The Chronicle
item Battle of the brains Duke won weekend series against Brown and Princeton, each by a series score of two games to one. See page 11
Duke conquers Trojans, heads to Final Four By CRAIG SAPERSTEIN
PHILADELPHIA About 10 minutes into the Duke-USC game, one thing was clear: The Trojans clearly did not respect Chris Duhon’s shot. When USC needed to doubleteam Duke’s major offensive threats—Jason Williams and Shane Battier—it was Duhon that they chose to leave open. “We felt that two players could beat you on the team and that was Battier and Williams,” Bibby said. “You’re playing with statis-
The Chronicle
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 See MEN’S B-BALL on page 6, SpOftWFap �
Paul Doran Game Commentary
PRATIK PATEUTHE CHRONICLE
SHANE BATTIER and Jason Williams celebrate the men’s basketball team’s win over USC Saturday, anticipating their trip to the Final Four.
tics and so we went with Duhon making a few shots. He only had three or four buckets, that’s not a lot of buckets. He’s a big-time college player, he’s on one of the No. 1 teams in the country, you have to figure he’s going to make a few buckets.” The Trojans gambled, and according to most bookies, they would have won. Duhon was only 4-for-10 from the field with 13 points. It is not like he made the Trojans pay repeatedly for leaving him open behind the arc. If you win 60 percent of your bets in Vegas, you’re doing pretty well. However, when the high stakes See DUHON on page 6,
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Bears win in Stiles, leave Blue Devils in tears By BRODY GREENWALD The Chronicle
SPOKANE, Wash. A team so accustomed to finding a way—any way—this season found y night. Throughout the most successful season in program history, fifth-ranked Duke (30-4) did whatever it took to scrape out nail-biting victories over teams with equal determination, equal enthusiasm and perhaps even equal talent. Seven times this season, the Blue Devils triumphed in the game’s final seconds, winning either in overtime or by five points or less in regulation. When they needed a game-ending stand the most, however, the top-seeded Blue Devils were
unable to stall the relentless attack offifth-seeded Southwest Missouri State (28-5), which ended Duke’s NCAA tournament run with an 81-71 upset in the Sweet 16 Saturday night in Spokane Arena. Jackie Stiles scored 41 points on 15-of-22 shooting as she placed herself second all-time in West Regional single-game scoring. Led by their 5-foot-8 guard, the underdog Bears knocked out a championship contender for the second straight game Saturday, following up their surprise of fourth-seeded Rutgers with the stunner over the Blue Devils. In a matter of one week, SMS went from a one-name program headlined by Stiles to a dangerous foe that no favored team wants to face. “I just want to congratulate [coach] Cheryl Burnett and Southwest Missouri State University. I thought they played a fantastic basketball
game,” Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. “We knew they were great coming in and we knew Jackie Stiles was awesome. We had the utmost respect for them coming into the game, and we have even more respect for them now.” Respect has been a frequently used term by both teams in recent weeks, as the Bears felt they deserved to host their first two games as a top-four seed while the Blue Devils insisted they were feared less than the other No. 1 seeds. Before Burnett, who has led the Bears since 1987, even worried about trying to convince the world that her team could topple Duke, she began by trying to convince her own players. “I put one word on the bulletin board before the game, and it was ego,” Burnett said. “Ego means you’re good and you know you’re good, and you’ve got to play like that.” Early in the game, the Bears did not seem to heed their coach’s message, as their walk was not one of champions, but merely challengers. Duke built a 32-20 lead 12 minutes into the game and compelled Burnett to burn her team’s second timeout of the game. But in those precious seconds on the sideline, Burnett pushed the right buttons and the Blue Devils, despite their lead, never again seemed in command. By halftime, their margin was cut in half, 42-36. “I thought we were in pretty good condition at halftime,” point guard Georgia Schweitzer said. “I felt like we weren’t playing that well, but I felt we would play a lot better.” See WOMEN’S B-BALL on page 7, SportSWiap �
Students continue protest,
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JACKIE STILES tries to clear her way past Duke’s Iciss Tillis. Stiles scored 41 points, marking the second highest ever in a West Regional game.
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