Nov. 28, 2000

Box Score
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By DAVID DROSCHAK
AP Sports Writer

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) - The top scoring team in the nation the last two years won its first test of the season at No. 1 with defense.

Undefeated Duke (6-0) got 23 points from Jason Williams and 21 from Mike Dunleavy to beat No. 9 Illinois 78-77 in the marquee matchup in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge on Tuesday night.

"Thank goodness 18 years ago we decided not to go zone," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Our man-to-man defense has been good to us over the years and it was really good for us tonight."

Williams and Dunleavy matched career highs, while Carlos Boozer, saddled with foul trouble most of the night and held to three points in the first half, scored 12 in the second.

"A lot of our kids made big plays tonight," Krzyzewski said. "It was a gutsy game."

Frank Williams led Illinois (4-2) with 19 points, but had nine of his team's 26 turnovers.

"We knew coming into this game we were going to have to protect the ball," Williams said. "Duke is a great ball club. But Cory (Bradford) and I just turned the ball over too much. We're supposed to be one of the top backcourts in the country. We've got to have more control than that."

Duke led 70-68 with 3:53 left, but Boozer hit two free throws, and Dunleavy scored on a layup and 3-pointer in a span of 30 seconds as the Blue Devils grabbed control 77-68.

But the Blue Devils had to survive a wild finish in which they turned the ball over twice in the final 1:31.

"I could have helped my team a little bit more in the last minute," Krzyzewski said. "I didn't give them good stuff on the offensive end."

The win improved Duke to 125-18 all-time as the nation's top-ranked team. But this one didn't come easy against a physical Illinois team that beat the Blue Devils on the boards 42-27.

But the Fighting Illini (4-2), playing their second No. 1 team in a span of six days, turned it over 12 times in the second half and couldn't pull out the close one down the stretch. Illinois lost to then-No. 1 Arizona 79-76 in the title game of the Maui Invitational.

"It's too early in the season to be discouraged," Illinois coach Bill Self said. "We're disappointed because these guys came in here with one thing in mind and that was to knock Duke off.

"I think both teams will be better because of this basketball game. It's great to play these type of games, but enough is enough for us."

Neither team led by more than three points in the opening 7 1/2 minutes of the second half in a game that took on an NCAA tournament type of feel between two teams predicted to win their respective conference titles.

But the Blue Devils went on a 9-0 run as Williams scored on a drive and an 8-foot bank shot, Shane Battier hit a 3-pointer and Boozer added two free throws.

Krzyzewski got on his knees during the run, pleading with his team to put Illinois away. But Illinois made six free throws and got a 3-pointer from Sean Harrington to go on a 11-1 run of its own to regain the lead by three before Duke's late run.

"It's great to play the top teams in the country and we know we could very well play them again come March," Duke's Battier said.

Each team came in shooting better than 50 percent from the field, but both struggled in the opening 20 minutes on offense.

Illinois had trouble with Duke's press early on and ended up turning it over 14 times in the first half. During one stretch, Illinois coughed it up five times in seven possessions, but a 24-10 rebounding edge kept the score close.

Meanwhile, the Blue Devils couldn't penetrate the zone of the Fighting Illini and had trouble from the outside, hitting just 3 of 12 3-pointers while shooting 40 percent.