Sweet Sixteen Recap – Atlanta Region
(1) Duke 72, (5) Illinois 62
Senior Chris Duhon proved that he is one of the best team leaders in college basketball, guiding No. 1 Duke to a 72-62 win against No. 5 Illinois despite attempting only one field goal in the game.
Slowed by a nagging rib injury he suffered during the ACC tournament, Duhon clearly did not appear comfortable shooting the ball. But he was more than comfortable doing everything else, finishing with 10 rebounds and eight assists – nearly a very unorthodox double double. Equally important, Duhon led the offensive attack that stymied the Illini’s upset bid.
Illinois came out determined to keep the game close and attack Duke rather than waiting for the Blue Devils to draw first blood. As a result, Illinois led for much of the first half until Duke made a run toward the end of the half. But the seeds of trouble were sown in the first half as sophomores James Augustine and Deron Williams picked up a few fouls. Augustine finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, but foul trouble limited him to 22 minutes. Junior Roger Powell also contributed 15 points and eight rebounds for the Illini.
In the second half, Duke grinded down Illinois, feeding sophomores Shelden Williams and Shavlik Randolph in the paint. Williams finished with 14 points, and Randolph scored seven. The post game forced Illinois to collapse on the big men when they received the ball, allowing Duke’s shooters and slashers to get open looks. Freshman Luol Deng had a great game with 18 points and six rebounds. Duke slowly extended its lead to 10 late in the game and had answers for every Illini attempt to whittle down the lead.
Duhon and the Blue Devils will have two days to rest before playing the tournament’s hottest team – No. 7 Xavier.
