Fifteen. That's Ryan Caldbeck's jersey number and the number of times Mike Krzyzewski has led Duke into the NCAA tournament. It's also the Blue Devils' smallest margin of victory since Feb. 6. In that span they have played 13 games, posted 13 victories by an average of 29.5 points and left all 13 opponents at least 15 points behind when the final buzzer sounded.
Saturday, Duke opens its first Final Four in five years against Michigan State, victim No. 1 in the Blue Devils' school-record 31-game winning streak. Duke beat the Spartans by (only) six in November, but that was a different Michigan State team-and a different Blue Devil squad. That was before everyone discovered that Chris Carrawell could play defense, Shane Battier could play offense and Corey Maggette could play in big games.
Now everyone knows all that and much more. Since an eight-point victory over Georgia Tech seven weeks ago, Duke has looked like a team destined to raise a third championship banner in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The biggest of the Blue Devils' problems might be that because they've played so well, anything short of an NCAA title will be considered a disappointment.
"We're going to go down there and everyone's got us cutting down the nets," Krzyzewski said. "I hope they're right. But we know better."
He
Whereas Duke used first-half runs of 23-0, 30-5 and 17-2 to build double-digit leads in its previous three contests, SMS was within six with less than a minute to go until intermission before Trajan Langdon's three-pointer made it 39-30 at the break.
"We've been playing great basketball, unusually great basketball," Krzyzewski said after the game.
He wasn't pleased with his players' performance at halftime and let them know it.
"We didn't get a loose ball," he said. "If we pick it up, we get a score. Instead, they pick it up and get a score."
Langdon's trey was the first of many key shots by the senior that night. He went on to score seven straight points early in the second half as the Blue Devils built a 12-point lead. After sitting out three games with a foot injury, then missing 4-of-6 three-pointers in his second-round comeback versus Tulsa, Langdon averaged 23.5 points on 15-of-21 shooting against SMS and Temple, good for Regional Most
"With me sitting out three straight games, I'm just happy to be back as a part of this team, to be back on the floor and to hopefully be successful," he said.
Successful might be an understatement to describe Langdon's performance last weekend. So much for his reputation for going cold come March. Sunday, the senior made the dozens of coaches frustrated by the Owls' zone over the years wonder, "Why couldn't we do that?"
If Duke's opponents follow the Bears' lead and focus on Brand in the Final Four, the Blue Devils will need Langdon's sharp-shooting to open up their offense.
While Duke managed 60-percent shooting against Temple's vaunted zone, none of its regional foes could solve its not-as-famous man-to-man defense. The Blue Devils held all four teams to under 38 percent from the floor.
Their three counterparts in the Final Four boast a little more offensive firepower than those squads, though. Langdon and his teammates know they can't expect to show up and walk away with two more 15-point wins.
"I think we've done a great job of [keeping focus] this whole year, just taking every game step-by-step," he said. "And I don't think we're going to change it, even though the national championship is two games away for four different teams."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.