GREENSBORO - Duke is still on the road to the Final Four.
The No. 1 seeded Blue Devils knocked off eighth-seeded George Washington, 74-61, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday afternoon to earn their ninth consecutive trip to the Sweet 16.
Duke will take on fourth-seeded LSU at 7:10 p.m. Thursday night at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta for a spot in the Elite Eight.
J.J. Redick hit a three-pointer in the game's opening minute and Duke (32-3) went on to lead wire-to-wire against the Colonials (27-3) at the Greensboro Coliseum.
"We played really well," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "I just felt it [Friday] at practice, that we're finally in the NCAA Tournament. Our kids were excited. We didn't even use the full [practice] time. I didn't want to use the energy."
In the win, freshman Josh McRoberts notched his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds, and senior Shelden Williams added 14 boards to pass Mike Gminski and become Duke's all-time leading rebounder with 1,249.
Redick and Williams combined to score 58 of Duke's 70 points in the team's opening round victory over 16th-seeded Southern, but Duke had a much more balanced attack against the Colonials with McRoberts and fellow freshman Greg Paulus joining their senior teammates in double figures.
"When my two freshmen are playing like that, it brings everybody together," Krzyzewski said. "They're very competitive kids and they have such good game personalities, that when they allow themselves to show it-which they do much of the time but not all of the time-then we're just better."
With the Blue Devils pulling away early in the second half, McRoberts sent a backdoor pass to Redick. The senior caught the ball in stride and converted an acrobatic reverse layup while drawing a foul on George Washington forward Omar Williams.
Redick, who missed a career-high five free throws in the game, failed to complete the three-point play, but the bucket still gave Duke an 18-point advantage. The margin was the largest of the afternoon for the Blue Devils, and even after not recording a point for the next four and a half minutes, they remained nine points ahead.
Duke kept its comfortable advantage despite its lack of scoring by continuing its smothering defense and keeping the Colonials off the offensive glass, something they had struggled to do in the first half.
"We feel like any time we're playing defense like that, no matter what kind of offensive droughts we have, we're going to put ourselves in a position to win," said Redick, who led Duke with 20 points. "We just played great defense, forced them to take tough shots."
George Washington shot just 30.9 percent from the field in the game, including a stretch of four missed shots in the closing possession of the first half when the Colonials could have cut their deficit to single digits heading into the locker room.
After allowing George Washington to grab 14 offensive rebounds in the opening half, Duke regrouped at the break and gave up only five in the second.
"In the second half, we had all five guys helping out," Williams said. "That was a key to the game. We knew that, especially in the first half, they were sending a lot of their taller guys to the boards, so, if we wanted to win the game, we needed to have five guys rebounding on the defensive end, not just one or two."
Thursday's opening round game with Southern was not as pretty. Williams and Redick stepped up, scoring 29 points apiece, and McRoberts added eight, but no other Blue Devil had a field goal in the win against the overmatched Jaguars.
Paulus highlighted Duke's struggles, turning the ball over seven times and not scoring until the final minute, when he hit a pair of free throws with the game already decided.
"We're not who we are without him," Krzyzewski said of his point guard after the Blue Devils' 70-56 win. "He didn't have the game that he would like, but we wouldn't be a No. 1 seed if he didn't play well."
Duke lost in the Sweet 16 last season to Michigan State, an eventual Final Four team, and will have to get through LSU this year to get to the Elite Eight. Should the Blue Devils advance to the Elite Eight, they would face the winner of second-seeded Texas and sixth-seeded West Virginia.
LSU took down Texas A&M Saturday night in a thrilling 58-57 victory. With his team trailing by two and less than five seconds remaining, Tiger senior guard Darrel Mitchell drilled a three from well beyond the arc to keep LSU alive for at least one more round.
With the win, the Tigers advance to the regional semifinals for the first time since 2000. The Blue Devils' seniors have now reached the Sweet 16 during all four years, but have advanced past just once-a trip to the Final Four in 2004.
"For us to go to the Sweet 16, only 15 other teams can say that, so I think that's a big goal for our basketball team," Williams said. "I think that's a big accomplishment, but hopefully we don't just stop there."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.