NEW YORK - The men's basketball team knew it could expect more close games this year, and games can't get any closer than last night's season opener.
In the first meeting between two schools known for combining academics and athletics, Duke and Stanford needed every second of regulation and overtime to settle the inaugural contest of the 1999-2000 college basketball season. Not until Nate James' long three bounced off the rim as the final buzzer sounded did the 13th-ranked Cardinal escape with an 80-79 victory in the first round of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in Madison Square Garden.
"It was a heck of a basketball game," Mike Krzyzewski said. "I thought both teams showed amazing toughness."
Stanford jumped to an eight-point lead with 2:08 to go in overtime behind consecutive three-pointers by point guard Michael McDonald. But Chris Carrawell brought the 10th-ranked Blue Devils back with seven points and a key block over the final two minutes.
With Duke down three and less than 10 seconds remaining, Jason Williams airballed a long three that would have tied the game. On the ensuring inbounds pass, the freshman stole the ball and drove to the basket. His shot missed, but Carrawell tipped the ball in for the last of his game-high 28 points, bringing the Blue Devils within one.
Cardinal freshman Casey Jacobsen, whom Duke bypassed in favor of Mike Dunleavy during last fall's recruiting, missed two free throws with 4.6 seconds to play to give the Blue Devils one final chance. James' heave from beyond the NBA three-point arc found iron, but it rimmed out to send Duke to
"It was kind of punch-counter punch," Stanford coach Mike Montgomery said. "They made a run, we made a run, they got back in it."
The Blue Devils led 66-60 with less than a minute to go in regulation after a two-minute stretch of clutch three-point and free-throw shooting. But the Cardinal responded with two treys of its own sandwiched around a pair of Williams free throws to pull within two less than 20 seconds later.
Williams took the inbounds pass and was swarmed by Stanford defenders, but a foul wasn't called and after several seconds the freshman tried to get the ball to Nick Horvath. The pass was too high, and the Cardinal regained possession with less than 30 seconds remaining.
After a timeout, 6-10 Stanford center Jarron Collins got free from Shane Battier for an easy layout to tie the game at 68. Battier missed short on an open three as the clock wound down and the game went to an extra five minutes.
"We played well in spurts," Carrawell said. "This is a Duke team this year that can't do that. We don't have the talent-we have young talent, but it's not like last year, when other teams in the back of their minds knew they couldn't beat us."
The Blue Devils trailed by nine five minutes into the second half but seemed to regroup after an extended official timeout to replace an injured referee. Carrawell was once again everywhere, scoring four points and dishing out two assists as Duke went on a 15-7 run. Battier hit a three while falling down, his second such shot of the game, to cut the deficit to 54-53 with 7:35 to play.
The spurt was needed after Stanford outscored the Blue Devils 11-4 at the beginning of the second half after starting the game with 10 unanswered points.
Duke came back early in the first half with nine unanswered points of its own behind strong all-round play by Williams. But overall the point guard's college debut was a frustrating one. He missed 12-of-15 shots from the floor and recorded six turnovers to three assists, leaving him visibly despondent after the game.
"I didn't want to have these stupid little ups and downs like that," he said. "I played like a little freshman, and that's not something I'm used to. I've got to wake up and smell the coffee."
Krzyzewski gave a much more forgiving appraisal of his freshman's performance. Williams consistently beat his defender off the dribble and dished to teammates, but all night long the Blue Devils missed shots close to the basket, hitting just 12-of-52 two-point field goals.
"There was a lot of pressure on Jason," Krzyzewski said. "Our jump shots weren't happening easy and the ball wasn't going in the hoop. Overall, I thought he did a good job. He has a lot to learn before he becomes an outstanding point guard, but he's going to be an outstanding point guard."
Note: The game gave college basketball fans their first glimpse at an experimental rule that teams can choose not to shoot foul shots once their opponents reach the double bonus in an attempt to speed up games. Stanford decided to forgo its free throws several times late in the second half and overtime.
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