Gonzaga vs. Duke 2015 results: 3 things we learned from Blue Devils' shutdown ...

Duke held Gonzaga without a field goal in the final 6:40 of play on Sunday in Houston.

Duke was looking for its 12th Final Four berth. Gonzaga was looking for its first.

On Sunday in Houston, history repeated itself at NRG Stadium in the South Regional final. No. 1 Duke locked down the Bulldogs on defense and made free throws and clutch shots down the stretch to earn a 66-52 win over No. 2 Gonzaga, along with the last Final Four berth awarded in the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

Talented freshmen carried the day for Duke: Matt Jones (16 points, 4-for-7 from three) fired away from deep, Justise Winslow (16 points) mixed threes and free throws, and Tyus Jones contributed 15 points and six assists. That production made up from another relatively quiet game from Jahlil Okafor, who finished with just nine points and seven rebounds.

But it was defense that made the difference down the stretch for the Blue Devils, who held Gonzaga without a field goal for the final 6:40 of play, building a double-digit lead in the process. Bulldogs big men Przemek Karnowski and Domantas Sabonis combined for just 13 points, and while Kentucky transfer Kyle Wiltjer's 16 points led Gonzaga, only one other Zag, Byron Wesley, scored in double figures.

The victory gives Duke and Mike Krzyzewski 12 Final Four appearances, tying Coach K with John Wooden for the most Final Four appearances by a coach in college basketball history.

Here are three things we learned from Duke's latest Elite Eight win under Krzyzewski.

1. Duke can be great without much from Okafor

In 40 minutes against Gonzaga, Duke committed just three turnovers one in the first half (with 1:44 left on the clock), and two in the second, one of them deliberate. Gonzaga had 11.

That care taken with the ball helped make up for a relatively mortal day by Okafor, who struggled to find a rhythm against Gonzaga's bigs, and underwhelming shooting inside the arc, where the Blue Devils made only slightly more than a third of their shots. Duke took 56 shots to Gonzaga's 50, and 19 free throws to the Zags' nine; keeping the ball for long enough to take shots and get fouled was the main difference there.

2. Duke is immune to shooting struggles in Houston

The NCAA Tournament has made three trips to the Houston Texans' stadium for regional and Final Four play since 2010. The cavernous venue, and the use of huge black curtains to cover seats not sold for those games, have wreaked havoc on shooting percentages most notably in the 2011 NCAA Tournament final, a game in which UConn shot 34.5 percent from the field,nearly doubling Butler's wretched 18.8 percent shooting on the night.

But Duke? Duke has been just fine in Houston.

In four NCAA Tournament games in what was Reliant Stadium in 2010 and is NRG Stadium now, Duke has made 28-of-66 threes, and shot better than 40 percent from distance in three of four tries, including an 8-for-19 performance on Sunday. 10 other teams have had a combined 14 chances to shoot in Houston, and just one of those three-point performances, Baylor's 8-for-17 night against Saint Mary's in 2010, topped the 40 percent mark.

That magic the Blue Devils have at this venue has helped make them a perfect 4-0 in games in Houston since 2010, propelling them to two Final Fours.

3. Gonzaga just didn't have enough

Gonzaga had a chance to tie the game with just under five minutes to play on a Wiltjer layup, but he missed. From that point on, Duke would outscore the Zags 13-1.

And it wasn't shooting that got the Blue Devils those points: Duke made just two field goals in the final 6:40, while Gonzaga made none. But Duke, and especially Winslow, was able to drive on Gonzaga to create scoring opportunities at the line, while Gonzaga simply couldn't do the same with a team lacking in players capable of breaking down a defense off the dribble.

Source: http://www.sbnation.com/2015/3/29/8309351/duke-gonzaga-2015-final-score-ncaa-tournament-elite-eight-results