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Q&A: Final Four Saturday Battier's exceptional defense paces Duke comeback
Updated: Sunday April 01, 2001 12:43 PM
Sports Illustrated college basketball writer Grant Wahl covered Saturday's Final Four in Minneapolis and spoke afterward with CNNSI.com. CNNSI.com: Duke was down by 22 points, yet didn't it seem like no one really believed the Blue Devils were dead? Grant Wahl: Especially with Maryland, considering the history of that series. But the way Maryland was playing, I didn't think it could happen. There's a reason you get a 22-point lead, and Maryland was playing extremely well, getting the ball inside, making some really nice passes. Even at the end of the first half, they hit that 3-pointer at the buzzer and you got the sense Maryland had momentum going into the second half. But Duke started chipping away, and it had a lot of time left. CNNSI.com: How did Duke manage this comeback, considering Jason Williams, so hot previously in the tournament, was 1-of-9 on 3-pointers? Wahl: He came alive when it counted. The interesting thing is, when Duke got the score pretty close early in the second half, that was mostly Shane Battier right there. Then there was a long stretch where the Blue Devils couldn't get over the hump. But it was Williams who made the shot that finally put them up 73-72 with 6:49 left. It was interesting how it worked: Battier was the guy early that got Duke within striking distance, and when they extended the lead it was mostly Carlos Boozer. I was impressed with Boozer, he came out and didn't look like he was having injury problems at all. Another thing that was really key was Battier's defense. He really frustrated Lonny Baxter. When Maryland got the ball down low, Battier had this uncanny way of getting his hands on the ball before Baxter could even get the shot off, either altering the shot or stealing the ball. One more thing about Battier: I've seen him millions of times on TV, obviously, but this was my first time seeing him in person this season. He hit some big shots, but it's really his defense that makes him stand out. CNNSI.com: Making its first Final Four is still obviously an accomplishment, but does the nature of this loss tarnish Maryland's season? Wahl: I have to think that everyone's final memory of this season will be blowing a 22-point lead against Duke. What's more remarkable, blowing a 22-point lead in the first half or a 10-point lead in the last minute? For whatever reason, Duke really put a whammy on the Terrapins psychologically. CNNSI.com: The Final Four's first game was intriguing. Though Arizona winning was not surprising, how about the lopsided way in which it seemed to dismantle Michigan State? Wahl: What I thought was interesting was that at halftime, Arizona had pretty clearly outplayed Michigan State, and yet it was only up by two. It was a very smart move by Arizona to zone Michigan State, because Michigan State didn't have a single good outside shooter. It was a matchup zone, and Charlie Bell couldn't hit much of anything, Marcus Taylor couldn't hit much of anything. I was a little surprised that the Spartans let themselves fall behind by as much as they did because of the way they've played all season. CNNSI.com: Was this more a case of Arizona playing well or Michigan State playing poorly? Wahl: The biggest thing for Arizona in its comeback from that early-January slide is that it tried to create offense with its defense. Lute Olson has convinced his players they have the ability to do that, and they're a much more dangerous team because of it. On a couple occasions in the second half, Arizona intercepted a Michigan State pass and went down for a dunk. Those are easy points, and the Wildcats were preventing Michigan State from making that simple pass into the wing. That's almost grade-school stuff, and I was surprised Michigan State didn't anticipate that better. The Spartans never figured that out.
Wahl: I think it's going to be a real up and down, up-tempo game. If you go back to the preseason, everyone was trying to figure out who should be preseason No. 1, Duke or Arizona. Now we're going to find out. It's going to be a real treat. I like Arizona, and the reason is, it's done a really good job of having people make sacrifices for the team to be better. CNNSI.com: Are there any particular matchups that you think favor Arizona? Wahl: Right now, the way Loren Woods is playing, that's an advantage for Arizona in the middle. I thought Woods had a really solid game against Michigan State, especially in first half. He was able to find the shots he wanted, and he had seven rebounds. On the perimeter, Jason Gardner and Gilbert Arenas are playing well right now. Arenas has the advantage against Chris Duhon, and at point guard, with Gardner and Williams, I actually think it's a tossup. I expect Richard Jefferson will guard Battier, and he's really become a defensive stopper for Arizona. He's been able to slow down people like UCLA's Jason Kapono and Stanford's Casey Jacobsen. I think Jefferson's defense is one of best parts of Arizona, and I think he'll do just fine against Battier.
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