Duke conquers Trojans, heads to Final Four

PHILADELPHIA - It had all the makings of Philadelphia's most cherished sports story. USC, wearing red uniforms with gold trim, strolled into the city of brotherly love like the Italian Stallion against champion Apollo Creed in the fabled Oscar-winning movie. The Trojan pep band even graced the spectators at the First Union Center with a rendition of the theme song from Rocky.

Not too unlike the movie, the heavy favorite won in a closely contested battle.

Sparked by the scoring of East Regional Most Valuable Player Jason Williams, the consistent play of senior tri-captain Shane Battier and a couple of crucial shots by freshman Chris Duhon, the Blue Devils outlasted Southern California 79-69.

By winning their second regional championship in three years, the Blue Devils advanced to the Final Four in Minneapolis next weekend, where they will compete for the ultimate prize-a national championship.

"My goal all year long has been to get back to the Final Four," Battier said. "Now that we're going to be at the dance, it's time to boogie."

But before they reached this dance, the Blue Devils had to overcome a scrappy USC team that relished its underdog status. From the game's onset, the Trojans competed fiercely on every possession, and as the contest winded down, USC was in striking distance of the top-seeded Blue Devils. In fact, USC never faced a larger deficit than 12 points at any point during the game and their balanced frontline of David Bluthenthal, Sam Clancy and Brian Scalabrine all registered double-digit scoring totals.

Southern Cal's only major mistake, however, was that its game plan focused too much attention to Duke's primary weapons, Battier and Williams. The Trojans' defensive pressure succeeded in forcing Williams to miss nine consecutive shots at one juncture and allowed Battier to hit only 1-of-8 second-half shots, but this overplay left open less consistent, yet still dangerous shooters like sophomore Mike Dunleavy and freshman Chris Duhon. In particular, Duhon was instrumental in securing the Blue Devils' victory, connecting on two vital three-pointers in the game's last five-and-a-half minutes, both of which pushed the Duke lead back to 11 points, stopping any chance at a USC run dead in its tracks.

According to Duhon, the decision to play off him was a fatal miscalculation, because of the confidence he gained from each shot he attempted.

When the New Jersey native cooled off, his fellow team leader Battier picked up his game, allowing Duke to enter halftime with a 45-38 lead. Battier chipped in with 15 first-half points, showing a comfort level shooting with his back to the basket rarely seen for the three-point shooting power forward. USC coach Henry Bibby felt that Battier's offensive contribution, in addition to the intangibles that he provides to the Blue Devils on a consistent basis, have been important factors in the Duke's success throughout the season, and especially against his team.

"I still think Battier is the key to the team," Bibby said. "He gets in everybody's face, he makes the big bucket when they have to, he gets the big rebound when he has to. He tells people where to go and what to do. He's the key player on the team in my estimation."

While Battier and the Blue Devils will certainly savor their regional triumph, they don't have long to rejoice; Duke returns to action next Saturday evening against ACC foe Maryland in the national semifinals in Minneapolis.