On the students' senior night at Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke (24-3, 11-2 in the ACC) honored its most recognizable near-graduate, and Shane Battier reciprocated by heading a 98-54 systematic unraveling of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (15-10, 7-7).
"We played a game befitting of the kid who had his jersey retired," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "I thought it was one of our best games against a really good basketball team. At this point, we really can't play much better than this."
Although Battier did not down nine three-pointers as he did against Princeton earlier in the year, he exhibited his trademark leadership and consistency in a 16-point, seven-rebound performance. What he lacked in his 37.5 percent field-goal shooting, he managed to make up for accumulating three blocks and three steals in his 31 minutes of court time.
However, just his presence on the hardwood and in the locker room inspires his teammates to higher levels of play.
"It is an honor to play with him," sophomore Mike Dunleavy said. "On and off the court, it is not so much the things he says, but I just learn so much from watching him and the way he carries himself. His poise and manner are really admirable."
However, jersey retirement aside, Duke still had a basketball game to play.
Tied at 15-15 eight minutes into the game, Duke exploded on a 14-0 run. Then, with two-and-a-half minutes left in the first half, Krzyzewski substituted Casey Sanders out, making Dunleavy the tallest Blue Devil on the court. With the short lineup, Duke sizzled its way into the locker room with a high intensity 13-3 run.
To add to Georgia Tech's woes, the Blue Devils started the second half with a 13-0 run that had the Yellow Jackets salivating for Saturday's matchup against Clemson.
While the runs were important, many other factors contributed to Duke's 44-point victory.
First, Jason Williams churned out yet another superhuman performance. Twenty-five points and six assists later, Georgia Tech first-year coach Paul Hewitt wished he had employed a different game plan against arguably the most dominant point guard in the country.
Also, Duke received a huge, if unexpected, boost off the bench from Sanders. He played a season-high 18 minutes while putting up five points and bringing down four rebounds.
"I think Casey brings energy and athleticism to the table," Dunleavy said. "I think he adds another dimension just like the way Chris Duhon has been shooting the ball lately.... Guys on the team definitely feed off of the way Casey plays."
However, more than anything, Sanders was just another capable body that the Blue Devils were able to incorporate in their neutralization of Georgia Tech senior center Alvin Jones.
Heading into last night's game, Jones, who averages 14.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per game, had the potential to bully around a Duke squad that possesses exposable weaknesses in the paint. When he walked off the court, he had only scored five points on a 2-for-9 shooting performance from the field and a 1-for-6 brickfest from the line.
In the end, though, yesterday was indeed Battier's night. As he exited the locker room after the game for a few minutes, Battier, anticipating a long night of extensive press coverage, assured the media, "Don't worry. You know I'll be back."
He'll be back at Cameron only once more for what will be the capstone on his brilliant four-year career, but he will be forever enshrined in the annals of Duke basketball history and the rafters of Cameron Indoor Stadium.
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