MINNEAPOLIS - In a slugfest of superpowers, it was the silent assassin that dizzied Arizona's hopes of capturing a national championship and the heavyweight that sent the Wildcats down for the count.

Arizona's 82-72 loss to Duke in the NCAA Championship game last night first came at the hands of the phantom shooter in the corner, Mike Dunleavy.

But the job was finished by the Blue Devils' Player of the Year, Shane Battier.

"You can only keep a team like Duke down for so long before they start clicking again," said sophomore guard Gilbert Arenas. "We contained Duke in the first half, but after that, they started proving why they spent a lot of the season ranked number one."

Arizona led for a good part of the first half, but had their title hopes buried early in the second half.