March 5, 2001

#3/#2 Duke vs. N.C. State
March 9, 2001 - ACC Tournament
Georgia Dome - Atlanta, Ga.
7:00 PM (RJ / ESPN2)

Duke vs. N.C. State
Second-seeded Duke (26-4, 13-3 ACC), ranked third by the AP and second by ESPN/USA Today this week, will face seventh-seeded N.C. State (13-15, 5-11 ACC) in the first round of the 2001 ACC Tournament in Atlanta on Friday, March 9. Tip-off is set for 7:00 PM. The game will be televised by both Raycom/Jefferson Pilot and espn2.

Duke leads the all-time series vs. the Wolfpack, 121-93, including wins in each of the last nine meetings. Duke is 10-8 vs. N.C. State in ACC Tournament games. Under head coach Mike Krzyzewski, Duke is 30-16 vs. N.C. State.

Blue Devils Gain Fifth Consecutive ACC Title
With its impressive 95-81 victory over fourth-ranked North Carolina on March 4, Duke, playing without starting center Carlos Boozer, became the first program in Atlantic Coast Conference history to earn five consecutive regular season league championships. The Blue Devils won the titles outright from 1997-2000 before sharing the title with a 13-3 record with North Carolina this season. Duke's regular season ACC record during those five seasons is an incredible 71-9 (.888).

Duke In The ACC Tournament
The Blue Devils have posted a 63-36 record (.636) in the ACC Tournament. Duke has won the past two ACC Tournament titles and 11 overall, the second-highest championship total by any team in the league. Duke's league tournament titles came in 1960, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1978, 1980, 1986, 1988, 1992, 1999 and 2000.

Under head coach Mike Krzyzewski, Duke is 25-14 in the ACC Tournament. Coach K's Blue Devils have won five ACC Tournament titles (1986, 1988, 1992, 1999 and 2000).

Duke's ACC Tournament record in Atlanta is 3-3 (2-1 in 1989, 1-1 in 1985 and 0-1 in 1983).

A record 40,000+ seats per session have been sold to this year's ACC Tournament. This year's ACC Tournament is poised to break existing NCAA records for total attendance and attendance per session in a league tournament. The last time there was a "public" sale of ACC Tournament tickets was in 1966.

Here is a look at Duke's record vs. all opponents entering the 2001 ACC Tournament:

Games Played
Opponent Record In Atlanta
Clemson 5-3 0-0 Florida State 0-0 0-0
Georgia Tech 3-3 0-1
Maryland 8-6 1-0
North Carolina 8-8 0-1
N.C. State 10-8 0-0
South Carolina 6-1 0-0
Virginia 11-3 1-1
Wake Forest 12-4 1-0
Totals 63-36 3-3

Duke Looking For Rare ACC Three-Peat
Duke will look to become just the third team in ACC history and the first in 32 years to win three consecutive ACC Tournament championships. The only programs to accomplish that feat were N.C. State from 1954-56 and North Carolina from 1967-69. Duke will look to join North Carolina's 1967-69 teams as the only schools in ACC history to earn three consecutive regular season and league tournament championships.

Duke Looks To Extend Win Streak
With two consecutive ACC Tournament championships in tow, Duke will look to join five other teams that have won at least seven consecutive ACC Tournament games.

Breakdown by Round
Here is a look at Duke's breakdown by round all-time in the ACC Tournament:

Tournament Tidbits
Duke (1963-67) and Wake Forest (1960-64) are tied for most consecutive ACC Tournament title game appearances with five ... Duke has a current string of three consecutive championship game appearances ... Only once in ACC Tournament history have all 10 starters played the entire game: the 1969 semifinal game between Duke and South Carolina. Duke's Steve Vandenberg, Fred Lind, Randy Denton, Dave Golden and Dick DiVenzio joined the Gamecocks' starting five to play all the minutes in the contest, which Duke won 68-59.

Duke ACC Tournament MVPs
Last year, Duke's Jason Williams became the 10th Blue Devil to earn the ACC Tournament MVP award. Williams, who averaged 17.7 points and 9.0 assists, also became only the fourth freshman in ACC history to earn the honor (North Carolina's Phil Ford, Sam Perkins and Jerry Stackhouse were the others).

Duke ACC All-Tournament Selections
Duke has had a total of 85 first or second team ACC All-Tournament honorees, including a league-best six a year ago. Of Duke's returning players, five have earned either first or second team ACC All-Tournament, including two honors by senior Shane Battier (second team in 1999 and first team in 2000). Duke's 85 first or second team ACC All-Tournament selections are second to only North Carolina's 114 honorees.

An Amazing Stretch
Since the 1997-98 season, Duke has won 124 of its last 139 games overall and a 59 of its last 64 ACC regular season games. In Duke's 59 ACC victories during that stretch, its average margin of victory was + 18.9 points. Forty-seven of the 59 victories were by 10 points or more and 30 of them were by 20 or more. Including ACC Tournament contests, Duke is 67-6 during the past four seasons vs. league foes.

Duke Breaks ACC Four-Year Record
Duke has a 124-15 record since the 1998 season, which breaks the school and ACC record for most victories over a four-year stretch. The previous mark was held by Duke's 1989-92 teams, which won 123 games. With its 95-81 win over fourth-ranked North Carolina on March 4, the Blue Devils became just the ninth team in NCAA history to win at least 124 games over a four-year period (1998-2001). The NCAA record for most victories over four years is 132 by Kentucky twice (1995-98 and 1996-99).

Another 20-Win Season For Duke
With its 100-58 win over Florida State on Feb. 4, Duke earned its 20th victory of the 2000-01 season. Duke, now 26-4, has won at least 20 games in five consecutive seasons and 36 times in school history. In fact, Duke has posted 20 victories or more 16 times in the past 18 seasons under Mike Krzyzewski and 25 or more victories 11 times in the past 16 seasons. Including this year, Duke is averaging an ACC-best 27.2 victories over the last 18 seasons. Here is a look at the 20-win and 30-win seasons, as well as the average victories, registered by all teams currently competing in the ACC since 1984.

Duke Against Ranked Opponents
Duke played 12 ranked opponents during the 2000-01 regular season, posting an 8-4 record. The Blue Devils are 5-2 vs. top 10 opponents this season. The four losses to ranked competition came by a total of 16 points. Under Mike Krzyzewski, Duke is 114-92 vs. ranked opponents, inlcuding a 28-13 mark the past four seasons. Against ranked ACC teams during that time frame, Duke is 16-6, including 10-4 outside of Cameron Indoor Stadium.

ACC Domination
Since the 1996-97 season, the Blue Devils have dominated the Atlantic Coast Conference like no other program in the league's history. Duke has a 71-9 record since 1997, 15 games ahead of the nearest competition in the league's standings during that time. Here is a look at the league's composite standings from 1997-2001:

Road Warriors
Duke enters the N.C. State game having won 68 of its last 79 games (.861) outside of Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils have won 29 of their last 32 in road or neutral contests. After losing to 13th-ranked Stanford and top-ranked Connecticut by a total of six points in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden to open last season, Duke reeled off 16 consecutive wins away from Cameron Indoor Stadium. The winning streak was snapped in the Carrier Dome by Florida in the Sweet 16 of the 2000 NCAA Tournament. Duke's average margin of victory during these 29 road/neutral wins is 14.6 points per game. This season, the Blue Devils have won 13 of 15 outside of Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Dominating Devils
Through games of March 5, the Blue Devils lead the nation in scoring margin at +21.5. Only 23 teams in NCAA history have maintained a higher scoring margin. Duke also leads the nation in the number of 20+-point victories (18), 30+-point victories (11) and 40+-point victories (7).

Balanced Scoring
Duke's offensive attack, which averages 92.6 points per game (second in the nation), has been balanced again this season. Led by Jason Williams' 21.1 points, Duke's regular five starters are averaging double figures (between 21.1 and 12.6 points). All five of Duke's regular starters have recorded at least one 20-point game this season, including a team-best 19 by Williams. Duke has had at least two 20-point scorers in 12 of its last 19 games. In 11 contests this season, Duke has had at least five double-figure scorers. Should Duke have five players remain as double-figure scorers all season, it would mark just the sixth time in school history that has happened. Duke's 1958, 1961, 1991, 1992 and 2000 teams also had five double-figure scorers over the course of an entire season.

In its 16 regular season ACC games, all five of Duke's starters are averaging at least 13.2 points per game. Two players -- Williams (21.3) and Shane Battier (21.2) -- are averaging more than 20 points.

Sharp Shooters
Duke is shooting .492 overall from the field, the 12th-best percentage in the nation as of March 5. Carlos Boozer (.602), who will miss the ACC Tournament with a fractured right foot, and Nate James (.500) are both shooting better than 50 percent from the field this season. As a team, Duke ranks 11th nationally in three-point percentage (.403). Led by Jason Williams' .459 three-point percentage, four Blue Devils are connecting on at least 36 percent of their three-point attempts in 2000-01.

Seeing Triple
Duke has been employing the three-point shot as a major weapon in recent seasons. This year has not been different as 797 of Duke's 1,946 field goal attempts (41 percent) have come from behind the three-point arc. As of March 5, Duke's 321 treys and 10.7 three-pointers per game ranked first in the nation. The Blue Devils have shot .403 from three-point range this season, including .411 (234-of-569) during their last 21 games. Thirty-five percent of Duke's points this season (963 of 2,778) have come via a trifecta. Duke already has established school and ACC records with 321 three-point field goals this season (the previous school mark was 293 and the previous league standard was 296 by Georgia Tech in 1996). Duke's 797 three-point attempts are a school record and are just seven shy of a new ACC standard (803 held by N.C. State's 1996 team).

On Dec. 30, Duke established school records in three-point field goals (18) and attempts (38) in its 108-73 win over N.C. A&T at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The 18 treys also tied an ACC single game record also held by Wake Forest (1998) and N.C. State (1992). Against fourth-ranked North Carolina March 4, Duke matched its attempts record with 38. Duke has registered at least six three-point field goals in every game this season.

The Blue Devils have made at least one three-point field goal in 403 consecutive games. The last time Duke did not record a three-point field goal was on Dec. 30, 1989 vs. Hawaii in the Rainbow Classic.

It's Unanimous
Duke's Shane Battier and Jason Williams were both named first team All-ACC by the league's media. Battier and Williams joined North Carolina's Joseph Forte as three unanimous first team selections. Also named to the first team were Maryland's Juan Dixon and Georgia Tech's Alvin Jones. In addition, Duke's Nate James was named third team All-ACC.

It marks the fifth straight year that Duke has had at least one first team All-ACC honoree and the fourth in a row with at least two first team members.

ESPN.com, Vitale Laud Battier
On Feb. 28, Shane Battier earned both the National Player of the Year and National Defensive Player of the Year awards from ESPN.com. Battier, who averages 19.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game this season, also was named to the outlet's All-America team along with his Duke teammate Jason Williams, Iowa State's Jamaal Tinsley, Notre Dame's Troy Murphy and North Carolina's Joseph Forte. National basketball analyst Dick Vitale also named Battier his Player of the Year.

Battier Climbing Charts
Senior forward Shane Battier, who had his number 31 retired in a pregame ceremony on Feb. 21, continues to climb several of Duke's career leader boards. In 30 games, he leads Duke in rebounding (6.6), three-point field goals made (101-tie) and attempted (227), blocked shots (65), steals (62) and charges taken (17). Battier ranks second on the team in scoring with 19.6 points per game.

This week's ACC Player of the Week (3/5/01), Battier matched his career best with 34 points on 12-of-19 shooting at Georgia Tech Jan. 20. He had an incredible stretch in the second half of that game in which he scored 20 consecutive points for Duke. Battier is averaging 21.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 2.6 blocked shots in his last 22 games. He has been on a roll offensively during those 22 games, connecting on 155 of his last 315 (.492) shots from the field overall and 78 of 175 (.446) of his three-point attempts.

Battier's 101 three-point attempts and 227 three-point attempts rank second on Duke's single season charts and his .445 three-point percentage ranks fifth. His 65 blocks are the eighth-highest single season total in school history.

Recently, he was named as one of 20 finalists for the Wooden Award. The Birmingham, Mich., native was the leading vote-getter among the 30 preseason finalists for the Naismith Award, given annually to the nation's top player.

Battier Records An ACC First
Shane Battier, a leading candidate for National Player of the Year honors, became the first player in ACC history to record at least 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 200 blocks, 200 assists and 200 steals. Battier currently has 1,793 points, 801 rebounds, 231 blocks, 220 assists and 246 steals.

Research conducted by Duke sports information and the ACC turned up only three other players in the nation that have accomplished that feat: Danny Manning of Kansas (2,951 points/1,187 rebounds/345 assists/200 blocks/216 steals), Lionel Simmons of LaSalle (3,217/1,429/248/355/239) and George Evans of George Mason (1,909/931/217/209/214 as of Feb. 26).

A testament to his all-around game, Battier is currently the only player in the ACC to rank among the league's top 10 in scoring (19.4-fourth), field goal percentage (.487-ninth), three-point percentage (.445-second), three-pointers per game (3.4-first), steals (2.1-third) and blocked shots (2.2-fourth). Overall, Battier ranks among the ACC's leaders in a league-best 10 of the 12 individual statistical categories (the next closest player is North Carolina's Joseph Forte who is present in nine of 12 categories).

The Minister Of Defense
Shane Battier, a Religion major at Duke, is one of the program's greatest defensive players. Battier has won or shared the National Defensive Player of the Year award the past two seasons. Battier is Duke's all-time leader in charges taken with 102 and ranks second in blocks (231) and third in steals (246). He is arguably having his best defensive season in 2000-01. He has blocked at least two shots in 19 of 30 games this season (10 of his last 14) and recorded at least one steal in 27 of 30 games in 2000-01. Against St. John's Feb. 18, Battier swatted away a season-best seven Red Storm shots.

In Duke's 95-81 win at fourth-ranked North Carolina March 4, Battier had five blocks and four steals.

Battier is also looking to become the only player in Duke history to lead the team in charges taken in four consecutive seasons. In 2000-01, he will look to join Stacey Augmon (UNLV) and Tim Duncan (Wake Forest) as the third player to win three consecutive National Defensive Player of the Year awards. Battier has followed in a line of great Duke defenders. In fact, five Blue Devils have won the award since 1987 (Tommy Amaker, Billy King, Grant Hill, Steve Wojciechowski and Battier). He was recently named National Defensive Player of the Year by ESPN.com, beating Seton Hall's Eddie Griffin, Illinois' Marcus Griffin, Michigan State's Andre Hutson, Ohio State's Ken Johnson and Providence's John Linehan for the honor.

Williams: All-America Candidate
Duke sophomore point guard Jason Williams, a midseason finalist for both the Wooden and Naismith Awards, is making his case for first team All-America honors in 2000-01. In fact, he recently earned first team All-America honors from ESPN.com.

The Plainfield, N.J., native currently leads Duke in scoring (21.1-19th nationally), field goals made (211) and attempted (432), free throws made (111) and attempted (165), and assists (6.4-15th nationally). Williams is the only player in the nation to rank among the top 20 in both scoring and assists. He is also one of only two players in the ACC to rank among the league's top 10 in scoring (second), field goal percentage (.488-eighth), three-point percentage (.459-first), three-pointers per game (3.4-first), assists (6.4-second) and steals (1.8-seventh).

Williams, whose 17.6 career scoring average ranks eighth all-time at Duke, scored a career-best 34 points vs. 25th-ranked Boston College on Jan. 16. Williams has scored at least 20 points a team-best 19 times (18 of his last 25 games) and has reached double figures in scoring 27 times this season. In Duke's 12 games vs. nationally ranked opponents, Williams is averaging 25.0 points and 5.6 assists. Earlier this year, he became the 48th Blue Devil to reach 1,000 career points (his 1,126 points rank 36th all-time at Duke). Williams' point total ranks fourth behind only Art Heyman (1,237 points), Johnny Dawkins (1,165) and Jeff Mullins (1,138) for most points scored in the first two years at Duke. His 1,126 points currently ranks ninth among all sophomores in ACC history.

Against 10th-ranked Virginia Jan. 13, Williams recorded his second double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 assists. It was Williams' eighth double-double of his career. On Feb. 4 vs. Florida State, Williams had a game-best 10 assists, marking the 11th time in his career he had 10 or more assists in a game.

Williams has also been running a solid floor game for the Devils. He has 192 assists and 118 turnovers this season. His assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.63 ranks 11th in the ACC. Williams is averaging 7.0 assists his last 14 games and 7.4 his last nine.

James Gets Fifth Title
Senior co-captain Nate James, who averages 13.3 points and 5.2 rebounds for Duke, is often the unsung hero for the Blue Devils.

After Duke's 95-81 win at fourth-ranked North Carolina March 4, James became the first player in ACC history to be part of five regular season league championships (he redshirted in 1998 after playing in six games). Selected as the ACC's Most Underrated Player by Athlon, James and Chris Carrawell are the only two players in league history to compete on four consecutive outright ACC regular season championship squads (1997-2000).

James exploded for a career-best 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting at Clemson Feb. 7. Also against Clemson, James limited Will Solomon, the ACC's third-leading scorer, to just 11 points on four-of-16 shooting. He now has eight 20-point games in his career and six this season.

The Washington, D.C., native leads Duke in free throw percentage (.787-eighth in the ACC) and offensive rebounds (71-eighth in the ACC). In ACC play, James' .824 free throw percentage tops the team and ranks fifth in the league. His 19 double-digit scoring games are fourth on the squad (he has reached double figures in seven of his last 11). On Jan. 8, James became the fourth different Duke player to earn ACC Player of the Week honors. He is one of 48 players in Duke history to have 1,000 or more career points (1,035).

Dunleavy Continues To Show All-Around Game
Sophomore Mike Dunleavy is averaging 12.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game this season. He owns a .486 field goal percentage through 30 games. He has connected on 42 of his 111 three-point attempts as well (.378). Dunleavy is third on Duke in double-figure scoring games (21), rebounding (5.8), three-point percentage (.378) and assists (3.0).

Showing his continued development, Dunleavy has established his career bests in scoring (21-two times), rebounds (17 at Clemson), assists (six-three times), blocks (three vs. Davidson), steals (five vs. Michigan) and minutes (37 at Wake Forest) as a sophomore this season.

He has done a good job on the boards recently, grabbing at least five rebounds in 13 of his last 18 games, including a career-best 17 at Clemson Feb. 7. His 17 boards vs. the Tigers were the most in a game by a Duke player since Elton Brand pulled down 21 vs. Fresno State on Nov. 27, 1998 (a span of 91 games).

Dunleavy was named the ACC's Most Versatile Player by Lindy's in the preseason. He is the son of current Portland Trailblazers head coach Mike Dunleavy, Sr.

Boozer Suffers Broken Foot
Sophomore Carlos Boozer suffered a fractured third metatarsal in his right foot in Duke's game vs. Maryland on Feb. 27. He had 16 points and seven rebounds in only 23 minutes of action vs. the Terrapins before leaving the game for good in the second half. Boozer will miss the ACC Tournament with the injury.

Boozer remains the team and ACC leader with a .602 field goal percentage. He has also shot .729 from the free throw line this season (13th in the league). His career field goal percentage is now .609 (311-of-511), a figure that ranks second on Duke's all-time leaderboard. Only Elton Brand (.612) has a higher career field goal percentage at Duke.

The TiVo Preseason NIT Most Valuable Player, Boozer has nine 20-point outings in 2000-01, the third-best total on the team. He is currently third on the team in scoring (14.0) and is tied for the team lead with 6.5 rebounds per game. In 15 ACC games, Boozer is averaging 13.4 points and 7.1 rebounds. He has made 61 of his 79 free throw attempts (.772) in ACC play. Boozer recorded his sixth career double-double (third this season) after having 20 points and 13 rebounds at Wake Forest Feb. 24.

Against Portland Dec. 19, Boozer became the first Duke player in school history to go 11-for-11 from the field. He is one of only four players in the nation this season to have gone at least 11-for-11 from the field (Northern Illinios' Leon Rogers was 13-of-13, UC-Santa Barbara's Mike Vukovich was 12-of-12, and Arizona State's Tommy Smith was 11-of-11). On Jan. 7 vs. Clemson, Boozer had another perfect shooting day. He was 8-for-8 from the field and 9-for-9 from the foul line vs. the Tigers on his way to a game-best 25 points. Boozer's two perfect shooting games were the 13th and 14th perfect shooting performances from the field (minimum six field goal attempts) in school history.

Duhon Delivers
Duke freshman guard Chris Duhon, the team's "sixth starter," has averaged 7.0 points and 4.6 assists this season. He made his first career start at fourth-ranked North Carolina on March 4 and made it a memorable one by having 15 points, two rebounds, four assists (no turnovers) and two steals in 36 minutes of action.

His overall energy, floor game and defensive pressure have been most impressive for a rookie. Duhon nailed the game-winning shot, a floater at the buzzer, to give Duke an 82-80 victory at 24th-ranked Wake Forest on Feb. 24.

Duhon was named the ACC Rookie of the Week four times this season, including each of the last three weeks. His third consecutive honor came after averaging 12.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists vs. Maryland and North Carolina last week.

A leading candidate for ACC Rookie of the year, he had a career-best 20-point performance at 12th-ranked Virginia on Feb. 14. He followed that game with a 15-point performance at St. John's Feb. 18. Duhon has reached double figures in scoring in five of his last six games entering the ACC Tournament.

As one of Duke's two primary ball handlers, Duhon has recorded 138 assists and just 44 turnovers in 30 games. Duhon is the ACC's only freshman among the league's top 15 in assist/turnover ratio (3.14-second). In ACC games only, Duhon leads the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.27 - the next closest player is 3.00).

He is third on Duke and eighth in the ACC in steals (1.7). He had six thefts vs. ninth-ranked Illinois and five each vs. fourth-ranked North Carolina, Davidson and 16th-ranked Maryland. Duhon's six steals vs. Illinois were the most in a game by a Duke freshman since Jason Williams had six vs. DePaul on Dec. 5, 1999.

On Dec. 30 vs. N.C. A&T, Duhon had a game-best 13 assists, tying the Duke freshman record held by Williams (two times) and Bobby Hurley (two times). The 13 assists matched the eighth-highest single game total in school history and tied Steven Blake of Maryland for the most by an ACC player in a game this season.

Downright Defensive
Duke has made a name for itself with annual excellence on defense. This year has been no different. In 30 games in 2000-01, Duke has limited opponents to a .422 field goal percentage. The Blue Devils have forced 591 turnovers (an ACC high by more than 80 turnovers as of March 5), while committing just 420 of their own for a +5.7 turnover margin. Also, Duke is allowing 71.1 points per game in 2000-01, the third-best figure in the league.

Duke's defense creates its offense. The Blue Devils lead their opponents 754-438 in points off turnovers this season. In fact, 27 percent (754 of 2,778) of Duke's scoring this season has come as a result of an opponent turnover.

Duke Looks for Third Scoring Title
The 2000-01 Blue Devils are looking for their third consecutive NCAA scoring title. Duke has averaged 92.6 points per game, a figure that was second in the nation as of March 5 (TCU averages 94.1 per game). The Blue Devils' +21.5 scoring margin ranked first in the nation as of March 5.

Duke has scored at least 80 points in 28 of 30 games this season and has broken the 90-point plateau 19 times.

Duke won the past two scoring titles by averaging 91.8 in 1999 and 88.0 in 2000. Duke became the first ACC program and just one of nine teams to win consecutive scoring titles since 1948. Only two other teams since 1948 have won three consecutive scoring titles (Furman, 1953-55, and Loyola Marymount, 1988-90).

The ACC team scoring champion the past four years, Duke is looking to become just the second team in ACC history -- the first in 29 years -- to lead the league in scoring in five consecutive seasons. North Carolina led the ACC in scoring five straight years from 1968-72.

If Duke were to maintain its current scoring average of 92.6, it would be the best single season scoring average by a Blue Devil squad (the ACC record is 92.9 by N.C. State in 1973) and its +21.5 scoring margin would be second in school history.

Assistance Please
Duke has been incredibly unselfish this season as 60 percent of its field goals (571 assists - 958 field goals) have come via an assist. Led by Jason Williams' 192 assists, Duke currently ranks second in the ACC with 19.0 assists per game. As of March 5, both Williams (6.4-second) and Chris Duhon (4.6-fifth) ranked among the league's top five assist men. Duke's turnover margin of +5.7 currently ranks first in the ACC a wide margin (Virginia is second at +3.5).

Should Duke maintain its current assist pace, it would match the highest assist average for a Duke team since the statistic was officially kept (1968-69).

Wins Growing For Battier, James
Duke's Shane Battier and Nate James, both senior co-captains, both rank among the winningest players in ACC history. Battier has 122 overall victories as a collegian, 66 of which have come against ACC teams. Battier's 122 overall wins and 66 victories vs. ACC competition are tied for the most by any player in league history and James' 58 ACC wins are third.

Thefts
Duke continues to lead the ACC in steals with 10.6 per contest (the next closest team is Maryland at 9.3). Led by Shane Battier's 2.1 steals per game, five Blue Devils rank among the league's top 14 leaders in steals. Battier currently ranks fifth among ACC leaders in steals, while Jason Williams (1.8) is seventh. Chris Duhon (1.8-eighth), Nate James (1.7-10th) and Mike Dunleavy (1.5-14th) are also among the league's top 14 leaders in steals as of March 5.

Spurt-Ability
Armed with the nation's second-best scoring offense and one of the best pressure defenses in the country, Duke has posted some amazing runs this season.

Charity Work
Duke is trying to continue a trend in which it makes more free throws than its opponents attempt. In six of the last 11 seasons, Duke has made more foul shots than its opponents have attempted. This season, the Blue Devils have made 541 free throws while their opponents have attempted 543. Duke is shooting .696 from the charity stripe in 2000-01. Against Maryland Jan. 27, Duke made 32 of 42 free throws (.762), both season highs. Duke has shot .718 (306-of-426) from the charity stripe in its 16 ACC games.

Duke Tough On Unranked Opponents
Duke has won 88 of its last 89 games vs. unranked opponents. On February 26, 2000, St. John's ended Duke's 64-game winning streak vs. unranked opponents with an 83-82 victory. The Blue Devils currently have a 24-game winning streak vs. unranked competition. Including ACC Tournament contests, Duke has a current winning streak of 52 against unranked ACC competition. The last unranked ACC opponent to defeat Duke was N.C. State on March 7, 1997 in the ACC Tournament.

Another Coach K Milestone
Mike Krzyzewski, who was recently named as a finalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year award, continues to add material to his already impressive coaching resume. Duke's 98-54 win over Georgia Tech on Feb. 21 gave Coach K his 200th regular season ACC victory.

Krzyzewski is rapidly approaching another major milestone in his storied career -- 600 overall wins. Currently, Coach K is 597-223 overall, three shy of becoming the 24th coach in college basketball history to reach 600 wins (Connecticut's Jim Calhoun and Syracuse's Jim Boeheim are both within reach as well). Now in his 26th season, Krzyzewski currently ranks fourth all-time for most victories after 26 years of coaching.

Winning seasons, superb graduation rates for his players, and a basketball team that is as close as family are all attributes that reflect on the man who is now in his 21st year as the head coach of the Blue Devils, Mike Krzyzewski.

Continuing to build on his well-earned reputation as one of the top college basketball coaches of all-time, Coach K led Duke to a 29-5 record, its fourth consecutive outright ACC regular season championship with a 15-1 record, its second consecutive ACC Tournament title and the final regular season number one ranking in both major polls last season. Senior Chris Carrawell and junior Shane Battier were named consensus All-Americas and Battier earned his second consecutive National Defensive Player of the Year Award. The Blue Devils accomplished this despite losing four starters from its 37-2 squad that advanced to the National Championship Game in 1999. Duke also had seven freshmen, the most on a Blue Devil team in school history, on its roster a year ago.

The 2000-01 regular season completed a five-year run in which Duke compiled an incredible 71-9 ACC regular season record. With its 95-81 victory at fourth-ranked North Carolina March 4, Duke became the first program to earn five consecutive ACC regular season championships (Duke won four outright titles from 1997-2000 and shared the 2001 championship with North Carolina). Krzyzewski's record as Duke's all-time winningest coach offers evidence of his success: 524 total wins, 254 weeks ranked in the top 25, 146 weeks ranked in the top 10, 57 weeks ranked No. 1, eight Final Four berths in the last 15 years, including five straight appearances from 1988-92, 16 seasons with 20 wins in the past 18 years, 17 upper-division finishes in the ACC in the past 18 years, five 30-win seasons, nine regular season ACC crowns, and five Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament titles.

But most impressive are the back-to-back national championships in 1991 and 1992 which continue to make him the only coach since John Wooden to accomplish such a feat.

He and the Blue Devils have been a fixture on the national basketball scene with 11 consecutive NCAA Tournament berths from 1984-94 and 16 in the last 17 years. Overall, he has taken his program to postseason play in 17 of his 20 years in Durham and is the winningest active coach in NCAA Tournament play with a stunning 50-14 record for a 78.1 winning percentage. His 50 tournament wins rank him second all-time in NCAA history. Coach K owns a 597-223 career record while attaining a 524-164 mark at Duke. On Nov. 17, 2000, Krzyzewski earned his 500th win at Duke with a 98-85 triumph over Villanova. He reached the milestone in just 660 contests, the fifth-fewest games in NCAA history by any coach to earn 500 wins at one institution. That night, the fabled floor of Cameron Indoor Stadium was dedicated as Coach K Court at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Such accomplishments have not gone unnoticed by his peers in coaching. In 1991, on his way to guiding the Blue Devils to the title with a 32-7 record, he was named the Kodak/NABC National Coach of the Year. In all, Coach K has been named the National Coach of the Year 10 times in seven different seasons by major organizations, including UPI and Chevrolet (1986), Naismith (1989), the NABC (1991), The Sporting News and Naismith (1992), Basketball Times (1997), the NABC and Naismith (1999), and Chevrolet (2000). He was named Coach of the Decade for the 1990s by the NABC and was the second recipient of the John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award.

In 1992, The Sporting News named him the Sportsman of the Year, becoming the first college coach to ever win the honor. The magazine said, "On the court and off, Krzyzewski is a family man first, a teacher second, a basketball coach third, and a winner at all three. He is what's right about sports..."

On the court, Coach K has averaged nearly 25 wins a season during his career at Duke and nearly 29 wins per year over the last 15 seasons (not counting the shortened 1994-95 campaign). He directed his teams to seven straight trips to the round of 16 from 1986-92 and joined Wooden as the only coach to guide a team to the Final Four five consecutive years.