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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – On a day when Mike Krzyzewski and Quin
Snyder found it difficult to control their emotions, the best
tandem in college basketball remained cool.
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Saturday,
March 17
The Dukies march on to the Sweet 16, but the score was not indicative of how
tough the game was against the Tigers.
Quin Snyder had his Missouri players razor sharp, ready to perform big-time
against his alma mater. But in the end, the best 1-2 tandem in America,
Jason Williams and Shane Battier, were just too much, combining for 58
points.
Duke also outrebounded Missouri, but the Tigers got solid performances from
Kareem Rush and Clarence Gilbert. They put points on the board big-time,
teaming for 45 points to keep Missouri in the game.
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Krzyzewski's Duke team had too much Shane Battier and Jason
Williams for his former co-captain and assistant coach as the No. 1
Blue Devils (31-4) beat Missouri 94-81 in the second round of the
NCAA East Regional Saturday.
Williams, nursing a sore left ankle, was brilliant, scoring 31
points and handing out nine assists.
Battier had 27 points and 11 rebounds as the top-seeded Blue
Devils advanced to Philadelphia and the round of 16 for the 12th
time since 1986. Duke will face fourth-seeded UCLA, a 75-50 winner
over Utah State.
"They identify with team," Krzyzewski said of his two
first-team All-Americans playing so well together. "They are
secure about who they are. They know they're not bigger than the
program and they can coexist on a high level."
On cue, Battier and Williams complimented each other on their
tremendous performances.
"Shane is not your average basketball player," Williams said.
"We know when we step on the court we're two of the tougher
matchups in college basketball," Battier said. "On any given
night we're both capable of carrying this team. Today, we both
carried the team on the offensive end."
Snyder, making his second postseason appearance after coaching
for Krzyzewski from 1996-99, got a hug and long verbal exchange
from his mentor a minute before tipoff, and the two hugged again at
center court after player introductions.
|  | | Shane Battier (top) gets the job done defensively here, and also adds 27 points and 11 boards. |
Snyder, who was a part of five Final Fours at Duke, wrestled
with what was proper to do prior to game time.
"I didn't know what to do with myself," he said. "Part of me
wanted to call Shane and wish him good luck, but I just stayed in
the back. At first I was going to go out and see the (Duke) guys
and wish them well and be on with it, but then I wondered what my
guys would think. I was just playing games with myself."
Krzyzewski wasn't any more comfortable.
"I'm glad this is over and glad we both played terrific
games," said Krzyzewski, who was facing a former player or
assistant coach in an NCAA Tournament game for the first time.
"That was the best scenario."
After the hugs, it was down to business.
Duke built a 15-point first-half lead before the No. 9 seeded
Tigers (20-13) closed to six at the half and 63-62 with 10:41 left
on a 3-pointer by Kareem Rush, who led Missouri with 29 points.
The Blue Devils then scored on six straight possessions to build
the lead back to double digits with 7:49 left, taking control of a
tense and tight game.
There was no time out by Krzyzewski when the Tigers made their
run.
"We take pride in that," Battier said. "We feel if a team is
going to throw their best shot at us, we want to absorb it, then
deliver our own blow without calling a time out."
Battier had a driving layup, a bank shot, a 3-pointer and a key
block in Duke's spurt, while Mike Dunleavy added a fastbreak layup
and follow shot that gave the Blue Devils a 76-66 lead.
"That is what great teams will do and what great players on
great teams will do," Snyder said of Duke's decisive run. "Coach
K just lets those guys go and gives them confidence as opposed to
making them question their abilities to make plays. Those kids
stepped it up.
"They played like champions."
Missouri would not get closer than eight down the stretch
despite hitting 11 of 21 3-pointers as Duke improved to 21-0 this
season when scoring 90 or more points.
Battier was near-perfect at the foul line. The first-team
All-American was 12-for-13 there as the Blue Devils sank 21 of 25
to improve Krzyzewski's NCAA mark to 52-14.
"I always look at the eyes of the team I'm playing as the game
is going on to see if we can break them," Krzyzewski said.
"Never, ever, for one second, did I see hesitancy or any weakness
in their eyes. They were a strong team – and we were too."
Duke missed 13 of its first 19 shots and had 10 turnovers 12
minutes in before going on a 14-0 run. Williams hit a pair of
3-pointers during the spurt as the Tigers were 0-for-3 with six
turnovers in a horrible offensive stretch as the Blue Devils went
up 30-19.
The lead reached as many as 15 before the Tigers closed the half
with a surge.
Missouri hit three 3-pointers over the final 1:25 of the half,
cutting Duke's lead to 43-37. Rush made two of the long-range shots
as he and Clarence Gilbert combined for 27 of their team's points
in the opening 20 minutes.
"He's sweet," Dunleavy said of Rush, who also grabbed eight
rebounds. "I've played with a lot of NBA guys, and he's right
there with all of them."
After the game, Rush, a sophomore who led the Big 12 in scoring
at 20.8 per game, said he would return to Missouri next season and
not enter the NBA Draft.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Missouri Clubhouse
Duke Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 After the game, Mike Krzyzewski and Quin Snyder exchange compliments (Courtesy: NCAA Productions).
avi: 3360 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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