Duke Not ‘Overrated’ Till It’s Over

Duke added another chapter to its storied basketball history.

The No. 2-ranked Blue Devils overcame a 10-point deficit in the final 54 seconds of regulation and went on to a 98-96 overtime victory over No. 8 Maryland on Saturday night at College Park, Md.

“I’m speechless right now,” said Shane Battier, who scored Duke’s last six points in overtime. “The fortitude of this team is unbelievable.”

The victory extended Duke’s Atlantic Coast Conference-record road winning streak to 23 games and was their fourth in as many years in Cole Field House.

It seemed Duke, 19-1 overall and 7-0 in the ACC, would see those road streaks end when it trailed 90-80 with a minute left in regulation. That’s when sophomore guard Jason Williams went to work.

Williams, was averaging 23.8 points over his last 13 games, scored eight points--including two three-point baskets--in a 13-second span to get the Blue Devils within 90-88 with 41 seconds to play.

Maryland (14-5, 5-2) turned the ball over with 35 seconds left. Mike Dunleavy missed a three-point shot for Duke, but Nate James grabbed the rebound, was fouled and made two free throws to tie the game for the first time since 26-26.

Maryland had a final chance to win in regulation but Drew Nicholas’ three-point attempt from the corner bounced off the rim.

“It was one of those games where everything, everything was going Maryland’s way,” said Williams. “We had a team huddle with 54 seconds left and we could hear the Maryland fans chanting ‘Overrated.’ We said we are not overrated, we are the Duke team we think we are and we made one of those runs.”

Duke, which has won nine in a row since losing by one point to No. 1 Stanford, took the lead for good in overtime on a three-point basket by Battier with 3:52 to play. Juan Dixon scored for Maryland 16 seconds later, but Battier restored the three-point lead with two free throws with 2:02 left.

Tahj Holden made two free throws for Maryland with 1:44 left, but Duke was then able to attempt five consecutive shots without the Terrapins getting possession before Battier was fouled with 16 seconds left and made one free throw.

Maryland’s chance to tie ended when Dixon drove to the basket and his shot with four seconds left was blocked by Battier.

Williams finished with 25 points and Battier had 20. Dixon had 17 points for Maryland, which shot better than Duke, 50% to 42%, and kept its turnovers to a minimum before the final minutes of regulation.

“Because of how well Maryland played this is a great comeback,” Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “We feel fortunate to have won.”

Ohio State 64, No. 3 Michigan State 55--Junior guard Brian Brown scored a career-high 25 points and the Buckeyes (13-7, 4-4) used a 2-3 zone defense to frustrate the Spartans (16-2. 5-2) at Columbus, Ohio.

Michigan State, which beat Ohio State by 15 points a week earlier, shot 39%. Spartan guards Charlie Bell and Marcus Taylor combined to make only five of 21 shots.

No. 4 Kansas 92, No. 9 Kansas State 66--Kenny Gregory had 20 points and Kirk Hinrich scored 18 at Lawrence, Kan., as the Jayhawks (17-1, 6-0 in the Big 12) defeated the Wildcats (8-9, 2-4) for the 20th consecutive time.

The point total was the highest for Kansas against Kansas State.

Georgia 77, No. 6 Tennessee 75--Chris Daniels scored on a layup with 7.3 seconds left in the second overtime to give the surprising Bulldogs (13-7, 6-1 in the Southeastern Conference) the victory over the Volunteers (17-3, 4-2) at Athens, Ga.

Tony Harris scored on a drive to the basket with 11.6 seconds remaining to tie the game, but Georgia quickly inbounded the ball and Rashad Wright found Daniels alone at the other end of the court. The freshman hauled in the long pass and laid it in, sending the first home sellout crowd in two years into a frenzy.

Harris raced to the other end of the court as the clock wound down, but his off-balance three-point shot bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded.

Cincinnati 78, No. 9 Wake Forest 72--Kenny Satterfield made up costly turnover in regulation, making a jumper and four free throws in overtime at Cincinnati as the Bearcats (13-6) handed the Demon Deacons (14-5) their fifth consecutive road loss.

Cincinnati blew a 10-point lead in the final 4:42 of regulation as Broderick Hicks scored 13 points in a closing flurry, including a three-point basket that tied it at 66 with a minute left.

Satterfield lost the ball as he drove into a crowd in the lane with 2.7 seconds left, sending it to overtime. It was the fifth time this season that the point guard has failed to come through in the closing seconds.

Notre Dame 78, No. 10 Georgetown 71--The Fighting Irish (13-5, 5-2 in the Big East) held the Hoyas (17-2, 4-2) without a field goal in the 5 1/2 minutes at Washington to win their fourth in a row.

Ryan Humphrey had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Troy Murphy had 16 points for Notre Dame.

No. 11 Syracuse 68, Rutgers 54--Senior Damone Brown had 28 points and seven steals--both career highs--at Syracuse, N.Y., to help the Orangemen (16-3, 5-2 in the Big East) avoid their first three-game losing streak in five years.

Rutgers (8-11, 0-8) got only eight points from Todd Billet, who came in with a team-leading 17-point average.

No. 13 Virginia 104, Clemson 76--Chris Williams had 22 points at Clemson, S.C., and the Cavaliers (14-4, 3-4) held ACC scoring leader Will Solomon to 10 points, his lowest total of the season.

Solomon, who set his career high of 43 against Virginia last season, missed his first six shots and went two for 14 overall in barely stretching his streak of double-figure scoring games to 49. He came in averaging 23 points.

Clemson 10-10, 1-6) got 28 points from freshman Chris Hobbs.

No. 14 Florida 69, South Carolina 57--Brett Nelson scored a 22 points and the Gators (13-4, 3-3 in the SEC) closed the game at Gainesville, Fla., with a 14-2 run.

Florida--playing without two injured starters, another recovering from ankle surgery and a fourth in foul trouble--have won consecutive games for the first time since late December.

South Carolina (10-7, 2-4) has lost five of its last seven games.

No. 15 Wisconsin 63, Penn State 58--Roy Boone scored 16 points at Madison, Wis., as the Badgers (13-4, 4-3 in the Big Ten) improved to 9-0 at home this season. Penn State is 12-6 and 2-5.

Dick Bennett, who last season coached the Badgers to their first Final Four appearance since 1941, was honored in pregame ceremonies. He retired in November after coaching the Badgers for five-plus seasons.

West Virginia 81, No. 16 Seton Hall 75--Calvin Bowman scored 26 points and Lionel Armstead had a season-high 24 at Morgantown, W.Va., as the Mountaineers beat a ranked opponent for the first time in 12 games.

Seton Hall (12-6, 3-4) got 19 points and 10 rebounds from Eddie Griffin.

No. 18 Alabama 81, Auburn 80--Erwin Dudley made two free throws with 7.5 seconds left at Tuscaloosa, Ala., to lift the Crimson Tide (16-3, 5-2 in the SEC) past the Tigers (12-8, 2-5).

Mississippi State 79, No. 19 Mississippi 69--Tang Hamilton had 16 points at Starkville, Miss., as the Bulldogs (11-7, 2-4 in the SEC) ended its conference losing streak at four and beat the Rebels (15-4, 3-3) for the fourth consecutive time.

No. 21 Iowa 71, Indiana 66--Luke Recker scored 27 points at Iowa City, Iowa, to lead the Hawkeyes (16-4, 5-2 in the Big 10) past the Hoosiers (12-9, 3-4).

Recker--who played at Indiana his first two seasons before transferring to Arizona in 1999, and then moving to Iowa a year ago--scored 17 points in the second half as Iowa came back after trailing by as many as 19.

No. 23 Boston College 90, Villanova 80--Troy Bell scored 28 points and Kenny Harley had a career-high 25 to give the Eagles (14-2, 4-3) their first victory at Villanova, Pa., since 1993. Boston College is off to its best start since the 1980-81 season.

Michael Bradley had 23 points and 11 rebounds for Villanova (12-6, 4-3).