What a difference a week makes.
Before Sunday's game against North Carolina, most of the country left Duke for dead. The Boozer-less Blue Devils appeared slated for another loss to UNC and a No. 2 seed somewhere.
But Duke shocked just about everyone, handily beating the Tar Heels and securing a piece of the ACC regular-season title for the fifth consecutive year.
"When the ball got tossed up, we weren't the Duke team they expected," Nate James said. "When the final buzzer sounded, they didn't know what hit them. I said to Haywood and Forte, 'The best teams always win, and I've got five championships. Say what you want about that.'"
With the regular season over, Duke now turns its attention to the ACC tournament.
The second-seeded Blue Devils open tournament play tomorrow in Atlanta's Georgia Dome against No. 7 N.C. State.
The nation has again reached a consensus: it is the wrong time to be the Wolfpack.
"We are just coming into our own right now," Mike Dunleavy said. "The Maryland game was a little bit of a setback, but we are starting to play well and we are starting to come together."
While the euphoria from the victory in Chapel Hill still permeates the program, one pregame problem still remains-Carlos Boozer is still injured.
The Blue Devils will have to survive three games in three days without Boozer if they are to secure a third consecutive ACC tournament championship.
"It's something we have to do," James said. "So there is no use worrying about it. We want to win the ACC tournament so we have to win three games without him."
Among the greatest concerns is how Duke will hold up physically after losing a starter from a fairly shallow rotation.
"It's a little more demanding without Carlos in there," Dunleavy said. "But it really wasn't that bad. I don't think guys were getting exhausted. It's just a matter of everyone stepping up."
The quest for the ACC title and the No. 1 seed in the East Region begins with the Wolfpack. In the last meeting between the two teams, Duke cruised to a 101-75 victory in Cameron. Nonetheless, the Blue Devils are adamant that they are not overlooking the Wolfpack, even with Maryland and the Tar Heels possibly looming on the horizon.
"We have a dangerous N.C. State team to get ready for," James said. "This has been the best year in the ACC by far. It's been so competitive. There were a lot of upsets. This is the best conference in the NCAA, and that's why it's so important to take it one game at a time."
The absence of Boozer will put extra pressure on the Blue Devils to crash the glass against the Wolfpack. N.C. State won the rebounding battle 38-31 in the last matchup, led by Kenny Inge's nine-rebound performance.
"We got to be ready for a dogfight," James said. "We've got to get into the trenches. They're very big and very athletic. We need to get in there and defensive rebound.... We need to put five guys in the paint to block them out."
Duke also hopes to get more minutes out of Casey Sanders and Matt Christensen. The two combined for 23 minutes and only four rebounds against the Tar Heels. The Blue Devils, however, do not want the two big men to feel the team is relying solely on their performances.
"It's not all on their shoulders because Carlos is out," James said. "We tell them that just because they are big guys doesn't mean they have to carry the team. We have confidence in these guys."
In addition to Inge, Duke must stop 6-foot-3 guard Anthony Grundy, the Wolfpack's leading scorer at 14 points per game. In the first meeting in Raleigh, Grundy scored 18 as the Blue Devils pulled out a narrow 84-78 victory. In the lopsided second meeting, he scored only seven points.
All else aside, the Blue Devils believe they control their own destiny.
"We proved that we are the No. 1 team in the country," James said. "We had a guy down and it ignited us. It made us go out there and prove to ourselves and everyone else that we are still dangerous. If for a second you don't believe that, you are going to lose. I've said it time and again. The only team that can beat Duke is Duke."
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