attendance: 35520

Duke 71, Michigan State 61: Seth Curry hit six 3-pointers and scored 29 points as the Blue Devils defeated the Spartans in the NCAA Tournament Midwest Region semifinals in Indianapolis.

Mason Plumlee tallied 14 points and seven rebounds despite battling foul trouble for Duke (30-5), which hit the 30-win mark for the fourth time in the last five years. The Blue Devils will meet top-seeded Louisville for a Final Four berth on Sunday in a rematch of the Battle 4 Atlantis title game on Nov. 24 – a 76-71 win by Duke.

Keith Appling shook off knee and shoulder injuries suffered last week to pace Michigan State (27-9) with 16 points. Adreian Payne posted his eighth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 boards.

Curry, who scored 14 points in the first half, continued his hot start by knocking down three consecutive 3-pointers to open the second half as Duke took a 47-38 lead with 13:53 to go after Michigan State had rallied to within one point at intermission.

The Spartans used a pair of free throws from Appling to close the gap to 49-45, but the Blue Devils held Michigan State without a field goal for an 8:33 span and stretched the margin to 62-49 after two free throws from Rasheed Sulaimon. Duke, which shot 24-for-26 from the foul line, made its final eight free throws to hold off any possibility of a late charge.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Duke improved to 8-1 all-time against Michigan State under coach Mike Krzyzewski. … The Spartans boasted a plus-23 rebounding margin through two games in the NCAA Tournament (98-52), but managed only a 33-29 advantage Friday. …The Blue Devils missed their first free throw but hit their next 16 until Sulaimon missed one with 2:54 remaining.
Top Game Performances
 
Michigan St   Duke
Keith Appling 16 Scoring Seth Curry 29
Branden Dawson 2 Assists Quinn Cook 2
Adreian Payne 10 Rebounds Ryan Kelly 7
Adreian Payne 7 Free Throws Made Rasheed Sulaimon 12
Keith Appling 1 Steals Tyler Thornton 2
Adreian Payne 2 Blocks Ryan Kelly 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Michigan St 61 40.0 3-12 18-24 6 33 4 6 11
Duke 71 40.8 7-18 24-26 8 26 5 3 8