March 27, 2004

Box Score

By PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer

ATLANTA (AP) - Chris Duhon may be hurting, but he's doing just fine. So are the Duke Blue Devils.

Dragging himself off the floor time and time again, Duhon steered Duke into an all-too-familiar position - one win from the Final Four - with a 72-62 victory over Illinois in the Atlanta Regional semifinals Friday night.

Duhon attempted only one shot, but it didn't matter for Duke (30-5). The 6-foot-1 point guard dished out eight assists and kept sneaking inside for rebounds, winding up with a career-high 10. He also spent part of the night guarding Illinois' top scorer, Deron Williams, who managed just seven points on 3-of-13 shooting.

Not bad for a guy who was playing with sore ribs, a heavy wrapping visible under his jersey.

"Chris Duhon had a real courageous performance in leading us," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "He's in so much pain, and for him to put his head down and say, `I'm going to drive to the basket, I'm going to dive after a loose ball, I'm going to lead my teammates,' that's what you want to see."

Duhon was injured when he fell into a stanchion holding a TV camera during the ACC championship game. The Blue Devils had a stunning collapse that day, blowing a 12-point lead in the last five minutes and losing to Maryland in overtime.

Duke looked vulnerable. So much for that theory.

The top seed pulled away from Illinois (29-6) in the second half and headed on to the regional final to meet No. 7 Xavier, which knocked off Texas 79-71 in the first game of the evening. The winner of that game gets a trip to the Final Four in San Antonio.

Duke has a 9-1 record in regional finals during Krzyzewski's tenure.

Luol Deng led the Blue Devils with 18 points, while J.J. Redick added 17 and Shelden Williams 14. But it was Duhon, the senior leader, who set the tone.

He dove out of bounds once to make a save, managing to call timeout before slamming to the floor. On two other occasions, he was knocked to the court by Illinois players.

Every time, Duhon pulled himself up and kept on going.

"It's tough, especially playing a physical team like Illinois. They play real physical. You have to go around a lot of screens," Duhon said. "But I wanted to be out there, and I'm not going to let some bruised ribs stop me."

Duhon didn't attempt a shot until the final minute, when he put up a long 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down. It was an airball. No problem.

Duke, which has the best winning percentage in NCAA tournament history, will be playing in a regional final for the 17th time. Another victory will send the Blue Devils to their 14th Final Four - just one short of the record shared by North Carolina and UCLA.

Both Duke and Illinois started the tournament with impressive wins. The Blue Devils blew out their first two opponents, Alabama State and Seton Hall, by an average of 31.5 points. The Fighting Illini rolled over Murray State and higher-seeded Cincinnati by a combined 43 points.

Illinois was coming off its best performance of the season: a 92-68 rout of Cincinnati. They shot a season-high 64 percent and committed just four turnovers. Deron Williams matched his career best with 31 points.

James Augustine and Roger Powell led the Illini with 15 points apiece, and Dee Brown - playing with a stress fracture in his left leg - added 14. But the other guards, Deron Williams and Luther Head, combined to go 7-of-24 for 16 points.

Duke was up 31-30 at the half and never relinquished its lead. Illinois missed four straight free throws at one point, hurting its chances to get back in the game.

Redick - the cocky target of Duke haters everywhere - essentially sealed the victory with a 3-pointer, putting the Blue Devils ahead 67-57 with about 6? minutes left. He strutted down the court bobbing his head, his mouth wide open.

Illinois never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.

The Illini came out running, scoring in the opening minute and building a quick 8-2 lead. The Blue Devils responded with 3-pointers by Daniel Ewing and Deng to tie it up, and the teams spent the rest of the half trading punches.

The game was tied three more times before Duke finally snatched its first lead. Redick got a wide-open look from beyond the arc and swished the 3, giving the Blue Devils an 18-17 lead and sparking a spurt of nine straight points.

But Deron Williams, who played only 11 minutes in the first half after picking up two quick fouls, stemmed the damage with a 3. Duke pushed the margin back to seven again before Illinois ran off eight straight points to reclaim the lead.

The Blue Devils went to the break with a lead after Sheldon Williams got inside for a basket with 47 seconds remaining. As it turned out, that put Duke ahead to stay.