INDIANAPOLIS -- On one side stands what is, arguably, the finest college basketball program in America which is run by the man who is, inarguably, the finest and most respected basketball coach in America -- college or pro.

On the other side from this Duke University basketball juggernaut and the equally revered and despised legend of Mike Krzyzewski stands, uh, Butler and Brad Stevens.

It's almost as if NCAA basketball is thumbing its nose at the archaic way NCAA football determines a champion. A school of such a puny athletic stature as Butler could not get in the discussion let alone have chance to compete for the football title.

But here it is tonight at Lucas Oil Stadium taking on the mighty Blue Devils, who are seeking their fourth national championship. It's Duke and Krzyzewski vs. Butler and Stevens at 9:21 for the championship of college basketball, and there's little doubt which team is the betting-line favorite and which team is the crowd favorite.

If the backgrounds of the schools and the coaches were not enough, Duke played superbly in sending West Virginia home Saturday in the second national semifinal, while earlier Butler gave new meaning to winning ugly -- 10 minutes without a field goal late in the second half of a close game -- in its victory against Michigan State.

That won't stop the vast majority of the crowd to be pulling not just for the underdog but for a hometown underdog from the other side of the tracks against an elite member of the basketball aristocracy.

The term David vs. Goliath came up innumerable times in news conferences Sunday and it is a cliché that is most fitting.

It was, in fact, embraced by Stevens, 33, who is amazingly comfortable in this role he never could have dreamed he would be filling.

"It's great. It's absolutely fine," said Stevens of the Biblical tale. "You know, it makes me feel good. David won."

There's no backing down by this young coach -- not from the monumental challenge at hand; not from the legend of Krzyzewski; not from the perceived massive talent differential between the two teams.

"I certainly think Duke is Goliath," Stevens continued. "When you look at college basketball, they've set the standard for everyone else over the years. Ever since I've been watching basketball, coach Krzyzewski and Duke have been one of the preeminent programs in the country."

Stevens was born in 1976, when Krzyzewski was starting his second season at Army, walking in the massive footprint of Bobby Knight. He was 4 when Krzyzewski accepted the major challenge of re-establishing the once-proud Duke program. And he was an ardent fan of 15 living in Indiana in 1991 when Krzyzewski brought Duke to Indianapolis to win the school's first national championship in a major upset against UNLV.

"Just like everybody else, I enjoyed rooting for the underdog," Stevens said. "I think that was coach Krzyzewski's first championship that year. What a remarkable run. I remember that."

He makes no attempt to hide his admiration of the Duke program and the Duke coach.

"Well, everybody wants to be like 'em. I don't think there's any question. We have a tremendous program but we're not near what Duke has accomplished over the last 30-plus years.

"They've set a standard. What stands out to me with coach Krzyzewski is his ability to create an environment of team, an environment of oneness playing together. When they decided that he was going to be the Olympic coach, that was thrilling for me because you knew that he was going to get guys to all play together and really care about one another."

But admiration won't stand in the road of Butler's goal tonight. This is a team that is focused and a team that believes. Its challenge, however, is overwhelming.

Krzyzewski goes to extremes not to call his team great, as well he should. He knows what greatness on the basketball court is and he won't denigrate his great players and teams of the past by using that label on this team and these players.

But they are experienced and tough and oh, so well-schooled by the master.

And that's another cliché for tonight -- master vs. pupil. Even if Stevens never worked for Krzyzewski, he has read his books, he has studied his system and his strategies. Who desiring to excel at the coaching profession hasn't?

The crowd on hand and the tens of million watching on television furiously will be rooting for Butler, not just because it is the underdog but because the opponent is Duke, the team everyone loves to hate.

They will get more reason tonight. Pull for the kid coach, root like crazy for his overachievers. But Coach K is in command. The legend returns to the scene of his greatest triumphs and there will be no denying him.

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