Duke Downs Cal, but Test Still Awaits

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Now the real challenge begins for top-seeded Duke.

The Blue Devils turned in an impressive all-around performance and upended No. 8 seed California 68-53 here Sunday in second-round play of the NCAA Tournament at Veterans Memorial Arena.

Duke, tabbed the favorite in the South Region, advances into next weekend's Sweet 16 in Houston. And, it's the trip to Texas, pundits say, where the Blue Devils must prove their elite status.

If that's truly the case -- especially considering the rash of upsets in the Big Dance thus far -- their solid effort against the Golden Bears was certainly a statement.

Duke (31-5) simply had too much size, strength and depth on both ends of the floor, building a double-digit advantage by halftime (37-24). It also made good use of California miscues in the game, scoring 18 points off eight turnovers.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski believes the Blue Devils are better prepared for the postseason. He also bristled at the suggestion his past few teams underachieved or failed to meet expectations.

"I hate when somebody compares those teams of the last couple of years with our national championship teams, and they say they underachieved," Krzyzweski said.



Share "Are you kidding me? They won 30, 29 games. But they were limited teams, and they couldn't play the defense this team can play because we have big guys. That's the difference. We're a better team this year. I don't know if we'll go any further, but this is a better team. ... Just because then you lose, it doesn't mean those kids underachieved.

"They maxed. They maxed."

While California's long-range shooters kept it within striking distance, the Bears (24-11) didn't have enough firepower to advance to their first Sweet 16 appearance since 1997 and third since 1960.

California pulled within 44-37 midway in the second half on a basket by former Dukie Jamal Boykin. However, Duke scored eight unanswered points to surge back in front 52-37 with 10 minutes remaining.

The Bears failed to get within single digits the remainder of the game.

Duke's "Big Three" outscored Cal's "Big Three."

Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer of the Blue Devils combined to score 44 points,while Jerome Randle, Theo Robertson and Patrick Christopher finished with 24.

Each trio had a member struggle. Scheyer had just seven points on 1 of 11 shooting, while Christopher was limited to one basket, well below his season average of 16 points per game.

Duke's 7-foot-1 center Brian Zoubek also came up big, finishing with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Additionally, the Blue Devils moved to 26-2 when out-rebounding (34-33) the opposition this season and 26-1 when leading at the half. Duke also survived despite making just 3 of 17 three-point field goals.

Boykin played well against his former teammates, finishing with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Not even the memories of Cal's upset win over the two-time defending national champion Blue Devils in 1993 helped.

Jason Kidd and Bobby Hurley put the show in that showdown. Kidd scored 11 points and handed out 14 assists, while Hurley scored 32 points with nine assists in his final game for the Blue Devils.

Of course, Duke is judged in the NCAA tournament.

The Blue Devils last appeared in the Final Four in 2004 and last won an NCAA title in 2001. They will be making their 11th Sweet 16 appearance since 1998 and 21st overall, tying Kentucky for the second-most all time (North Carolina leads with 23).

"This team has so much talent and so much potential," said Smith, who played all 40 minutes and finished with a team-high 20 points. He also hounded Randle defensively to help set the tone.

"Every game steps up, and that's exciting thing about this team," Smith added.

"We might not shoot good every game, but we play defense and play hard and any game somebody is going to surprise you."

KEY ELEMENT

Duke's defense.

It marked the 19th time the Blue Devils have held an opponent under 60 points, the most since the 1949-50 team posted 20 such games.

Cal, meanwhile, tied a season-low for points in the half with 24 (first half at Oregon on Feb. 20) and scored its fewest points in a game this season and its fewest since a 70-49 loss against Washington State in 2008.

"We would have had to really, really play well, make all our shots," Cal head coach Mike Montgomery said. "I thought defensively we did a pretty good job but again, give credit to Duke. They're a great basketball team.

"But I feel like we can hold our heads high, that we competed, we just couldn't make it happen."

GAME BALL GOES TO

Zoobs.

Duke center Brian Zoubek recorded his sixth career double-double -- fourth this season -- with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

"It was a really tough game inside, a lot of elbows thrown, a lot of contact," Zoubek said.

"Both teams were playing hard and we knew that the rebounding was going to be an essential part of the game, so both teams were fighting for it."

HEART GOES OUT TO

Senior Cal guard Patrick Christopher.

Christopher, who has appeared in a California record 135 games, was limited to one first-half field goal. Christopher, Theo Robertson and Jerome Randle give the Bears three 1,000-point scorers for just the second time in school history.

Christopher made 1 of 4 field goals.

SOUNDBITE

"We've got to prepare for every game and every team in the NCAA Tournament prepares that way. Kansas didn't lose (Saturday) because they looked ahead. Kansas lost because Northern Iowa played a great game. The other team didn't make losing plays; you have to make winning plays in this tournament. That's what we talked about after the Kansas game."

-- Coach K.