WRAL Sports Fan

Duke

Blue Devils believe they are better positioned for NCAAs this season

By Jake Lloyd

Mar 17, 2009

Durham, N.C. — A year ago, the Duke Blue Devils were saying similar things.

They said they were confident heading into the NCAA Tournament. They said they were playing their best basketball of the season.

Only thing is, they didn’t completely believe the words coming out of their mouths.

“It’s a lot harder to come off two losses to North Carolina and Clemson — two big losses — and (be confident),” center Brian Zoubek said. “This year it’s a completely different story.

“We have a lot more truth behind it.”

That truth lies in the fact that sixth-ranked Duke (28-6) is coming off winning its first ACC Tournament championship since 2006 — before any of its best players were on campus.

On paper, the Devils are in a similar position to a year ago. Last March, they were 27-5. They were ranked No. 9 in the country. They had gone 13-3 in regular-season conference play.

And they were set to take on a No. 2 seed — the Belmont Bruins.

This season, they have a similar record. They had a worse regular-season conference record. And they’re also preparing to play a No. 15 seed — the Binghamton Bearcats.

But the similarities end there.

“I just think we’re in a lot better place mentally and physically,” Zoubek said. “We’re not as worn down as we were and we’re ready to go.”

The Devils also aren’t even thinking about a possible second-round matchup with either Texas or Minnesota. Not after what happened last year in Washington, when Belmont came within a point, 71-70, of sending them packing in the first round for a second consecutive season.

“I think the guys that were there last year know that we can’t overlook anybody,” Nolan Smith said. “They played us down to the wire, so going into this game we (know we) have to play great.

“We have to play every game like it’s our last one.”

That was how the Devils played last weekend, when they beat three NCAA Tournament teams — Boston College, Maryland and Florida State — in three days to win the ACC Tournament.

Duke trailed in the game against Boston College before pulling it out, 66-65, at the end and had to counter strong pushes by the Terrapins and Seminoles.

A year ago, the Devils had no answer for a second-half run by West Virginia that eliminated them in the NCAA Tournament’s second round, 73-67.

This season, players say they never push a panic button. While they’ve played, of late, with a win-or-go-home mentality, that hasn’t lent itself to being uptight in close games.

“A couple of the games we had — against B.C. and Maryland — we might have lost them last year,” Zoubek said. “And especially we would have lost them two years ago.

“Just to have that experience in terms of not panicking when they get a few shots or when they get it back to being close or they go ahead … we’re able to move on and move past it.

“I think that shows a maturity level.”

It’s a maturity that has resulted in Duke becoming a more efficient offensive team. Even when the Devils have been behind in recent games, they haven’t rushed shots. They haven’t tried to force things.

And with junior and tri-captain Jon Scheyer playing point guard, they’ve had 12 or less turnovers in their last eight games — including a season-low four in the 79-69 title-game win over the Seminoles.

It’s clear that the players, a year older and more confident, have learned from the experience of a year ago. But at the same time, they’re ready to let it go. They won’t let the fact that Duke hasn’t advanced past the second round the past two seasons affect them.

“This has been a new year, a new team for us,” Scheyer said. “If we won the national championship a year ago it wouldn’t matter, because for us it’s been a whole different experience for us this year.

“Going into the tournament, we’ve really changed a lot this year and we feel like it’s helped. So moving forward, I don’t think it matters at all (negatively) the experiences we’ve had.

“Just because we didn’t won the ACC Tournament (previously) — we haven’t had success in that this past two years — that had no effect on us this year.”