One shining moment
All night, the Illinois defenders had been shadowing Duke guard J.J. Redick on the perimeter, chasing him through picks, following him on curls along the baseline and staying rooted to the floor on his shot fakes. In the first half, it worked; Redick was only 1-for-4 on threes. With a shooter as good as Redick, however, it's just a matter of time. With 6:18 to play, he dropped in a tough stepback three to give Duke a 10-point lead. Then, after Illinois clawed back within seven, Redick caught the ball off an inbounds play on the right wing, about 24 feet from the basket, with 2:57 to go. Once again, he gave that huge head-and-shoulders shot fake and this time it worked: Illinois center James Augustine went flying by as if launched off a trampoline. Redick ducked, gathered himself and swished another three to give the Devils another 10-point cushion and, in effect, the game.
Player who impressed me
When it's Duke you're watching, it really should be plural. Both Redick and shooting guard Daniel Ewing made huge plays, Shelden Williams was a Mack truck inside and forward Luol Deng played a complete game. But if we're singling out one guy, it had to be Chris Duhon, who nearly got a double-double despite taking only one shot from the field all game (he missed it, but scored four points on free throws). He pulled down 10 boards to go with eight assists and one steal, but it was the way he ran the team that was so impressive. In previous years, Duhon seemed to feel he had to score for Duke to win, and often forced some bad shots. Tonight, he was the consummate point guard; he didn't need to score, so he didn't force the issue. Instead, he locked down Illinois' guards and threw his body around the Georgia Dome parquet as if it were a wet towel. At one point, he nearly killed himself as he dove out of bounds, caught the ball and called a timeout in midair, all before executing a neat impact roll.
Courtside confidential
When Duke came out for warmups, the Blue Devils were greeted by a thunderous booing from not only the Illinois fans, but also from the remaining Xavier and Texas fans from the first game. They noticed; as the team ran back into the locker room for a last huddle before tipoff, Redick started a war cry of "Nobody Likes Duke!" ... What Duke fans were in attendance attempted to re-create Cameron. So they did all the Cameron Crazy chants, and cheered for "Crazy Towel Guy", who'd flown up from Durham, as he waved said towel with excessive craziness. One sign read "I Want a PB & J.J. Sandwich." ... Not to be outdone, an Illini fan wore a T-shirt honoring guard Luther Head that read "Head is Great." ... A very-tan Pat Riley was in attendance, presumably to watch Deng and other would-be NBAers. ... The normally discreet Coach K went ballistic late in the game when Redick made a bad pass with 1:30 to go and no need to force a pass. "Hold the f----- ball!" K screamed. On the next possession, Redick picked up a loose ball and, instead of dribbling, hugged it for dear life. ... After the game, center Nick Horvath and the reserves played a game of Hangman on the white board in the locker room.
Championship formula
Duke certainly has the talent and experience to win it all, and its execution has only gotten better during the tourney. The only concern would be depth. The Devils only go seven deep and if the big men get in foul trouble -- especially Williams -- Duke is beatable. Xavier is as hot as any team left in the tournament, but as a three-guard team, they don't match up very well against Duke's size, and have no real post options to counter Williams. Expect a close, entertaining game Sunday, but expect to see Duke (again) in the Final Four. From there, it's only two games to a championship, and the only team that matches up well against the Devils is UConn. All the Duke haters out there won't like to hear it, but the Devils have to be the odds-on favorite to win it all right now.
