SYRACUSE, N.Y. — As planned, Florida’s defense did the trick against Duke.But more important than the Gators’
fullcourt pressure Friday night was the simple zone it played in the final minutes of its
87-78 upset. The 2-3 zone was held in reserve until the very end of the Sweet 16 battle at
theCarrier Dome. Its effectiveness sent the No. 1 team in the nation home for the
remainder of the NCAATournament.
“We wanted to play man as
long as we could,”Florida head coach Billy Donovan said. “We hoped we had
fatigued them enough.”
The BlueDevils (29-5) had plenty
of reasons to be tired. They trailed by seven points at halftime before finally rallying
behind junior forward Shane Battier. His jumper and two free throws with 4:01 remaining
left the Blue Devils seemingly in control with a 78-74 lead.
Suddenly Florida switched to its
zone. Duke would not score again.
Freshman point guard Jason
Williams missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key that could have broken the game open
before Florida (27-7) answered with a 3-pointer from Teddy Dupay and a Brent Wright layup
to take the lead at 79-78.
Duke turned the ball over,
Williams missed another 3 and freshman Mike Dunleavy Jr. was whistled for a charge as
things began to unravel.
A Dupay free throw made it a
two-point game when Duke’s Nate James lined up a 3-pointer from the corner that
bounced high off the back of the iron. With Florida ahead 81-78 with a minute to play,
Battier took a 3 from the opposite corner that also missed. Duke misfired on its final
seven attempts and Florida went 6-for-6 from the line in the last minute to seal the win.
“That’s the way it
went,”Battier said. “You’re going to have good nights shooting and bad
nights shooting. For a stretch during the season it seemed like we couldn’t miss. We
were just trying to ride that wave as long as could and unfortunately the shots just
weren’t falling during the tournament.”
Duke struggled getting the jumpers
to fall in the game’s early stages because of Florida’s tight pressure defense.
When the Gators applied the zone, the Blue Devils had five long-range bombers on the floor
to take advantage.
“I thought the zone was going
to be good for us because it gave us a chance to rest a little bit offensively and we
thought we would get good looks,”Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Today we
didn’t hit some shots that we thought we had good looks at. They kept the pressure
on. They made big plays.”
The Gators forced 22 turnovers,
the second most surrendered by Duke this season. Florida talked all week about how it was
coming after Duke with its fullcourt pressure, and while the BlueDevils said they looked
forward to the challenge, they proved unprepared to meet it.
“In the last four minutes
they had one field goal,” said Florida sophomore forward Mike Miller, one of five
Gators in double figures with 10 points. “It’s good to have so many offensive
weapons, but it’s going to be the defense that’s going to win it for us.”
Florida’s leading scorer was
freshman Brett Nelson, who provided instant offense off the bench. He entered at the 13:35
mark with the Gators trailing 13-12 and canned two 3-pointers and a jumper to give the
Gators a 20-13 lead.
Even in the first half, though,
Florida’s defense was the biggest story. Duke turned the ball over 12 times in the
first 20 minutes, five of those off the press that led to easy scores.
With the shots falling and
Duke’s mistakes mounting, Florida’s confidence was far greater than its
seven-point halftime lead.
“We were back on our heels
and as a result we weren’t as effective,”Battier said. “We were at our best
this year when we dictated tempo and were on the attack.”
An energized, fist-pumping Battier
led the Blue Devils back to start the second half. Nate James scored on a putback and
missed the free throw for a three-point play,but Carlos Boozer got the rebound. He passed
the ball outside and Battier’s 3 from the corner cut the lead to 40-38. A Battier
post move the next time down the court tied the game and Donovan called for time.
“I think it’s bigger
news when Duke loses then wins,”Donovan said. “You play not to lose when you
play against a team like Duke. I’ve been preaching in the NCAATournament that you
have to step up.”
His Gators did, and on both sides
of the ball. It was an effort that left the Blue Devils looking for answers.
“You could go down the line
on each guy and find something they didn’t do to the best of their
ability,”Battier said. “You’re going to have games like that.”
n
NOTES: Chris Carrawell ended his
Duke career with a quiet 16 points. … The Devils lost Boozer with 4:59 remaining when
he picked up his fifth foul. He finished with 11 points and nine rebounds. … Williams
started the game 1-for-11 from the floor before getting hot early in the second half. He
again cooled off late and finished with 13 points on 6-of-20 shooting. He added seven
assists, five turnovers and three steals. … Duke shot 42.6 percent for the game to
Florida’s 46.9 percent, while the Devils also won the rebound battle 44-36. Florida
committed just 16 turnovers, but only five in the second half. |
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