DURHAM— Coming into its game with Duke Sunday, St. John’s was considered a bubble team as far as the NCAA Basketball Tournament. So the Red Storm felt this would be a good time for NCAAcommittee members — and the nation — to sit in front of the TV and get a first-hand look.
You can bet the channel had been changed by halftime.
A 35-1 run by the Blue Devils — that’s not a misprint, folks — helped Duke overcome an early seven-point deficit and eventually thrash the second-place team in the Big East 97-55.
Even though the Bubble Boys are 18-9, it will be hard for the committee to forget the third worst loss in St. John’s history.
“I promise the people of North Carolina,” Red Storm coach Mike Jarvis said, “next time we come, it will be a 40-minute game. It won’t be a 20-minute game.”
Actually, he was giving his team way too much credit. It played a good, opening seven minutes. The rest of the first half may have been the most dominating 13 minutes in Duke history.
That scoring run again?
THIRTY FIVE to ONE.
The most amazing thing about the surge was that it was totally unexpected.
Duke (25-2) began the game hitting only two of its first 10 shots while St. John’s was 5-for-8. That helped the Red Storm to a 20-13 lead and Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski needed a timeout.
“We were ready to play but we were running all over the place,” said Coach K. “I just told them to lock in on their man. Their rebounding edge was something like 18-7.”
“We were flat-footed,” admitted center Carlos Boozer, who finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds. “We made a conscious effort to block people out.”
And just like that, the roll began.
There were layups and dunks and 3-pointers. There were off-balance leaners and pull-up jumpers. There was steal after steal after steal.
A Chris Duhon assist to Boozer tied things at 20 with eight minutes left in the half. A rebound basket by Williams had Duke up 31-20 with 5:48 remaining. When Dahntay Jones bounced in a 10-footer with 2:20 left, Duke had outscored the Red Storm 26-0 and led 39-20.
“When (the lead) went to 15, we wanted it to go to 20,” smiled Duhon, who finished with seven points, seven assists and three steals. “When it got to 20 we wanted it to go to 25. We don’t like teams scoring on us. That’s a toughness we’re developing.”
For instance, when Andre Stanley finally hit a free throw at the 2:09 mark, it simply made the Blue Devils mad. They finished the half on a Williams scoring drive, another Duhon-to-Boozer conversion, two Boozer free throws and a long 3-pointer by Williams.
For the record, St. John’s had 25 possessions in those last 13 minutes. It missed 12 shots, made 12 turnovers and had the free throw.
“We played really well defensively after they gave us a huge hit at the start of the game,” Krzyzewski said.
Especially on star guard Marcus Hatten, who entered the game averaging 20 points. He hit a 3-pointer to open the scoring but did not scratch again before intermission. Duhon’s defense made him a non-factor and he committed six of his team’s 23 turnovers.
“Our whole game plan was to stop him,” Krzyzewski said. “Duhon is an excellent defender. When (Hatten) looked at the floor, he didn’t see space. And if you don’t see space and have a good defender on you, there is only a short window of opportunity.”
Jarvis may have challenged his team at halftime but it did no good in the boisterous hothouse that is Cameron Indoor Stadium. St. John’s went through the motions in the final 20 minutes, trailing by as many as 41. How bad did it get? Duke finished the game on a 9-3 run with its baskets coming from Mark Causey, Matt Christensen, Andy Means and Andre Buckner. Who?
“We’re getting better,” said Boozer. “A lot of teams stand still in February but we’re improving and we’re where we need to be going into March.”
And St. John’s? It is still on the bubble — but hoping Sunday’s loss didn’t pop its chances for a March Madness appearance.
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NOTES: Since losing to Maryland, Duke has won two games by an average of 35 points. ... Williams led Duke with 26, the 16th time this season, he has gone over 20. ... Boozer has scored 1,354 points in his career, good for 27th all-time. ... Duke has won 25 games in a season 16 times.
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Contact Ronnie Gallagher at 704-797-4287 or rgallagher@salisburypost.com
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