Duke steamrolled its way to Atlanta this weekend, playing blanketing defense and draining more than half of its shots en route to taking its first two games of the NCAA Tournament by over 30 points. But for a program heading into its seventh straight Sweet 16 tonight, too much is not enough.
"Our confidence level is pretty good," sophomore guard J.J. Redick said. "We all think we did a pretty good job this past weekend, but there's still some things we can improve on.
"So I don't think we're clicking on all cylinders."
With two other No. 1 seeds already having fallen in this year's Big Dance and with a third-round loss last March still smarting in their heads, the Blue Devils (29-5) have remained modest in gearing up the steamroller again for a showdown in the regional semifinals with Illinois (26-6) at 10 p.m. in the Georgia Dome.
"I don't think it was that we played 'lights-out' basketball," said head coach Mike Krzyzewski, who will coach his 800th game for Duke tonight. "I think we played well, but not as well as the scores would seem to indicate."
The Fighting Illini, on the other hand, are about as 'lights-out' as it gets these days. Bruce Weber's fifth-seeded squad has won 14 of its last 15 contests, most recently a 92-68 dismantling of Cincinnati in which the Big 10 regular season champs shot a blistering 64 percent from the field. But Weber wants his young team to play at what he calls "a magical level" just a little longer.
"The intensity level, the ball movement, finding the open man--they've all got to happen for us to have a chance against [Duke]," the first-year Illinois head coach said. "The big thing that we felt that Cincinnati was going to do was attack and be aggressive, and we tried to turn the tables on them and tried to get after them right away, and we had some success with that. It's the same with Duke: they go after you hard and early, they deny everything. We're going to have to deal with that."
The first place the Blue Devils will look to shut down the Illini will be on the perimeter, where the two teams each have a trio of guards who stack up among the nation's elite. Sophomore point guard Dee Brown is arguably the quickest player remaining in the tournament and could cause problems for Chris Duhon, the third-team All American who had to sit out of practice this week with bad ribs. Brown's compliment is Deron Williams, who set the quick pace for the Cincinnati game by hitting his first seven attempts, finishing 10-of-13 from the field to tie a career-high of 31 points. And Duke can't forget about Luther Head, Weber's slasher and x-factor extraordinaire.
"They've got great guard play, and their guards can really shoot the ball if they have their feet set and they get open looks," said Redick, who scored 21 points in Saturday's 90-62 win over Seton Hall. "So I think our defensive pressure on Friday night will be one of the many keys to the game."
Another key toward unlocking a bid to Sunday's Elite Eight game against either third-seeded Texas or seventh-seeded Xavier will lie in the post. With the wing play so evenly matched, Weber, at least, thinks a "powerful" Shelden Williams and the inside play will be tonight's determining factor. The 6-foot-9 Williams averaged a double-double in Raleigh last weekend and will have the chance to take advantage of Illinois' 6-foot-6 Roger Powell since lanky, 6-foot-10 forward James Augustine will be trying to contain Luol Deng.
Williams, for his part, could only sing the praises of his frontcourt partner Shavlik Randolph, who averaged 14 points and 6.5 rebounds against Alabama State and Seton Hall while shooting 77 percent from the field.
"He's going after things more aggressive than he had been for a good part of the season," Williams said. "Right now, Shav's like a different person."
And in many respects, the Blue Devils are a different team from the one they were a year ago. It was this same game, on this same weekend, that a youthful Duke team was hammered by Kansas seniors. Randolph wasn't even playing, Redick shot 1-for-11 beyond the arc and 2-for-16 overall and Duke's only boost came from the elder set. But this tournament now seems the Blue Devils' to lose, with the group a long year departed from last season's final bow and now matched up against a stiff yet spritely foe.
"Last year, I think we had a pretty good chance of winning that game against Kansas, and they were just the better team that day," said junior Daniel Ewing, who is "pretty much" 100-percent healthy and in his normal postseason form. "They had two key seniors on their team that really came though for them, especially in the second half. And we were a little young, and I think inexperience gave that game away for us. But I think this year we have a good chance of advancing. We'll see what happens Friday when we face Illinois."
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