ATLANTA - Perhaps the game was over before it started.
In a game that was supposed to be a tribute to Georgia Tech's seniors, the men's basketball team stole the show, coasting to a 76-53 win over the Yellow Jackets and earning at least a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season-title.
A win over No. 3 North Carolina on Saturday would give top-ranked Duke (26-2, 14-1 ACC) the outright regular-season league title.
"Our main motivation is, we've had a goal to be ACC champions," senior guard Steve Wojciechowski said. "We've done that, and we have another step to go."
From Trajan Langdon's running jump shot just over a minute into the first half to Duke's last basket of the game, an Elton Brand turnaround jumper, the Blue Devils dominated. The Tech offense, shooting only 32.8 percent from the field, seemed unable to respond.
"Obviously, I had not prepared for their defense the way I should have, and I regret that," Georgia Tech coach Bobby Cremins said. "I wanted to keep the players a little bit loose, but obviously our preparation was very important. They just completely took us out of our offense, but I was disappointed that we were not prepared to deal with their defensive pressure."
Although Duke forced four turnovers in the first four minutes, its defensive pressure was not at its best until one minute after the opening stretch. After Alvin Jones' layup pulled Tech (17-11, 6-9 ACC) within 9-6, the Blue Devils tightened the screws an extra notch.
For the next 6:44, the Yellow Jackets did not score a single point. They missed 10 field-goal attempts and committed five turnovers, as Duke turned their offense inside-out.
Tech senior Matt Harpring, who had his jersey retired before the game, tried to rescue his club. But while his teammates struggled, Harpring did too, missing four shots and committing a turnover during the long Tech dry spell.
"Shutting Harpring down was the key," said Duke forward Chris Carrawell, who, along with Roshown McLeod and Shane Battier, bore much of the responsibility for guarding Tech's All-American. "I just tried to stay in front of him, keep him from getting the ball, and keep him off the boards. Not only me, but whoever was on him did a great job.
"Any time you can keep a great player from getting open looks and make their shots tough, hey, you've got a chance to win the game."
While Harpring and the Yellow Jackets struggled, the Blue Devils owned the paint on offense. They scored six baskets from inside five feet during the run, stretching their three-point lead to 21-6.
Carrawell sandwiched a pair of fast-break dunks around a Shane Battier layup, and McLeod followed those three buckets with a finger roll, a baby hook and a layup.
While on defense, the three Blue Devils held Harpring to just 12 points, well below his average of 22.3 per game. The Blue Devils' depth enabled them to wear him down.
"They play together and they play very hard," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said of his team. "I think we like playing defense. We only play one defense [man-to-man], so we don't have conflicting habits. If you play a variety of defenses, you sometimes get conflicting physical habits.
"The thing I like is, we're instinctive. For the most part, our defense has been really good all year long."
With Harpring neutralized, Yellow Jacket freshman Dion Glover stepped up and poured in 19 points. His performance was insignificant, though, because of Duke's team effort.
Rather than depending on freshman center Elton Brand, as they often did early in the season, the Blue Devils flexed their collective muscle. Brand, in his second game back from a broken foot, missed 8 of 11 field-goal attempts, but with four other players scoring in double-figures and Carrawell recording a double-double, the Blue Devils didn't need a major contribution from the massive freshman.
"We played very well," Krzyzewski said. "Our two exceptional players were McLeod and Langdon.... [Freshman William] Avery coming off the bench and playing so well was a surprise in this type of setting.
"The last two weeks, with the [70-66 win over Clemson] and this game, has really helped our team get better, winning in this type of environment."
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