Duke won the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship on Monday night, but through no fault of their own, may have lost their decades like long crown of “Most Hated Team in The Country.” Duke and Coach Mike Krzyzewski did everything they could to hold the crown, they flopped and whined their hearts out and the refs did what refs do for Duke… Duke was whistled for 26 fewer fouls than their foes in the NCAA tournament and shot 50 more free throws. Your eyes did not deceive you. Duke really did get all the foul calls during this postseason.
But alas Duke’s status quo was no match this year for the uber-hateable Kentucky Wildcats. Led by John Calipari and his post-game press conference after squeaking by Notre Dame. This was a master’s class in how to act like an ungracious jerk after a victory. Ironically, it was probably the only class any Wildcats attended this year. From what I gathered reading Our Reward Will Be in History, Willie Worsley’s account of the historic 1966 NCAA Championship, somewhere Adolph Rupp is very proud to have the crown back.