ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - All week long, as the tournament that was all but conceded to Duke months ago reached its climax, people have been desperately seeking some sort of Achilles' heel on an otherwise unbeatable team.
As media folk desperate for compelling story lines wrote more and more "Can anyone beat Duke?" and "How to beat the Blue Devils" stories, they all kept coming back to one thing: How would Duke respond to pressure?
During their current 32-game winning streak, the Blue Devils have won most of their games with ease. Seldom have things not gone Duke's way. But what would happen should the Blue Devils be in a close game, and what if in that close game, something happened that would force Duke to make some adjustments?
It turns out, the Blue Devils handle a three-point lead much like they do a 20-point advantage. They simply continue building on it.
With 10:12 left in the game, Elton Brand, who at that point had 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting, picked up his fourth foul and was forced to leave the game. Brand was in the middle of one of his most dominating games of the year, but as soon as he left, Michigan State trimmed the Blue Devil lead from eight points to three.
Momentum was with the Spartans, Brand was on the bench and Duke was finally in the midst of a close game. Things were definitely not going Duke's way, and suddenly, the impossible was happening. The Blue Devils seemed beatable.
But then Trajan Langdon answered the doubts and questions that had circulated all week long. Langdon juked his defender in the left corner and shot up a three. It wasn't a wide-open look, but it found the bottom of the net, and was enough to bring Duke's lead up to six, 54-48, with 8:16 left.
"Michigan State was doing a great job on me all game, keeping the ball out of my hands, really shadowing me," said Langdon, who was just 2-of-8 at the time and 0-3 from three-ball land. "But Coach told me to stay aggressive and my teammates did too. That's a move I've made lots of times."
Seeing the damage that Langdon had done on the way to the Final Four and after revisiting film from Langdon's 23-point effort against the Spartans in December, MSU coach Tom Izzo decided to focus his defensive scheme on Langdon and the perimeter.
That was fine by Duke as it watched Brand simply overpower Michigan State's defense. But when Brand had to do the watching, other Blue Devils stepped up.
After Langdon's three, the Spartans added another layup, but this time it was Will Avery's turn to answer. With 6:49 left in the game and Duke up 54-50, Avery hit a big three-pointer with a man in his face. On MSU's ensuing possession, Avery forced Mateen Cleaves to travel. Avery took the ball up the floor, drove to the basket and scored two more points, putting Duke up 59-50.
"I knew without a doubt I had to step up," Avery said. "It was my time. Elton was on the bench and Trajan was being smothered on defense.... I had to create my own stuff to get us going and I think I did and really closed the door on them."
Just 1:30 later, Brand finally returned and Duke had survived a major scare.
"[Avery's plays] were two of the biggest of the game," Chris Carrawell said. "But those are the types of plays you have to have to win games like that.... Everyone's been saying, 'Can Duke win a game like this?' Well, we can."
And with the win, Duke once again proved why it is the team to beat-no matter who is struggling, no matter who is missing, someone always steps up.
"Those were big shots," Cleaves said. "Two of their best players hit big shots for them. I think we're one shot away from making a run. Every time we went on a little bit of a run they answered with something. That shows how good a team it is, how good they play."
The Blue Devils have not been in that many close games, but they have been in big games and they have been in games with defining moments. And every time, Duke gets either the basket, the steal or the defensive stop when it needs it.
Against Georgia Tech on Feb. 6, Duke's last single-digit win, Langdon scored 16 second-half points, including eight straight, to erase a 10-point deficit.
But Duke didn't miss a beat in the ACC tourney without Langdon and it manhandled North Carolina in the regular season finale without Shane Battier. When Brand, Avery and Nate James fouled out at St. John's, Chris Carrawell stepped up with a career-high 17 points.
It is true that Duke has not been in many close games this year. But there is a reason for that. Put simply, Duke knows how to win, no matter what the scenario.
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