Kansas’ Power Against Backcourt Speed of Duke in Big Apple Final

Kansas and Duke will square off in tonight’s championship game of the inaugural Big Apple National Invitation Tournament at Madison Square Garden, and it will be the front-line power of the fifth-ranked Jayhawks against the backcourt speed of the sixth-ranked Blue Devils.

“I think the thing that Kansas has that will be difficult for us to match up with is not just their power inside, but they start four kids who are excellent athletes,” Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski said Saturday. “We’ll have to keep the pressure on. But if they take our guys inside, we could have problems.”

Ninth-ranked Louisville tried to keep the pressure on Kansas (3-0) in Friday night’s semifinal with a pressing zone defense, but the Jayhawks responded for an 83-78 victory.

“The thing that impressed me was that they didn’t just try to break the press, but they broke it to score,” Krzyzewski said. “We’re not going to press them, I’ll tell you that.”

Duke (4-0) advanced to the championship game with a 71-70 victory over No. 18 St. John’s (2-1), which will meet Louisville (2-1) in tonight’s consolation game.