ATLANTA— It was looking like a black day for the Blue Devils.
Already without starting center Carlos Boozer, Duke arrived for its Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinal game minus another key ingredient.
Uniforms.
Somehow, the No. 2 Blue Devils made the trip to Atlanta without their white jerseys, which the home team was supposed to wear Friday night against No. 7 seed N.C. State.
Luckily, Duke did bring its black road uniforms to the Georgia Dome, and gave the Wolfpack a black eye in an easy 76-61 victory.
“I just waited on (State coach) Herb (Sendek). He said he had red, so thank goodness we didn’t have to go out there in our underwear,”Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said with a laugh. “Some intramural team back in Durham has got our whites right now.”
The fun didn’t stop there. Before the Devils could take the court, there was the small matter of finding some warmups. A school official went to the arena concession stand and purchased a whole bunch of extra-large T-shirts, which the Blue Devils donned for their pre-game activities.
“I felt a little naked out there in warmups, used to having the pants and the shirt and all that,” sophomore forward Mike Dunleavy said. “We just had a little T-shirt tonight, so it was a little different.”
Head coach Mike Krzyzewski had other concerns.
“We got them from one of the ACC concession stands. I’d better check my credit card to see how much,”Krzyzewski said, laughing. “That’s got to be an NCAA violation. I mean, we’re probably on probation right now.
“We’ll wash them, turn them back in and maybe donate them to a golf tournament.”
As funny as the pregame antics turned out to be, Duke’s slow start on the court Friday was no joking matter. The Devils (27-4) missed 7-of-9 from the 3-point line to start the game, and had nothing going inside without Boozer.
N.C. State guard Anthony Grundy got his squad out to a fast start, scoring 11 points in the first seven minutes.
Duke’s saving grace was freshman guard Chris Duhon, getting his second start of the season. Duhon scored nine of Duke’s first 12 points, keeping the Blue Devils in it early despite bad shooting starts from Shane Battier, Jason Williams and Dunleavy.
“I got some easy looks, three layups,”Duhon said. “We did come out struggling today, and thank God I was able to put some points on the board so we weren’t in too much trouble.”
Grundy staked the Wolfpack (13-16) to a 19-16 lead before State disintegrated and Duke finally caught fire.
Williams shook off his early misses and exploded with a pair of driving layups and a 3-pointer that prompted Sendek to ask for time.
State immediately turned the ball over, and Nate James answered with a 3. Williams picked Grundy’s pocket for a steal and slam, then did it again the next time down the floor, hitting Battier for another 3-pointer, and another N.C. State timeout.
Thanks to four straight turnovers, Duke’s three-point deficit turned into a 12-point lead. When the Wolfpack finally scored again, on Ron Kelley’s putback at the 4:40 mark, Duke led by 10 and Williams had 12 points.
“That’s why he’s the best point guard in the country,”Duhon said. “He knows when things go wrong, it’s time for us to get on his back and carry us.”
The Wolfpack finished the first half shooting 36 percent and turning the ball over 15 times. In the second half, Battier started hitting shots and Duke extended the lead to 20 points with 13:32 to play.
State never got closer than 15 the rest of the way, and Duke had its second straight win without Boozer, who may return for the NCAA Tournament.
“They’re a terrific team either way,”Sendek said. “Everyone knew they were a terrific team previously and I don’t think they’ve missed a beat.”
Except in the uniform department. While Krzyzewski joked that his four team managers were contemplating suicide before the game for their gaffe, the Devils promised not to be too hard on them.
“They don’t get on us when we mess up, so we’re not going to get on them,”Dunleavy said. “We’ll have our whites back tomorrow. Stuff like that happens.”
“It was kind of funny,”added James. “It’s something we’ll look back on and laugh about.”
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NOTES:Duke’s fans, long since bored with the State game, started the “Go to hell, Carolina, go to hell”chant several times in the game. The Tar Heel fans, sitting right next to Duke in the Georgia Dome setup, responded in kind. … West Rowan’s Scooter Sherrill wrapped up his freshman year for N.C.State playing 11 minutes. He was 0-for-3 from the floor, missing twice from the 3-point line, and had one rebound and one assist.
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