Capsule

Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Fla.

When: 8: 15 tonight

TV: Chs. 13, 9

How they got here: Both won automatic bids as conference tournament champions, Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference and Michigan State in the Big Ten. The Blue Devils had little difficulty as the top seed in the East Regional, where they beat 16th seed Florida A&M;, 99-58; No. 9 Tulsa, 97-56; No. 12 Southwest Missouri State, 78-61; and No. 6 Temple, 85-64. The Spartans did have a couple of tests in the Midwest Regional, where they beat No. 16 Mount St. Mary's, 76-53; No. 9 Mississippi, 74-66; and No. 13 Oklahoma, 54-46, then had to rally to defeat No. 3 Kentucky, 73-66, to gain their Final Four spot.

Conference records: Duke was 16-0 in the ACC, the first school to accomplish that feat since the league expanded to nine teams. Michigan State was 15-1 in the Big Ten.

Rankings: Duke was No. 1 in the final Associated Press poll, Michigan State No. 2.

Coaches: Mike Krzyzewski is 468-154 in 19 seasons at Duke, 541-213 in 24 seasons overall. Tom Izzo is 88-40 in four seasons at Michigan State.

NCAA tournament records: Duke is in its 12th Final Four, the eighth under Krzyzewski. The Blue Devils won consecutive titles in 1991 and '92. Michigan State is in its third Final Four, the first since 1979, when the Magic Johnson-led Spartans won their only title.

What Duke has to do to win: The Blue Devils must do what they have all season, use all of the weapons available on the nation's most talented roster. Duke is averaging nearly 93 points a game, but in center Elton Brand and guard Trajan Langdon, it has an inside-outside combination that is nice to fall back on in the half-court game.

What Michigan State has to do to win: The Spartans can't afford to fall far behind, like they did in their Midwest Regional final victory over Kentucky. Point guard Mateen Cleaves must dictate the tempo and get good shots for the gritty Spartans, who are up against an opponent whose half-court defense is underrated.

Bottom line: Duke has the best players and the best coach. When was the last time the top-ranked team was an 11 1/2-point favorite over No. 2 on a neutral court? The Big Ten was the deepest conference in the nation this winter, but mediocrity wasn't the only reason the Blue Devils became the first team to go 16-0 in the ACC. Pub Date: 3/27/99