|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
ATLANTA (AP) – Shane Battier climbed the ladder and sliced a
couple of strands away from the rim, leaving just enough dangling
nylon for Mike Krzyzewski to finish the job.
Clearly, Duke has mastered the net-cutting ceremony at the
Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
|  | | Duke's Shane Battier, left, gets in the face of North Carolina forward Jason Capel. |
The Blue Devils (No. 2 ESPN/USA Today, No. 3 AP) routed North Carolina (No. 5, No. 6) 79-53
Sunday in the final, leaving little doubt about which school rules
one of college basketball's great rivalries.
Duke (29-4) headed on to the NCAA Tournament as the top
seed in the East Regional, after becoming the first school in more
than three decades to win the ACC three straight years.
"It feels kind of normal," said sophomore guard Jason
Williams, who didn't play the final 13 minutes because of a
sprained left ankle. "We have so much passion. We want it so
bad."
For the second time in a week, Duke earned a double-digit
victory over North Carolina (25-6) – a loss that cost the Tar Heels a No. 1 seed, relegating them to No. 2 in the South. But this one was much more
convincing than the 95-81 victory at Chapel Hill on the final
Sunday of the regular season.
The Blue Devils took control with a 19-1 run in the first half
and led 50-30 at halftime. North Carolina never got any closer and
looked totally lifeless at the end, run completely ragged by Duke's
ironmen.
"They got exhausted. We could see it in their eyes," freshman
guard Chris Duhon said. "We kept pushing and pushing and they
finally reached the breaking point. We saw them getting tired and
instead of letting them back in the game, we went for the
jugular."
|
Don't believe the hype
|
|
Sunday's rout was the fifth straight Duke-UNC ACC final that fell into the blowout category. All have been decided by 15 or more points. |
|
Year
|
Winner
|
Score
|
|
2000
|
Duke
|
79-53
|
|
1999
|
Duke
|
96-73
|
|
1998
|
UNC
|
83-68
|
|
1992
|
Duke
|
94-74
|
|
1991
|
UNC
|
96-74
|
Mike Dunleavy scored 24 points and Battier, the tournament MVP,
added 20 for the Blue Devils, who won three games in three days
without center Carlos Boozer, sidelined with a broken bone in his
right foot.
"To come here when people doubted us, doubting whether we had
the legs to do it three days in a row, to win MVP, it's really
storybook," said Battier, the winningest player in ACC history.
Krzyzewski, meanwhile, won his 600th career game.
"Our team was amazing," he said. "I know they were tired, but
they played with great heart and beat an outstanding team."
North Carolina was held to its fewest points since a 45-44 win
over N.C. State on Feb. 12, 1997 –a span of 151 games. The Tar
Heels shot 29 percent (19-for-65) and had only one player, Joseph
Forte with 14 points, in double figures.
"This is harder than a two-point loss," Forte said. "We
basically got blown out of the building."
Duke hit only 38 percent of its shots but seemed to arrive first
at every loose ball. The most telling stat: the shorter Blue Devils
outrebounded North Carolina 54-47, including getting 20 at the
offensive end.
Duke posted the second-largest victory in ACC final history,
topped only by North Carolina's 37-point win over N.C. State in
1968. Krzyzewski even got a chance to take out all of his starters
so they could receive an ovation from the crowd of 40,000.
Duke was leading 23-20 just past the midway point of the first
half when Battier ignited the decisive run with a 3-pointer. Nate
James followed with another 3-pointer and Williams stole a pass
from Ronald Curry, going in for a dunk.
Kris Lang made a free throw, but that was only a temporary
respite for North Carolina. Williams, who struggled with his
outside shooting, scored on a great move to the basket. Battier hit
another 3. Williams finished the spurt with another layup, giving
Duke a 42-21 lead with 4½ minutes left in the half.
North Carolina, the top seed in the tournament, never got any
closer than the 20-point halftime deficit. Forte followed up a
27-point effort against Georgia Tech in the semifinals by going
4-for-15.
Duke, which shared the regular-season title with North Carolina
but was the No. 2 seed, joined North Carolina (1967-69) and N.C.
State (1954-56) as the only teams to win three straight
tournaments.
The Tar Heels are the winningest team in tournament history,
reaching the final for the 27th time in the 48-year history of the
event. But they were denied a 16th championship by their biggest
rival. The schools are only eight miles apart.
The teams split their season series, each winning on the other's
court. North Carolina won 85-83 at Durham on Feb. 1.
But the Blue Devils have captured four straight since losing
Boozer, who hopes to return for the NCAA tournament. No need to
rush it – his teammates have been getting by just fine without him.
Duke would be in more trouble without Williams, but he said
there's no doubt he'll be able to play in the next tournament.
Trainer Dave Engelhardt described the injury as a "mild
sprain," though Williams was pounding the floor after he went
down.
"There's a lot of pain, no matter how minor they say it is,"
said Williams, who watched the rest of the game from the bench, his
foot resting on a chair covered by a bag of ice.
The Tar Heels were beat up, too.
Lang, who injured a muscle in his right leg in the semifinals,
managed only seven points and one rebound. Curry, playing with a
heavily taped left wrist, had six points and three assists.
 Send this story to a friend
|
|
ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Duke Clubhouse
North Carolina Clubhouse
NCAA seeds set: Duke, Stanford, Illinois, Michigan State
Katz: Selections make sense
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Shane Battier blows past Brendan Haywood on his way to the hoop for a layup.
avi: 1881 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Jason Williams says he will recover from his ankle injury before the NCAA Tournament.
avi: 3511 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Jason Williams steals the ball and powers down the lane for the one-handed jam.
avi: 1213 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Ronald Curry takes the ball strong to the hole for the fastbreak layup.
avi: 943 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 ESPN's Dick Vitale talks with Mike Krzyzewski about winning his 600th career game and his third straight ACC title.
wav: 2722 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
ESPN's Dick Vitale talks with NCAA national player of the year Shane Battier.
wav: 1355 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
|
