Elite Eight Recap – Atlanta Region
(1) Duke 66, (7) Xavier 63
No. 1 Duke guaranteed that a number one seed would reach the Final Four, as the Blue Devils held off No. 7 Xavier, 66-63.
Xavier upset No. 2 Mississippi State and No. 3 Texas, and the Musketeers had an opportunity to become the first team to ever knock off each of a region’s top three seeds to reach the Final Four. But Duke rallied in the second half to end Xavier’s month-long dream run.
Xavier and Duke have a veritable list of who’s who in the world long-range sharpshooting, so this game easily could have slipped into an offensive war with the hottest team capturing a pass to the NCAA’s Promised Land. But from the start, both teams appeared prepared to win with defense. The score remained 1-0 for the better part of three minutes as neither team allowed a field goal until nearly four minutes had expired. Duke looked to carry a 28-27 lead into the half when sophomore Dedrick Finn sprinted down court and drained a three pointer as time expired, giving Xavier a 30-28 lead at the break.
In the second half, Xavier extended the lead by a few points. Seniors Romain Sato and Lionel Chalmers continued to be the Musketeers’ weapons of choice. Chalmers finished with a team-high 17 points, and Sato scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. But Duke’s defense held Xavier’s sharpshooters in check for most of the second half.
Offensively, the Blue Devils pounded the ball inside to sophomores Shelden Williams and Shavlik Randolph. Xavier senior Anthony Myles fouled out with more than 12 minutes remaining as he tried to keep Duke’s big men from dominating. The plan backfired. Without Myles, Duke slashed through the lane for easy baskets and slashed Xavier’s lead. The team traded points until the final few minutes of the game. Then freshman Luol Deng took over.
Deng drained a three pointer to tie the game at 56, swinging all of the momentum in Atlanta to Duke’s side. Deng then grabbed two of the most important rebounds in this tournament. The first rebound was a hard-fought snatch that Deng kicked out to sophomore J.J. Redick, who drained a wide-open three pointer. On the next possession, Deng soared through the lane to tip an offensive rebound in and give Duke a comfortable lead down the stretch.
Sato’s basket with .8 seconds remaining merely trimmed a five-point lead to three. The Musketeers had no miracles left. Duke plays No. 2 Connecticut in the second national semifinal game Saturday.
