When J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams were leading Duke, wins against an 18th-ranked opponent at home were not usually a cause for celebration.
This year, however, No. 11 Duke (7-1) acted as if its 61-52 win over Georgetown (4-3) was something special.
Maybe it was because the Blue Devils lost to the Hoyas a season ago, or perhaps because Duke played sloppily a week ago at home against unranked Indiana, but Cameron Indoor Stadium did not have the feel of an early season, non-conference game Saturday night.
"I got kind of emotional at the end of the game-this is a big win," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "A lot of times at Duke when we have a veteran team, winning is taken for granted-the joy of being in a game like this."
As the final seconds ticked away, Brian Zoubek and fellow freshman Lance Thomas shared an emotional embrace near the bench. Many of the players and coaches-Krzyzewski included-were jubilant on the sidelines and motioning toward the Cameron Crazies, thanking them for their enthusiasm throughout the contest-a game in which Duke struggled on offense in the first half.
"The crowd was great," Krzyzewski said. "It was just one of those good Saturday nights to be in here, and we were fortunate to win.... It was like an old-time game tonight."
After shooting only 28.6 percent in the first half, the Blue Devils were indeed fortunate to trail Georgetown by only seven points entering the locker room. Duke was careless with the ball, registering 10 turnovers-many of them unforced. The Blue Devils also allowed the Hoyas 20 points in the paint and countered with only three baskets of their own in the post.
DeMarcus Nelson drained two three-pointers in the game's first minute, but after that, Duke went scoreless until Marty Pocius' three with 11:41 remaining in the half.
The second half was a different story, however, as Georgetown went through a scoring drought of its own. It could not have come at a worse time for the Hoyas, who converted only one field goal in the game's final 6:27-a layup by Jeff Green with 44 seconds remaining.
"Our defense has been really good," Krzyzewski said. "It shows how much these kids are together and want to play well. It hasn't translated yet on offense but tonight it did at times."
Duke picked up its 10th team foul with 6:27 remaining in the game, putting the Hoyas in the double-bonus. But the Blue Devils would only foul Georgetown once more, keeping the Hoyas off the foul line where they could slow Duke's rally.
"We stopped fouling them," Krzyzewski said. "Part of that was that we changed our point of pick up... then we added the doubling of the post so they couldn't get a fluid move into the lane."
Guards Greg Paulus and Jon Scheyer-both held scoreless in the first half-came up with numerous clutch baskets in the second. The backcourt duo accounted for six of Duke's nine field goals in the half, including layups on assertive drives to the basket that Krzyzewski called "manly."
"We just played harder," Paulus said. "We were more active defensively, we rebounded the ball a little bit better, and we were more aggressive. When you're more aggressive and you're attacking a little bit more, you're going to make more plays."
As much as the Hoyas struggled to hit shots throughout the second half, Georgetown was 14-for-18 on two-point field goals in the first and burned Duke on several backdoor cuts. Nonetheless, the Blue Devil defense held the Hoyas to only 26.1 percent shooting and forced 11 turnovers in the second half.
"They're playing hard-they want to please," Krzyzewski said of his team. "They're just young, and they have this thing about being at Duke where people may not want them to be young. They want them to be perfect, and that's not going to happen. I have to make sure that we enjoy this. It's like you have teach our culture again."
NOTES:
With the win, Krzyzewski has 760 career victories and is now in sole possession of 10th place in NCAA history for most wins. He is third among active coaches.... Georgetown's 52 points is the most a Duke opponent has scored in Cameron this season. "If the score is 50-50, we know that we can win those close games," Paulus said. "If we play more up-tempo with a higher score, we can win those games, too." In six home games, Duke is outscoring its opponents 70.5 to 48.2.
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