Forget the Alamo

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- J.J. Redick drove into the lane, trying to penetrate through a clutter of Connecticut defenders, but before he was able to hoist a shot, the ball was stripped from his hands.

     

 "You're either trying to score or you're trying to get fouled or both," Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We didn't get any. You know, to me that was the game right there."

     

 As the ball caromed out of bounds with just seconds remaining, Duke's run toward a national championship came to an abrupt end. A pair of Rashad Anderson free throws extended Connecticut's lead. Redick attempted a three to level the score, but his closely guarded shot barely grazed the front of the rim.

     

 Denying Krzyzewski's bid to tie Dean Smith's record of 65 NCAA Tournament victories, the Huskies (32-6) topped the Blue Devils (31-6) 79-78 Saturday night in the Final Four.

     

 The Blue Devils, who appeared to move into their stall offense, became stagnant during UConn's run. The lack of a post presence with both Shelden Williams and Shavlik Randolph fouling out with three minutes left forced the Blue Devils to settle for outside jumpers, shots that did not find the bottom of the net.

     

 "It's very difficult," Duhon said after playing his final game in a Duke uniform. "I mean, like you say, we have momentum. We're up late in the game. We just couldn't get the ball in the hole. You know, in those situations, our defense wasn't that great for us today. We gave up."

     

 Leading up to Redick's failed drive to the basket, the Blue Devils attempted three errant perimeter shots and turned the ball over once. Meanwhile, an Anderson three narrowed the Duke lead to five and a pair of Ben Gordon free throws put Connecticut in a position to regain the lead it last held at the midway point of the first half.

     

 "Our champion heart arose," Huskies head coach Jim Calhoun said. "We made six straight stops, played incredible defense."

     

 Connecticut captured the lead when Okafor grabbed his own offensive rebound around his knees and went immediately back to the basket to give UConn a one-point advantage with 21 seconds remaining.

     

 "I think it was a post pass, and then I had missed it," Okafor explained afterwards. "I missed a shot. I think Josh [Boone] might have gotten a hand on it. I just saw this orange object floating in the air and it said 'grab me'. I grabbed it, spun, saw the rim, thought it would be a good idea to put it in, and that's what I did."

     

 The offensive pace of the second half was torrid. The Huskies shot 62 percent from the field in the second period, led by Okafor, who was 7-for-8 from the field. UConn had its way with the Blue Devil defenders in the post as Williams and Randolph were ineffective, saddled with fouls for much of the half. The Huskies' other star, Gordon, who is in the midst of a tremendous tournament run, scored 10 in the second half.

     

 The contest was very much a chess match between Krzyzewski and Calhoun. Okafor, the Huskies' All-American center, picked up a pair of fouls four minutes into the game. Calhoun elected to sit Okafor for the remainder of the first half while Krzyzewski continued to play his two big men despite early foul trouble of their own. Randolph and Williams each had three fouls by the break, causing them to be ineffective down the stretch before fouling out.

     

 "I wasn't in the coaches meeting, but I am pretty sure they talked about it," Randolph said about keeping the post players on the bench. "Then they realized, 'This is the Final Four, and what are we holding back? Put it all on the table.' They trusted us to go out there and play with foul trouble. We had done it before, and we did it for most of the game."

     

 At the start of the contest, the Blue Devils came out flat, and the Huskies jumped out to a 15-4 lead. With Okafor on the bench, however, and Randolph stepping up offensively, Duke stormed back with a 20-4 run to build a lead that lasted until the final minute of the game.

     

 Led by Randolph, the Blue Devils took advantage of Connecticut's lack of a strong post defender, scoring 30-of-41 first-half points in the paint. Williams, however, never got in an offensive rhythm, making just 1-of-9 shots from the field.

     

 "Our big guys just never got into the flow of the game tonight because of all the foul trouble," Krzyzewski said. "But, you know, the way [Randolph] played in the NCAA Tournament, I'm so proud of him. It's something to build on for his future."

     

 Duke's lead grew to as big as 10 in the first half, and the team took a seven-point advantage into the break. Both Williams and Randolph picked up their fourth foul within the first five minutes of the second period.

     

 With the Blue Devils unable to defend Okafor, it looked like Connecticut might quickly close the gap, but the Blue Devils maintained their lead, executing well offensively and forcing a number of Husky turnovers.

     

 Five Blue Devils scored in double figures, led by freshman Luol Deng with 16 and Redick and Duhon with 15 apiece.

     

 Even though UConn turned the ball over 18 times, the Huskies' fast break defense limited Duke to a mere four points in transition.

     

 In the end, the game came down to the final three minutes, and whether it be an advantage in the post, better offensive execution or just a matter of bounces, the Huskies advanced and the Blue Devils were left to reflect tearfully on a season in which they came up just short.

     

 "It's a disappointing game to end the season when we were right there," Randolph said. "We put ourselves in a position to win. I guess they just outplayed us there at the end."