January 28, 1999

By Matt Rehm
www.theacc.com

Burgess' Big Dunk: True, he only had three points. But sophomore forward Chris Burgess may have sparked Duke to victory Wednesday night.

With just over nine minutes remaining, UNC was in position to pull off a major upset. They had just completed an 8-0 run to take a 66-63 lead, point guard Ed Cota was back on the court after being forced out with leg cramps, Duke was starting to suffer from foul trouble (defensive wizard Shane Battier was relegated to the bench with four fouls, while Elton Brand and Trajan Langon had three), the Tar Heels were already in the bonus and the Blue Devils were ice cold from beyond the arc.

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Cameron Crazies cheer Corey Maggette's three-pointer

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski's postgame comments

UNC head coach Bill Guthridge's postgame comments

And then suddenly, the Blue Devils were ignited by Burgess, who only moments earlier had been beaten on back-to-back hook shots by Brendan Haywood and Kris Lang -- and fouled both times.

When Chris Carrawell missed a runner from the left side, it was another opportunity for Carolina's huge frontcourt to devour a rebound. But this time, Burgess soared in and slammed home the ball as it bounced off the rim.

"I really thought Burgess gave us a huge lift," said Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski. "We're really a tired basketball team right now, and they make you more tired because they're so physical. Burgess seemed to give us some fire with about 10 minutes left. I thought he really helped us. I thought his play there was a key to the basketball game."

Seconds after Burgess' dunk, Trajan Langdon connected on a three-pointer from the left corner, and bedlam broke loose among the Cameron Crazies. This in turn sparked the Blue Devils' defense, which forced six turnovers on the Tar Heels' next eight possessions en route to a 12-1 run and an insurmountable lead.

Indeed, after Ademola Okulaja answered Burgess' dunk with a short jumper with 8:58 remaining, the Tar Heels hit only one field goal in the next eight minutes.

"People all see the dunks and three-pointers -- they forget it all starts on the defensive end," said Battier. "By playing sound defense and challenging shots, we were able to shut them down for a stretch and crack the game open."

BATTIER'S BIG BOARD: If Burgess' dunk was the spark, Battier and Langdon connected on the play which turned it into a full-fledged inferno. The Heels made one last gasp at a rally, drawing to within 77-72 on another hook by Lang. When William Avery missed a runner with Haywood in his face, Battier's hustle for the loose ball nixed any thoughts of a Carolina comeback.

"It was me and Max Owens -- just a question of who wanted it more," said Battier. "I came down, I saw Trajan do the things he does so many times in practice -- his feet set, his toes pointed and that look in his eye, ready to stick the three. I got him the ball and as soon as I passed it, I knew it was three."

Battier scooped up the ball and spotted a wide-open Langdon, who shook off his early struggles and coolly displayed the shooting stroke which has made him a national player of the year candidate.

"The three wasn't going down all night for me," said Langdon. "I wasn't getting that many great looks, but when Shane got that board, I was calling for it because I knew if I knocked it down it would give us some momentum and give us a chance to pull away."

The shot gave Duke an 80-72 lead with 2:47 remaining, finally allowing the Blue Devils to feel secure.

"I knew if Trajan knocked it down, that was it," said Chris Carrawell. "He did, and that was a big-time play."

INSIDE & OUT: For the game, Duke shot only 6-of-22 (.273) from three-point territory. The fact that Langdon -- and no one else, for that matter -- was hitting consistently from the outside was one of the factors which allowed Carolina to keep the game close.

"The game is all about reads," said William Avery. "Carolina wants you to sit out there and take those jumpers. We weren't making them early in the game, so I took it upon myself to get into the lane. Any time a good point guard gets into the lane, that's trouble for the defense."

That's true, but it would have been far more trouble had Duke been hitting and the Tar Heels hadn't been able to collapse on Brand.

"We didn't shoot well at all," said Langdon, who finished 3-for-10 from beyond the arc. "Everybody was missing free throws, nobody got hot from outside, and they made it really difficult for our big fella inside. It was tough to get him touches."

However, UNC didn't have a monopoly on tough post defense. In fact, nine of the 10 players who started the game scored in double figures. The one who didn't? Brendan Haywood, who didn't even get on the board until Cota lobbed a pass to him for a layup 4:12 before halftime.

"It was a battle down there," said Elton Brand. "That's what they wanted me to do -- limit (Haywood) to as few points as possible. I felt I did that tonight. My offensive game wasn't as strong as usual, but I played my defensive game tonight."

Shane Battier, known for his outstanding defense, said the Devils' effort inside is a sign of growth.

"Every time you look at their lineups, you see these giant, massive guys with big biceps," said Battier. "To come in here and battle against them shows our maturity. Last year, we weren't the most physical team, and we'd get tossed around a little bit in the paint. But tonight, I thought we played physical and held our own down there."

THROW OUT THE RECORDS: Wednesday's win gives Duke an 8-0 mark in the ACC, meaning that the Blue Devils are halfway to an unblemished record.

"To go 8-0 in the ACC is saying a lot," said Chris Carrawell. "A lot of people are saying that the ACC fell off this year. It's still the top conference in basketball."

In light of the quality of the league, not to mention the intensity of the Duke-UNC rivalry, it seemed odd that Duke entered the game as a seventeen-and-a-half point favorite. Several of the Cameron Crazies donned "Show No Mercy" t-shirts, clearly expecting a rout. However, the players involved knew better.

"Seventeen points?," said Elton Brand. "That's a lot of points against a great team like that. We weren't looking to win by 17 points or anything like that. We just wanted the victory."

"It was everything we expected," said William Avery. "It was a war."

"People were saying we were going to blow them out, but I knew," said Carrawell. "I didn't say anything about about blowing Carolina out all week. I knew it was going to be a tough game.

"People can say, 'Oh, Duke's not that good,' but Carolina is underrated as far as I'm concerned. They say we're more talented, but they are definitely much bigger than us, and their big guys can really play. And anytime you have Ed Cota on your team making plays, he can really take over a game."

TO THE POINT: Despite being plagued by leg cramps in the second half, Cota tried his best to take over. His 20 points ties his career-high, which he set earlier this year against Old Dominion. And virtually all of it came off penetration. Cota didn't even attempt a jumper until he hit a 15-footer with 18:25 remaining in the game.

Of course, Avery matched him every step of the way, scoring 21 points and committing only one turnover.

"It was back and forth, back and forth," said Carrawell. "I guess you could say Will won the battle because we won the game, but it was two of the best point guards in the country going at it."

Though it may have looked like the two point guards were trying to outdo each other, Avery said their points all came within the flow of their respective offenses.

"We didn't get into a duel or anything like that," said Avery. "I think both of us know that we have to run our team.

"Both of us are good guards. We're great competitors. I just wanted to run my team and hopefully things would open up for me. I wanted to push the ball -- that's where I got a lot of my buckets, in transition. Our guys did a great job of getting the defensive rebound and I was able to push it up and attack in transition."

CRITICAL CONDITIONING: Pushing the tempo not only resulted in transition baskets for Avery, it also had the added effect of wearing down Cota.

"Taking Cota out of the offense is the main thing," said Avery. "As he goes, Carolina goes. I wanted to pick him up and make him too tired to get into the lane and create for those big guys. He can just throw lobs up there and those guys will get them and put them in.

"Every time we got a defensive rebound, I tried my best to push it up the court and make him run, to wear him out."

Avery had good reason to test Cota's endurance. Cota entered Wednesday night's matchup as the ACC leader in minutes played, averaging 36.7 per game. Against Duke, he logged another typical night at the office: 37 minutes.

"I think I'm in better condition than he is because he never gets a rest over there," said Avery. "He's been playing a lot of minutes over there, whereas I can sit down for five to 10 minutes some games."

Avery was not alone in believing that Cota wore down in the final minutes.

"I think we're probably in a little better shape than them," said Carrawell. "Ed didn't look as fresh in the second half as he did in the first half, even though he was able to get to the basket it seemed like any time he wanted. We kind of made it tough for him, forcing tough finishes. We played tough."

BIG WIN: For senior Trajan Langdon, winning his final meeting with UNC in Cameron was very special.

"It's a great feeling," said Langdon. "The last three times, we've been able to beat them here. I've never won over there. I don't want to look at it right now, but it would be great to win over there, too."

Of course, Langdon wasn't alone in his elation.