No. 3 Blue Devils
reclaim status as
ACC champions
BY DAVID GINSBURG
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — They came
in as underdogs, a No. 3 seed
that was supposed to have too little
depth to compete against the new
powerhouse teams in the Atlantic
Coast Conference.
When the final buzzer sounded at
the 52nd ACC tournament on Sun
day, the Duke Blue Devils celebrated
a 69-64 victory over Georgia Tech and
reclaimed their customary perch as
league champions.
Tournament MVP J.J. Redick
scored 26 points, Shelden Williams
had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and
the fifth-ranked Blue Devils held off
a late charge to squeeze past the
fifth-seeded Yellow Jackets.
Duke has won 15 ACC tourna
ments, tying archrival North Carolina
for most in league history. But while
the Tar Heels haven’t added to their
ledger since 1998, the Blue Devils have
won six of seven — the lone exception
being last year, when they fell in
overtime to Maryland in the title game.
Duke (25-5) led by four points early
in the second half before Redick hit a
jumper, Williams scored on a dunk,
Redick made a layup and Daniel Ew
ing hit a three-pointer to make it 50-37.
It became 52-39 on a layup by Shavlik
Randolph with 11:15 to go, but the
Blue Devils didn't make another bas
ket until Williams tipped in a missed
foul shot just before the buzzer.
Duke, which never trailed, went
15-for-20 at the free throw line over
the final 9 minutes.
The Yellow Jackets (19-11) used
an 8-0 run to close to 56-51 with
4:56 left. A three-pointer by Tech's
Anthony Morrow cut the margin to
three with 1:54 left, and two free
throws by teammate Will Bynum
made it 64-62 with 1:27 to go.
After a miss by Redick, Bynum
missed a jumper in the lane and Lee
r
Melchionni made one of two foul
shots for a three-point lead. Jeremis
Smith then misfired for the Yellow
Jackets, but Tech got the ball back
with 34 seconds remaining.
A basket by Morrow got Tech with
in one, but Redick was fouled on the
inbounds and made two free throws
to make it 67-64. After Bynum was
off target on a three-pointer, Duke's
David McClure missed two foul
shots, but Williams tipped in the
second one to clinch it.
Minutes later, the Blue Devils cut
down the nets at the MCI Center,
where the tournament was held for
the first time.
Jarrett Jack scored 19 points for the
Yellow Jackets, who fell short in then
bid to win the ACC championship for
the first time since 1993 but erased
any doubt regarding their worthiness
in the NCAA tournament.
Bynum, who scored a career-high
35 in Georgia Tech's semifinal
win over top-seeded North Caroli
na, was limited to 14 points on
4-for-17 shooting.
The Blue Devils have won 19 of 20
against the Yellow Jackets, including
three this season.
The Duke dynasty took a hit last
year, and after second-ranked North
Carolina won the regular season title
and the Blue Devils finished third be
hind third-ranked Wake Forest, it ap
peared as if a change at the top was
in order.
But Georgia Tech disposed of
North Carolina in the semifinals and
North Carolina State eliminated
Wake Forest in the second round,
paving the way for the Blue Devils to
win the league crown.
Duke has won 77 games in the
ACC tournament, one more than
runner-up North Carolina. The Blue
Devils have played in eight straight ti
tle games, by far the longest streak in
league history.
Review: Two freshmen earn Pac-10 honors
Continued from page 2B
Ducks’ second-leading scorer and
rebounder, averaging 13.1 points
and 5.0 boards per game.
While he showed flashes of bril
liance throughout the season, the
former McDonald’s High School All
American came under scrutiny for
not being aggressive enough on the
offensive end. Though his numbers
weren’t high enough for some, they
were good enough to earn him
Pac-10 All-Freshman Team honors.
Joining Hairston on the All-Fresh
man team was Taylor. The fuzzy
haired sharpshooter helped carry the
offensive load as Hairston was trying
to get on track. The 6-foot-5 guard
had a tremendous three-game stretch
early in the Pac-10 season where he
led the team in scoring during games
against Washington, Washington
State and Arizona. His best perform
ance of the season came against the
Cougars when he scored 26 points to
lead the Ducks to a big road win in
Pullman, Wash., on Jan. 15.
Taylor hit the dreaded “freshman
wall,” shortly thereafter, however,
and his production took a hit. After
consecutive 20-plus-point perform
ances against Washington State and
Arizona in mid January, the Encino,
Calif., native experienced a 6-of-37
shooting slump during his next four
games and connected on only 38 of
119 field goals (32 percent) during
the final 12 games of the season.
One of the team’s best perimeter
shooters early in the season, Taylor
struggled especially with his three
point shooting during Oregon’s fi
nal 12 contests, knocking down
only 14 of 53 (26 percent) from
behind the arc.
Taylor ended the season as one of
only three Ducks to average double
figures in scoring with 11.6 points
per game.
Oguchi provided an offensive
spark off the bench, and his game
greatly improved as the season
progressed. Leunen stepped in im
mediately and gave the Ducks a
rebounding presence in the middle.
Lacking leadership
Brooks and Crosswhite were de
pended on to be leaders this season
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Erik R. Bishoff | Photographer
Australian native Ian Crosswhite was dismissed from the Oregon men's basketball team
in February because of unspecified violations of Athletics Department policy.
and never quite grew into the role.
Brooks finished as the team’s lead
ing scorer at 14.7 points per game,
but struggled when the team leaned
on him for big baskets. Other than a
34-point performance against USC,
Brooks’ season could be viewed as
a disappointment.
Crosswhite may have been the
biggest underachiever in the coun
try and will have his roster spot
filled by new recruit next season.
jonroetman@dailyemerald.com
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