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Russell Wilson, Cooper Helfet among Seahawks with ties to NCAA Men's Basketball Championship

Five Seahawks hold a rooting interest in this year's NCAA Men's Basketball Championship between the Wisconsin Badgers and Duke Blue Devils.

And then there were two.

The 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Championship Game tips off tonight between the No. 1-seeded Wisconsin Badgers and No. 1-seeded Duke Blue Devils.

The matchup comes after the Badgers pulled an upset against previously undefeated No. 1-seed Kentucky, 71-64, and after the Blue Devils beat out No. 7-seeded Michigan St., 81-61, this past Saturday in the bracket's Final Four from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.

The NFL has several collegiate ties to this year's title game. According to NFL.com senior analyst Gil Brandt, 33 Wisconsin players own a spot on NFL rosters to just eight players from Duke.

The Seahawks' roster features four of the League's 33 former Badgers and one of the eight former Blue Devils. Quarterback Russell Wilson, wide receiver David Gilreath, and linebackers Brendan Kelly and Mike Taylor own ties to Wisconsin, while tight end Cooper Helfet is Seattle's lone representative to hail from Duke.

In his one season at Wisconsin, Wilson completed 72.8 percent of his passes for 3,175 yards and 33 touchdowns. He added 338 yards and six scores with his legs, leading the Badgers to a Big Ten title and the 2012 Rose Bowl. He showed support for his former ball club this past weekend, changing his Twitter avatar to a photo of himself from his Wisconsin playing days and tweeting a couple messages backing the school as they capped off a historic performance.

Wisconsin and Duke get underway at 6:18 p.m. PT with national television coverage on CBS (channel 7 in Seattle).

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