Krzyzewski proud to have 2 ACC teams in Final 4

PHILADELPHIA - For the second time in conference history, two ACC schools will meet in the national semifinals for a chance to play for a national championship two days later. And its only fitting that Duke and Maryland, two squads that have played such high-quality games this season that two have become "Instant Classics" on the ESPN Classic network, will battle for this rare and coveted opportunity.

It has been 20 years since Virginia and North Carolina met in the Final Four. Although Duke and Maryland are bucking historical trends, they are certainly not surprised that they will meet for a fourth time.

"I'm happy for Gary Williams and his program," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said after Duke's hard-fought victory over USC Saturday. "Our game in Atlanta in the [ACC] Tournament semifinals was truly a remarkable game. The camaraderie was amazing, and some of the kids even said to each other, 'We'll see you at the Final Four.' We are happy to have two teams from our conference in the Final Four-that's terrific."

The last time the ACC had two of its teams qualify for college basketball's most visible stage was 1991, when Duke and North Carolina both won their respective regions. The difference between that year and the present, though, was that the two ACC qualifiers did not meet in their semifinal matchups, meaning they would only play each other if they both reached the national championship game. Had North Carolina coach Dean Smith and his Tar Heels defeated Smith protégé Roy Williams' Kansas in the national semifinals, then this colossal clash of college basketball's most bitter rivals would have occurred, marking the fourth time the two teams would have encountered during the season. Duke and North Carolina have never renewed their rivalry within the NCAA tournament. However, the Jayhawks prevailed, meaning the Blue Devils, who upset undefeated and seemingly invincible UNLV in the second semifinal contest, would be the only ACC team represented in the final game of the season.

This season, though, the Blue Devils and the Terrapins not only will scramble for ACC bragging rights, but only one will be able to advance to the championship game. Nonetheless, Duke's players gave little thought to a rematch with their ACC adversaries, and Krzyzewski made sure that none of his players looked ahead to the possible rematch before competing against Southern California in the East Regional final.

"We're happy for Maryland, but these kids aren't listening to scores...," Krzyzewski interjected, when a reporter asked Jason Williams if he had been aware of the outcome of the Stanford-Maryland game before the start of his game against USC. "If anyone even heard the score, they are running sprints tomorrow. You don't worry about what [other] people are doing. Otherwise, you will be watching the tournament instead of playing in it."

But after beating the Trojans Saturday night, Krzyzewski gave a few initial observations about Maryland's improvement throughout the NCAA tournament.

"We're going to look at their last four games and see what changes they've made," he said. "I heard that they hit a lot of threes today and that [center Lonny] Baxter played well."