ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Saturday a far different Elton Brand took the court than the one who played in the teams' first meeting back in December. Brand appeared headed toward a possible 20-point, 20-rebound effort this time until foul trouble got in the way.
In the United Center Dec. 2, Brand committed six turnovers and pulled down just three boards.
The difference was conditioning, and the National Player of the Year admitted this past week he was out-of-shape at the start of the season. His teammates took note.
"I was teasing him when we watched film this week," Chris Carrawell said. "We all laughed at him when he had a fast break and he just couldn't even elevate to dunk the ball. 'Fat boy' and stuff like that.... There was nothing he could say-we were all laughing at him. We were teasing him. He had nothing else to do but show us."
Maggette shows no signs of youth
Though this is the first Final Four for all of Duke's roster, the only freshman, Corey Maggette, had no problem adjusting to the spotlight.
Maggette entered the game at the 15-minute mark and just 17 seconds later hit a pair of free throws after grabbing an offensive rebound. He added seven more points in the first half, with a putback and fast-break slam extending the Blue Devils' advantage to 26-16.
Late in the game, Mike Krzyzewski had no problem rotating in Maggette when the Spartans were closing the deficit.
"I felt comfortable out there," said Maggette, who played 17 minutes. "I think our team was hyped. This was not the time or place to be nervous."
Free-throw line doesn't prove charitable
With the game fairly well in hand and the Spartans fouling Duke late, the Blue Devils appeared headed toward a margin of victory in the low teens. But 7-of-18 shooting from the charity stripe, including 2-for-8 in the last two minutes, allowed Michigan State to stay in single digits and keep within reasonable striking distance.
Will Avery said after the game that although he didn't think free-throw shooting was a major concern, Duke would work on it in practice yesterday. Krzyzewski didn't attribute the problem to nerves so much as a little fatigue.
"When you're playing like that, sometimes you don't know you're tired until you stop," he said. "The free throws are when you stop. I thought that was more so than nerves, just the physical, hard-fought nature of the game put us in that position. Hopefully we'll get refreshed and be at our best on Monday."
From one coast to the other
Though the women were playing over 3,000 miles away, a crowd of about 300 gathered in a local hotel to watch Duke's semifinal matchup on a projected television screen.
The Iron Dukes and Duke Varsity Club sponsored the event, with football coach Carl Franks among those in attendance.
In the record books
Duke's 37th win equaled the 1986 Duke squad and UNLV in 1987 for the NCAA single-season record in wins. With the victory, the Blue Devils moved past Kentucky as the winningest tournament team of the '90s. Duke is now 32-6, while the Wildcats finished 31-6.
The win was also Mike Krzyzewski's 48th all-time in the tournament, moving him past John Wooden and into sole possession of second place in NCAA history. Krzyzewski trails Dean Smith by 17.
-Compiled by Neal Morgan and Joel Israel
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