DUKE BOASTS EVERYTHING BUT STRONG REBOUNDING.Byline: Jon Wilner Daily News Staff Writer They don't have Duke to kick around anymore. After successive 13- and 18-win seasons that included no NCAA Tournament NCAA Tournament can mean: Men's Sports
Duke is atop the Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953, the ACC's twelve member universities compete in twenty sports in the NCAA's Division I. standings with one week to play. It's ranked sixth in the nation and has won 11 of 12 games entering this morning's matchup with UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX at Pauley Pavilion Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion, informally and commonly known as Pauley Pavilion, is an indoor arena located on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles, California. It is home to the UCLA Bruins men's and women's basketball teams. The men's and women's volleyball teams also play here. . ``We're really playing well,'' Krzyzewski said. ``We're not an imposing team, but we have great kids and we play really hard.'' An injury helped shift Duke's season into high gear. After losing power forward Taymon Domzalski for two months (sore knees), Krzyzewski opted for a smaller lineup with a 6-foot-8 center, three wing guards and a point guard. The benefits were immediate. The Blue Devils became quicker, devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. from 3-point range and more aggressive defensively. They defeated No. 2 Wake Forest, N.C. State, Virginia, Florida State and No. 8 Clemson. ``We don't get caught up in matchup problems,'' Krzyzewski said. ``We just don't worry about what we don't have.'' Duke overcomes its rebounding deficit (minus-5.1 in ACC See adaptive cruise control. games) with stellar defense. The Blue Devils have 55 more assists than turnovers, while their opponents have 179 more turnovers than assists. UCLA vs. DUKE Tipoff: 11 a.m., Pauley Pavilion. TV/Radio/Etc: Channel 7; XTRA-AM (690); game audio heard on the Internet at www.audionet.com. Bruins (16-7) update: A victory is critical to achieving a No. 2 or 3 seed in the NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament's West Regional. The Bruins are 0-4 against Tournament-caliber non-conference foes this year and haven't had a meaningful non-league win since beating Duke at Pauley in 1995. UCLA's passing skills will be challenged by Duke's pressure defense and perimeter quickness. The key player is junior guard Toby Bailey, who'll defend Duke's leading scorer, Trajan Langdon. The Blue Devils beat UCLA 85-66 in Durham last year. Blue Devils (22-5) update: They have won seven straight in the rugged ACC and risen to No. 6 nationally. If they defeat UCLA and win the ACC Tournament, a No. 1 seed is possible. To UCLA, the Blue Devils will resemble a better version of Arizona: small, very good on the perimeter, dependent upon 3-point shooting and pressure defense. Langdon scored 34 points against Clemson earlier this week. Duke is shooting 39.9 percent from 3-point range. CAPTION(S): Box Box: UCLA vs. DUKE (see text) |
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