With the help of a strong performance at the line and cold shooting by MSU after a strong start, No. 1 seed Duke defeated No. 7 seed MSU, 81-61, to bring the MSU's tournament run to an end on Saturday.

The Blue Devils got the the line 37 times, sinking 27 free throws. They locked down defensively after MSU got off to an early 14-6 lead, holding the Spartans to 35 percent shooting the rest of the way.

"Well, we got beat," head coach Tom Izzo said. "Unfortunately I thought Duke played awfully well, but I thought it wasn't one of our better games. I think they deserve some credit. Yet I feel bad because I didn't think people got to see the team that has won 12 out of the last 15 games. Give Duke credit and give our seniors credit for getting us to a place that most people didn't think we'd get to."

Freshman forward Justise Winslow led the Blue Devils with 19 points and nine rebounds, and freshman center Jahlil Okafor added 18 points and six rebounds.

Junior guard Denzel Valentine led MSU with 22 points and 11 rebounds, and senior guard Travis Trice added 16 points and five assists.

Valentine was locked in early, knocking down three 3-pointers in the first four minutes to give the Spartans an early 14-6 advantage. Trice also has a 3-pointer in the span.

Duke's defense locked in after a slow start, holding MSU scoreless for the next six minutes. "After the first media timeout, they did a good job of making adjustments of taking me out," Valentine said. "It forced us to shoot some bad shots. We had some bad plays, led to turnovers. You know, we kind of beat ourselves in the first half."

Sophomore guard Gavin Schilling grabbed Okafor's jersey to prevent a layup attempt. It didn't work. Okafor completed the 3-point play, and then used a putback slam the ball on the following offensive possession to give the Blue Devils the lead, 18-16, and extend their run to 12-2.

Okafor gave MSU trouble in the paint, and the Spartans stuck with single coverage throughout the game.

"Jahlil, he's an elite player," senior forward Branden Dawson said. "Every time he got the ball, he just made a great move. Everyone talk about what can we do to stop him. He's a good player so he's going to score. He established position in the post and he made some great post moves."

A 3-pointer by senior guard Quinton Cook and layup by freshman guard Tyus Jones extended Duke's run to 22-6 and its lead to 28-20 at the 4:32 mark.

A corner 3-pointer by Jones pushed Duke's lead to 11, 33-22, with under three minutes left in the first half.

The second half didn't improve for MSU. Duke remained hot, making their first three buckets to extend their lead to 17 at the 18:24 mark.

The Spartans battled foul trouble through most of the second half. Quick whistles and an inability to limit penetration caused Schilling, junior guard Matt Costello and Dawson to spend extended minutes on the bench.

The foul trouble, I got to do a better job of coaching," Izzo said. "It's the way it's going to be called. I got to do a better job of recruiting because I'm just going to get guys that can drive. That's the way the game has changed."

MSU trimmed the lead to 13 with under four minutes left with the help of 5-0 runs by Trice and Valentine, but it was too little, too late. Cook made a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 20 with 1:12 on the clock.

Trice said despite the surprise tournament run, he still believes MSU left something on the table in the final game. But given the disappointment the regular season brought, the senior can't help but feel proud of his team.

"A lot of people counted us out, didn't think we were going to be here, didn't think we were going to be in the tournament," Trice said. "I think that's definitely a high point for this group. We wanted to win it all, so that's disappointing. And for me personally, I'm done. But I'm just happy for this group, the way they competed this year.

"I'm happy, I'm proud of the way these guys responded all year. They never quit."