After a
generally lethargic first round win against Lamar, the Devils had vowed to play more
passionately against Kansas. But this didn't happen against the fired-up Jayhawks, who
overcame a 6-point overtime deficit against DePaul in the first round to narrowly win. And
they came out playing tough D in the early going, with Duke going scoreless for the first
3.5 minutes. Portentiously, Duke's first basket was a Boozer offensive putback. Diminutive
point guard Kirk Hinrich of Kansas, not known as a great shooter, decided to make swiss
cheese out of Duke's defense by hitting three consecutive threes. Before you could say
"Rock Chalk Jayhawk", Kansas had sprinted out to a 13-4 lead. Duke had missed
all but 2 of their first 15 or so field goals and had turned the ball over several times.
However, Kansas couldn't extend the lead, and both teams went over four minutes without
scoring, until Nate James hit a three to put Duke within 6. Hinrich drove past Williams
for an easy layup, but soon picked up his third foul, something that would greatly work to
Duke's advantage. Without him beating Duke off the dribble, Kansas suddenly had problems
handling the ball and finding ways to score.
Duke quickly struck back with a 7-0 run with all of the points being
scored by Chris Carrawell. He started with a runner and then scored twice in transition,
with Williams feeding him both times. The second breakaway basket got him fouled as well.
Duke was suddenly back in the game, only down 15-14 and feeling rather lucky that things
weren't worse. Kansas righted itself as Jeff Boschee (a one-time Duke recruit, as were
frontcourt studs Drew Gooden and Nick Collison) hit a three and pushed the lead back to 6
at 20-14. This time, it was another one of the Three Pillars, Shane Battier, who evened
things up for Duke, but not in a pretty way. He scored 6 straight points on free throws
and on an offensive putback (Duke's third of the half) plus the foul. The game was nip and
tuck for the next minute or so, but Williams asserted himself, scoring on a drive and
finding Boozer underneath for a turnaround. Fifteen minutes into the game, Duke had its
first lead at 25-24. The lead went back and forth for a few minutes before it looked like
Kansas was going to reassert itself. Kenny Gregory had 4 points, including an offensive
rebound, and the Jayhawks were up 33-29 and with the ball after an offensive rebound. But
Williams picked up a steal while patrolling the passing lanes and got a layup. This was an
interesting time of the game for Jason, because he would make a positive play right after
a negative one, followed by another negative play! After he scored, Kansas
turned the ball over, after which Jason turned the ball over. But then he corralled the
rebound. This kid is such a gamer; he never quits trying no matter what he does. After
Duke tied the game with some free throws from C-Well, Kansas took the lead again with some
free throws. Duke ran down the clock and found Carrawell for a 17' jumper from the corner
as time wound down. Chris led the Devils with 11 points, and while the second half
belonged to Battier, Duke stayed in first half contention because of the efforts of its
leader.
The first couple of minutes of the second half were tight, with the
teams exchanging free throws and James giving Duke a narrow 38-36 lead. Chris exploded for
a driving dunk thanks to some nice screening work for Duke's first real offensive
highlight of the game. Duke really got loose after Battier finally hit a three, giving the
Devils a 43-39 lead. The team really started to assert itself, with Boozer and Battier
attacking the Jayhawks on a 10-5 run. This gave Duke a 53-46 lead with nine minutes left.
Battier was brilliant on the defensive end, getting a steal and 2 blocks in this period,
and then started to really assert himself on offense. With his three not working, he
spotted up on another of his favorite locations, along the baseline. Williams found him
open for a couple of jumpers there. Shane then made four straight foul shots to give Duke
its biggest lead, 59-50, with just six minutes left.
Duke couldn't keep the lead, as Kansas got an alley-oop slam, a
putback and a three from Boschee to tie things up again at 59. James drove and flipped in
a shot to give Duke back the lead, and then Boozer hit a couple of big foul shots to make
it 63-59 with just two minutes left. The Devils like to make things exciting, however, and
Kansas battled back to take a 64-63 with about a minute left, thanks to a Collison basket
after a Hinrich drive and a Bradford three point play after an offensive rebound. But this
Duke team was quite used to this situation and had been in far
more dire ones this year and still came out on top. Carrawell drove and missed a short
shot, but Boozer stormed in for a putback that gave Duke a 65-64 lead. On the next
possession, Nick Bradford threw a bad pass that Boozer picked off near the sideline. He
kept his balance, stayed in bounds, and got the ball to Carrawell. Chris stepped up to the
line and hit both shots, giving Duke a 3 point lead with 24 seconds left. With four
seconds left on the clock, Hinrich fired up a three from behind a screen. It clanked and
Carrawell chased it down as he was falling. On his knees, he called a time-out before
Kansas could tie him up. He inbounded it to Williams, who sank both shots to put the game
out of reach. It took every erg of energy that Duke had, but they finally put away a tough
and valiant Kansas team. The difference was just a couple of plays at the end. One burst
of effort from Boozer and a putback. One quick reaction from Boozer and a steal. The
desire of a senior who wanted a rebound at the game's end and outran everyone to get it.
The nerves of a frosh who hadn't had his best game but cooly iced the contest. Duke knew
what it was like to be on the wrong end of a close game, and wanted no part of it here.
And in the end, it was that desire that proved to be the deciding factor.
** Negatives:
1. Turnovers. Coach K rightly pointed out that they weren't
"mindless" turnovers, but Duke didn't help its cause on a number of them. Boozer
had 6, many on losing the ball out of bounds or shuffling his feet. Williams had a
frightening 8 turnovers, though a few came on other players dropping his passes.
2. Shooting. Wretched. Sure, Duke didn't get many good looks, but they
couldn't can their open jumpers either.
3. Denying penetration. About the only thing that worked for Kansas was
to get by Williams, draw out the defender, and quickly dump it off before Duke could get a
defensive switch. Boozer was out of position more than once when this happened.
** Positives:
1. Rebounding. Duke was getting massacred at first by the Jayhawks'
relentless pounding of the offensive boards, but Duke fought back with 27 boards alone in
the second half. Duke managed to outrebound them for the game. The eventually go-ahead
basket was on a huge offensive rebound by Boozer, who was as hungry as I've ever seen him
in a game. His massive 13 rebound effort, combined with 8 from Battier and 9 from a
struggling Williams was one of the deciding factors in Duke's win.
2. Post defense. Battier was a one-man clinic on how to defend the post,
blocking 8 shots and holding the massive KU frontline to 10-31 shooting. Though Boozer got
beat a few times, he didn't get beaten much one-on-one.
3. Getting to the line. The mark of a truly great Duke team is one that
turns to its foul shooting when all else is lost. One that is aggressive and smart enough
to get to the line when needed. Duke lived at the line, going a remarkable 27-31.
Carrawell and Williams came up with some huge free throws at the end that sealed the win.
Player-by-Player Analysis:
** Boozer: Carlos played like a man, someone who would not be
denied. He had to help carry the team down low and fight like crazy on the boards. He was
relatively quiet in the first half, getting on OK but not spectacular 5 points and 2
boards. But his play was absolutely crucial in the second half. He teamed up with Battier
to give Duke its first substantial lead, as he was looking to bull his way to the basket
every time he was in position down low. He swished a couple of foul shots with under two
minutes left that gave Duke a 4 point lead. He had that huge putback at a time when Duke
absolutely needed to score. If Duke hadn't gone ahead, KU would have run the clock down
and the game would have come down to a free throw contest for the Hawks. If that play
wasn't big enough, he followed it up with his huge steal. For Battier or Williams, this is
an expected play. For someone like Carlos, who had trouble at times with his defensive
intensity, the play was monstrous. He had the presence of mind to dribble the ball away
from traffic and then find the senior Carrawell as a stunned Kansas team let the clock
wind down a bit more than they wanted. If Carlos plays with the same level of intensity
and purpose the rest of the way, Duke will be hard to stop. Carlos is so dangerous because
of his quickness and nimble feet, and his ability to go up with either hand. Once his
footwork is perfected, he will be one of the deadliest offensive players in the country.
Boozer's numbers were just amazing; of his 13 rebounds, 8 were offensive. Carlos also
timed a Kansas alley-oop perfectly, stepping in front of it
to break it up.
** Battier: As fine a game as Shane has ever played, all
things considered. Sure, he was only 1-3 from three, but when he realized that he wasn't
going to get a single open look, he changed his game and flummoxed the Hawks. Planting
himself on the baseline and swishing 2 of those jumpers bought Duke a lot of time and
forced Kansas to expend energy in order to catch up. His accuracy at the free throw line
was crucial, with each shot under enormous pressure. He was the engine that kept Duke
running in the second half. This does not even begin to address his defense, which was
beyond even Grant Hill levels. His help defense combined with his ferocious shot-blocking
neutralized the fearsome KU frontline. He couldn't prevent them from getting to a lot of
rebounds, but he made the Jayhawks work hard every single time. A performance to savor.
** Carrawell: While Chris still hasn't really exploded
offensively in quite a while, it's safe to say that he saved Duke's collective butt at the
end of the game. Furthermore, he drove the offense in the first half, finding ways to
score. His jumper at the end of the first half was absolutely clutch. His 7 straight
points turned the game into a dominant Kansas performance into a tight game. He missed
some shots down the stretch, but he had earned the right to take them. His early second
half dunk woke the team up and relaxed them, bringing a little of the fun back into the
game. He also did a good job harrassing Boschee into some bad shooting. But it was still
the end of the game where he truly made his mark, with a play that was all desire and
smarts. His rebound after a couple of KU players, after the Jayhawks had grabbed so many
offensive rebounds, helped win the game. Chris did not want to go out in the second round,
and he helped will the team to victory.
** James: Nate had three field goals. It's impossible to
overstate how important each one was. The first was an offensive rebound that brought Duke
to within 7-4 after the Devils were finding it impossible to score. This wasn't just a
simple open putback, but a tough hook shot in traffic after he got the ball in the lane
after a miss. He looped it over the outstretched arms of a Kansas defender. His second
came after Duke went five minutes without scoring, and was a 3 that answered a couple of
KU threes. His third came late in the game, after Kansas had scored 9 straight
points to tie the game at 59. Nate came threw on a drive after Duke had gone three minutes
without scoring. Throw in his 5-6 free throw performance and his 5 boards and you can find
Duke's x-factor in this game.
** Williams: While Jase did not shoot well, turned the ball
over a lot and got beaten repeatedly off the dribble by Kirk Hinrich, Coach K declared
that he still thought Williams had a good game. I tend to agree because Jason kept
fighting, no matter how many mistakes he made or how many shots he missed. His amazing 9
boards and 4 steals showed how active he was, and when the time came to seal the game with
free throws, he was up to the task. Remember, he had a similar opportunity against UNC and
blew it. This time, he put the opposition away. Despite his mistakes, Jason had a number
of important plays. He fired the ball twice to Carrawell for transition points. He helped
cut into a 4 point deficit with a steal. He tracked down a number of long rebounds on
misses. In the second half, he consciously went to Battier as much as possible, which led
to good results. And he hit those enormous foul shots with uncanny calm. He had truly
mastered the art of living in the moment rather than worrying about external factors. In
other words, he played like a veteran.
** Dunleavy: Mike did not have a good game. Coach K thought
that he's still not completely healthy, and it's possible that his adrenaline rush in
returning last weekend wore off a bit. But Mike didn't shoot well, he turned the ball over
quite a bit and only got 2 boards. What he did do was buy some time for Carrawell and
James, allowing them to be relatively fresh when the game was on the line.
** Horvath: Just a cameo, as Nick missed a three.
** Sanders: Another cameo at the end of the first half, to
get some more rest for Boozer.
Next Game: Friday, March 24th vs Florida in the East Regional in Syracuse. The Gators are
loaded with talented frosh and sophs, led by outstanding forward Mike Miller. They are
quick and deep, loving to use a pressing and trapping style favored by Rick Pitino. Their
guards love to take the threes, with Brett Nelson, Teddy Dupay and Major Parker big
threats. But they also are fearsome underneath, with Udonis Haslem an excellent low-post
scorer and Donnell Harvey an amazing rebounder. While they have a level of depth and
talent even greater than that of Kansas, they employ it a bit differently. Kansas doesn't
like to press that much, preferring to use a more physical halfcourt style. Florida loves
to work in transition but is sometimes questionable in the halfcourt. The Gators will try
to run Duke ragged. Duke must break the press, defend the three and try to keep things
even on the boards. The Gators squeaked by in round one but crushed a good Illinois team
in the second. The sometimes-erratic Florida team is very confident right now and it will
take a very precise performance to beat them. Gerald will have the full scoop on all of
the matchups.