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NCAA Tournament Recap (Temple-Duke)
Posted: Sun March 21, 1999 at 9:36 p.m. EST EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- The team of the season will get the chance to be the team of the decade. Top-seeded Duke completed its march through the East Region of the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Final Four for the first time since 1994 and fifth time in the 1990s with an 85-64 drubbing of Temple. The Blue Devils (36-1) won their 31st consecutive game. They won the NCAA Tournament title in 1991 and 1992 after losing in the 1990 title game to UNLV. They also lost the 1994 championship game to Arkansas but advance to St. Petersburg with a chance to win three NCAA titles this decade. "We feel great about the record we have," said Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski. "We won our regular season title, the conference title and now the regional championship. Those are accomplishments that can't be taken away. You don't get a chance to start talking about a national championship until you get to the Final Four. Now we can start talking about that." Duke will play the Midwest Region champion -- Michigan State -- in a national semifinal game. The Blue Devils defeated the Spartans at the Great Eight Classic in Chicago in December. Trajan Langdon hit five 3-pointers and scored 23 points, while Elton Brand added 21 for the Blue Devils. Langdon and William Avery, who finished with 13 points, picked apart Temple's matchup zone, hitting eight of Duke's 10 3-pointers. That allowed Brand to dominate inside for dunks and easy baskets in the post. "He is the best shooter I've ever had," Krzyzewski said of Langdon. "He doesn't take many shots to score his points. He is an incredibly efficient shooter and releases quickly. Some of his shots are made before he gets the ball because he has beaten his man. He works hard when he doesn't have the ball so he gets good looks." For the Alaskan native Langdon, the trip to St. Petersburg completes a long road in which he redshirted due to an injured knee and endured Duke's only losing season, a 13-18 mark in his freshman campaign of 1994-95. "It has been a long time coming," said Langdon, the region's Most Outstanding Player. "It is a great feeling. This was my last chance to get to the Final Four. I am so proud of the way our team performed today." "I am just elated right now," said Brand. "It is a very special feeling. When Trajan was a freshman, the team was down and I feel good for him that we are going to the Final Four." Krzyzewski, who will make his eighth Final Four appearance in his 19-year tenure at Duke, also moved into a tie with legendary UCLA coach John Wooden for second place on the all-time NCAA Tournament wins list with 47. Duke also maintained its dominance at East Rutherford in the NCAA Tournament, winning here for the fifth time in as many tries. The Blue Devils also advanced to the Final Four from here in 1986, 1988, 1989 and 1990 but failed to win the NCAA Tournament any of those years. They are just the second one-loss team to reach the Final Four this decade, joining the 1996 Massachusetts squad. No team with only one defeat has won the NCAA Tournament since North Carolina State accomplished the feat in 1974. Marc Karcher and Lamont Barnes scored 19 points apiece for Temple (24-11), which was denied its first Final Four appearance since 1958. It was the third time this decade the Owls were stopped in the regional final, also losing in 1991 and 1993. It marked the second time Owls coach John Chaney was turned back by Duke in the regional final, also losing to the Blue Devils in 1988 when the Owls were the top seed in the East Region at East Rutherford. "Out of this bracket, I thought we were the only team that could beat Duke," said the 67-year-old Chaney. "We held down their inside play pretty well early. We knew somebody was going to hit from the outside, we just didn't know who or how well. I think we played well defensively." Duke found itself trailing for the first time in the tournament as Barnes and Pepe Sanchez combined for all the points in a 9-5 spurt over the first 4:49. But the Blue Devils regrouped and went on one of their patented tears to take control. After Karcher missed a 3-pointer, Duke attacked and Langdon hit a 12-footer and 3-pointer to provide a 10-9 lead. Barnes had a follow shot as the Owls took their last lead at 11-10, but Chaney's team endured one of its notorious scoring droughts that plagued it throughout the season. Langdon drilled consecutive 3-pointers from both wings in a 26-second span to give the Blue Devils a 16-11 lead. Chris Carrawell hit a free throw and Chris Burgess had a lay-in before Avery capped the run with a 3-pointer that made it 22-11 at the 10:33 mark. "William did a great job of getting me the ball," said Langdon. "It was going down in the last game and the shots were falling in warm-ups. Give credit to my teammates for getting me the ball." "I feel very confident in him making shots like that," said Avery. "I think it gives the team energy and I just try to get him the ball." Temple battled within 30-25 on a 3-pointer by Karcher from the right wing, but the Blue Devils again turned on their offense, closing the half with a 13-6 spurt behind six points from Carrawell and a high-flying follow dunk by freshman Corey Maggette that made it 43-31 right before halftime. At the outset of the second half, Brand had two free throws and Shane Battier a steal and 3-pointer to extend the lead to 48-31 with 19:18 to play. Duke extended the lead to 61-41 on a 3-pointer by Langdon at the 14:36 mark, but the Owls made one last charge, using a 13-3 spree to halve the deficit at 64-54 on a 3-pointer by Karcher with 10:23 remaining. Langdon answered with two free throws, and after Barnes committed a walk, Avery broke Temple's full-court pressure and sliced into the lane for a lay-in to make it 68-54. Langdon added two more foul shots for a 16-point lead with 8:22 to play, and the Owls came no closer than 14 thereafter. "It was disappointing, but we went this far because this team is made up of players who want to win and coaches who strive to win," said Sanchez. "Duke is one of the best teams in America. If you want to win it all like we did, you have to play Duke eventually." Duke shot a torrid 60 percent (27-of-45) from the field and 10-of-17 from 3-point range. Langdon was 6-of-7 from the field, 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. Brand was 8-of-10, and Carrawell finished with 12 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. The Owls hit only 5-of-27 3-point attempts, with Karcher going 3-of-15 from beyond the arc and 7-of-25 overall. The numbers recalled the 1988 East Region final, when Owls freshman guard Mark Macon went 6-of-29 in a 63-53 loss to Duke. Temple shot 37 percent (25-of-67) overall.© 2000 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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