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Game commentary

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Poor inside defense leads to non-conference home loss**

The streak began when most of us were worried more about recess and show-and-tell than basketball games.

It spanned the terms of three Presidents, seven Final Four appearances and countless close calls.

And on Saturday evening, after 12 years, 10 months and 21 days, it finally came to an end.

Lou Henson's Fighting Illini did the unthinkable in Cameron Indoor Stadium, succeeding where 95 previous teams had failed. Illinois snapped the Blue Devils' much-celebrated non-conference home win streak with a heartbreaking 75-65 victory, a win even Henson had trouble believing.

But Saturday night, the big men disappeared, and along with them, the vaunted streak.

Newton proved to be the biggest surprise disappearance, after notching a double-double against North Carolina-Greensboro on Wednesday night. After pouring in 22 points and collecting 11 rebounds, Newton managed zero points on 0-for-5 shooting and grabbed a paltry four rebounds.

The Illini dominated the inside throughout the game, edging the Blue Devils 42-34 on the boards. More telling, though, is that 30 of the Illini's 75 points came on dunks or lay-ins. The Cameron crowd--the loudest home cheering squad Duke has had in quite some time--was entertained not by the stifling Duke defense of the first two weeks of the season, but by a layup drill by Illini Jerry Gee, Kiwane Garris and Bryant Notree.

"We have guys who are really capable of playing big for us," Capel said. "But everybody didn't play tough on defense."

For the first time this season, the loss of starters Erik Meek and Cherokee Parks to graduation played a huge role. Newton, Moore and Domzalski, though somewhat effective in earlier games, proved their unreliability and inexperience down the stretch, at a time when Meek and Parks often asserted their inside muscle.

In one of the key stretches of the game, the Illini outhustled and outplayed the Blue Devils completely. With about 5:30 remaining in the game, Illinois put together a deflating and tiring, if not spectacular, run.

"We lost this game tonight because Illinois wanted it more than us," Capel said. "They out-toughed us."

The out-toughing began after Gee missed a free throw and the Illini recovered on a deadball rebound. Garris followed with an easy lay-in. After chasing after a loose ball, the Illini again recovered off sophomore Steve Wojciechowski's turnover. Battling on the boards, the Illini nabbed another offensive rebound--one of 13 on the night--before Jerry Hester got sent to the line. Despite scoring only three points during the run, the Fighting Illini managed to keep the ball out of the Blue Devils' hands for nearly two minutes and made a physical impact on the reeling Duke lineup, as they banged and hustled for every loose ball.

"We gave them about five chances at scoring the ball which was a key part of the game," Krzyzewski said. "They just wore us down."

With the damage done, the Illinois entered the final minutes of the game with a decided advantage. Though the Blue Devils trailed by only a point with 2:10 to play, they made careless mistakes and gave the game away--much like the Duke squad of a year ago.

"For the first 18 minutes of the second half, we played really well, but we faltered down the stretch," senior guard Chris Collins said.

In the final two minutes, the Blue Devils turned the ball over seven times, and they saw a one-point deficit balloon into a 10-point loss.

"We weren't concentrating on getting the ball to the key players," sophomore forward Ricky Price said. "Those things can't happen, especially towards the end of the game."

If the Blue Devils hope to avoid the pathetic fate of last year's team, those things can't continue to happen.

With Krzyzewski back on the sidelines, there's no doubt this loss should prove to be a blip on an otherwise successful season--granted the big-men come to play. Every game.

If Newton, Moore and Domzalski can make a moderate impact game after game, then these Blue Devils have a chance to do some serious damage.

And what about the streak?

"The streak--that says a lot about Duke history," Price said. "Now, we can start up another one again."