ESPN Men's Basketball

It's unclear what this means in terms of street cred for pop star Mike Posner, but the Duke graduate and Blue Devils basketball fan has the endorsement of coach Mike Krzyzewski in advance of Posner's album debut.

"Duke students are known for balancing their studies with extracurricular activities, but what Mike has done is really extraordinary," Krzyzewski said in a statement released by SIRIUS XM Radio.

Krzyzewski, who has given Posner school principal-type props before, got a good listen before every home game this season since it was Posner's tune that served as the team's intro music.

And Posner is not your average Duke fan. He told ESPN.com's Page 2 that he's close with Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith and also apparently likes using Blue Devils references while discussing his craft.

I'm the biggest Wojo [Steve Wojciechowski] fan, because I feel like I'm the Wojo of the music industry. I work harder than everyone and that's how I get ahead even though no one thinks I can.

And to The Chronicle, Duke's student newspaper:

"I'm trying to shoot for the stars, right? I heard Coach K made [Brian] Zoubek watch tape of Tim Duncan because they were like, 'This is the best you can be.' So my Tim Duncan is Outkast."

For the next month or so, our friends at The Mag are previewing one high-profile school per day for their Summer Buzz series. For the sake of all that is synergistic, yours truly will be attempting the same, complementing each comprehensive Insider preview with some adjusted efficiency fun. Today's subject: Duke . Up next? Kentucky.

The 2010-11 Duke Blue Devils aren't supposed to happen.

After all, it's a new era in college hoops. Back-to-back title winning teams have always been a rarity in the sport, but the one-and-done era is something different. Compared to the pre-2006 NBA rule change, the talent level isn't nearly as watered down. But because so many of those talented young players leave after one season, it's hard enough to build a title contender with the requisite veteran verve. Building a dynasty? It would seem impossible.

Still, that's exactly what Duke has positioned itself to do. So how do the Blue Devils follow through?

Simple, really: If Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith and company want to become the first team since Florida to win back-to-back NCAA championships in 2006 and 2007, all they have to do is ... change absolutely everything. No sweat, right?

It's not something you'd suggest for a team that just won a national title and returned two of its top three scorers for likely All-American seasons. In Duke's case, though, it's true. The Blue Devils won the 2010 NCAA title with a plodding tempo, a slow-down offense, and the overpowering offensive rebounding prowess of Brian Zoubek.

Zoubek, like fellow senior Jon Scheyer, thrived in a down-tempo role. Zoubek was far too slow to get to both ends of the court in a fast-paced game, and needed time at the offensive end to gain the rebounding position that allowed him to keep so many Duke possessions alive. Scheyer was far better suited to a cautious, precise offensive attack, the style that allowed him to turn the ball over so infrequently during Duke's title run.

The result was the No. 249-ranked tempo in Division I hoops, a pace that saw Duke play about 65.5 possessions per game. With Zoubek, Duke had the seventh-highest offensive rebounding percentage of any team in the country, culminating in a dominant NCAA tournament.

Scheyer and Zoubek defined Duke's style. They're gone now. And so Duke, as a matter of sheer efficiency, must change.

That change will be most noticeable in the backcourt. Top recruit Kyrie Irving already has Mike Krzyzewski talking about pushing the pace, a style he adopted (and then discarded) after his work with up-tempo guru Mike D'Antoni coaching the U.S. Olympic team. Seth Curry will add to that speed, and hot-shooting sophomore guard Andre Dawkins could be the perfect spread-the-floor candidate. Scheyer was a great, if limited, college player; Irving and company could arguably be even better.

Filling Zoubek's shoes will be less easy. That task will fall to Mason and Miles Plumlee, two athletic bigs who are at their best in the open court. The loss will also likely force Singler to play more power forward, making Duke considerably smaller -- and considerably quicker -- at the forward positions.

All of which adds up to a pretty enticing scenario: Coach K's familiarity with the fast-break offense, a lightning-quick point guard wreaking havoc in the open court, two multi-talented All-Americans playing off the ball, and a host of role players filling the lane and crashing the boards. That doesn't just sound successful. It sounds fun to watch.

It's been four years since the class of 2006 washed ashore on the college hoops coastline. You may remember the biggest names: Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr. took Ohio State to the precipice of a national championship. Kevin Durant had one of the most impressive freshman seasons in the history of college basketball. Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington brought North Carolina back to the top. The list goes on.

And goes on, and goes on. Draft Express' Jonathan Givony took a retrospective look at the high school class of 2006 based on draft success and college career. The list is -- well, it's kind of insane, honestly. There are a ton of really good players, many of whom have already gone on to the NBA draft, but just as many whose greatest hoops impact was felt in the college ranks.

It would be folly to list each of these players out, but here's a sampling of the players ranked 20-30 in the class of 06: Robin Lopez, Lance Thomas, Mike Conley Jr., Duke Crews, Earl Clark, Brian Zoubek, DaJuan Summers, Quincy Pondexter, Jon Scheyer, Davon Jefferson, D.J. Augustin. That list of 10 is representative of the class in general: There are a few misses here and there, players whose recruiting ranking never really matched their production, but far more frequent is a player that had a big-time impact on the college hoops world.

Scottie Reynolds is listed at No. 38. Hasheem Thabeet is listed at No. 64. Matt Bouldin is No. 65. Greivis Vasquez is No. 93. (No. 93!) Russell Westbrook is No. 114. Ekpe Udoh is No. 153.

Told you it was crazy. Of course, take a look for yourself, and make it a long one; it'll be some time before we see another recruiting class quite this good.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski made the call for Brian Zoubek to purposely miss his second free throw attempt rather than have him try to put the Blue Devils up by three with 3.6 seconds to go.

Butler's Gordon Hayward got the rebound and his halfcourt heave nearly won the national championship for the Bulldogs.

Today in an interview on the Dan Patrick Show, Krzyzewski defended his decision, explaining that given the situation, going into overtime was "not an alternative" for Duke since Zoubek and Lance Thomas were playing with four fouls.

"If it goes into overtime, it’s not a good situation for us with David and Goliath, and we’re playing an away game," Krzyzewski said. "We’re in foul trouble.

"I think we lose. Not the defeatist attitude, but we have a better chance of losing if that extreme happens and a better shot of winning if the extreme that occurred happened."

Krzyzewski said it wasn't an easy decision for him to make and one he had plenty of time to think through. He called playing for overtime "conservative" and instead went for the win.

"It turned out right," he said. "It turned out well. I don’t think you can say one is right and one is wrong. It’s always the thing that turns out well that turns out to be right."

INDIANAPOLIS -- After his players left the podium at Monday night's postgame press conference, Mike Krzyzewski reflected on what he'd just seen.

"The game was so good that anybody could have won," he said of the Duke's 61-59 victory. "I don't think we were lucky to win because we earned it. But there is something ..."

Krzyzewski trailed off, took a second, and began to speak again.

"I think we won because of these guys," he said. "And as good as the Butler story is, was, and will be, our story is pretty good too."

You have to hand it to him. When the man's right, he's right.

Duke's story is good. That goes for the off-the-court stuff Coach K was referring to, of course -- the success of players who aren't likely to make much money playing basketball at the next level, but who represent the Platonic ideal of smart, veteran college hoopsters. That also goes for the special relationship Coach K shared with his players, for Coach K's legacy, for the redemption story of Brian Zoubek, who spent two summers on crutches before making the key plays in the final seconds of a classic national championship game.

But just as interesting as all that is the way this Duke team developed on the floor throughout the season -- most noticeably in the ACC and NCAA tournaments. We shouldn't be surprised the Blue Devils won the title. They were this good. Here's why:

Offensive rebounding. This is the stat that pushed Duke over the top, morphing an already good offense into a brutally efficient one in March and April. Duke was the sixth-most effective team in the country at rebounding its own misses over the course of the season, and at 16.8 second-chance points per game, the Blue Devils were the best team in the NCAA tournament at converting those rebounds into points (stat courtesy of ESPN Stats and Information). In the first half of Monday night's game, Duke didn't get to the offensive boards, grabbing only 20 percent of its misses. But in the second half, the Devils grabbed eight offensive rebounds, good for 47.1 percent, and subsequently scored eight points. It was a fitting end to Duke's tournament run. The Blue Devils won with offensive rebounding yet again.

Offense in general, actually. Duke scored 1.24 points per possession this season, a potency that showed up in the Blue Devils' torrid performance against West Virginia on Saturday night. It wasn't evident on Monday -- Butler's defense held Duke to its third-lowest point total of the year and a mere 1.0 points per possession, an OK tally for an average team but a Saharan drought in comparison to the Blue Devils' usual rainmaking. But there is no discussing this Duke team without reiterating just how good they were on offense all season long. Rebounding and all, offense got the Dukies here. And then ...

Interior defense. Duke was probably a little underrated on the defensive side of the ball for much of the season. Maybe it was hard to see this team's defensive quality in comparison to that offensive juggernaut. Maybe it was because these Blue Devils didn't have a signature defender like the vintage Duke teams of the past. But this group finished the season with the No. 3 most efficient defense in the country, and it was interior defense that won the game for Duke on Monday night. Butler had, count 'em, 11 missed layups in its loss. Duke had seven blocks in its win. Zoubek, Kyle Singler, Lance Thomas and even the Plumlees made everything difficult for Butler when it got into the paint, which helped lead to an eight-minute stretch in the second half when Butler was held without a field goal.

Brian Zoubek. Two questions: Does Duke win this national title without Zoubek? And, four months ago, if I had told you that I'd be writing that question from deep within the bowels of Lucas Oil Stadium on April 5, would you have believed me? No and no. But it's true: Zoubek's sudden transformation from a disappointing, lumbering big man into an interior terror -- especially on the offensive glass -- turned Duke from a good team with a vague chance of postseason success into a thoroughly dominating one. Zoubek did it again Monday night. He grabbed six offensive rebounds in the game, four of which came at key moments in the second half. Zoubek gave the Dukies the kind of size and interior presence most programs only dream of, the kind of ability he promised when he first arrived in Durham. Four years and two foot surgeries later, Zoubek just made me write the first two questions in this paragraph. Here's a third: How crazy is that?

Of course the big three of Singler, Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith deserve most of the credit; they provided the backbone for what this team would accomplish. But Zoubek was the X-factor. He made Duke a different team. He rewrote his story -- and his team's -- in the process.

"It means a lot to me," Zoubek said. "It's really hard to imagine being in this position when you spend two summers on crutches. People told me to keep fighting. It's hard to believe sometimes that good things are going to happen."

They did.

OK, so Duke's story doesn't have the appeal of Butler's. But whose does? Coach K's right. This team -- and its story -- were pretty darn good, too.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Have you caught your breath yet?

One way or the other, Butler's improbable run to the NCAA title game was going to come to an end on Monday night in Lucas Oil Stadium. But who could have thought it would end in such incredible fashion? In whose wildest imaginations did this game play out like this? It was the first title game decided by two points or less since 1989. It was a classic. An utter classic. I'll never forget it. Here's why:

HOW THE GAME WAS WON: In a game that promised to be won on Butler's defensive end, where each team's strength would meet, it ended up being Duke's defense that won the day. The Blue Devils were smothering in the second half, slowing down a Butler team that began the game at a torrid pace. Duke did the two most important things when it needed them most: 1) Kept Gordon Hayward in check, and 2) Kept Butler from getting any good looks on the interior. Butler went almost eight minutes in the second half without a bucket, while Duke finished with seven blocks and many more changed shots.

TURNING POINT: Gordon Hayward had two chances to win it, the first of which (when Hayward had the ball at the top of the key with 12 seconds left) was much better than the second (a half-court heave at the buzzer that missed by about three inches). The first was the game's capital-M Moment. Here was Butler's best player on the biggest stage of his life with the ball in his hands and a chance to win the game. He crossed over, dribbled right, met a second defender, stepped back, rose, shot ... and missed. Brian Zoubek rebounded the ball, and with no timeouts left, Butler had to hurry and grab the rebound on the second free throw and heave a half-courter as the buzzer sounded.

There's a reason Butler kept being mentioned in the same breath as "Hoosiers" -- even as grumpy sports writers complained about the comparison -- everything about its run mirrored the things we love about amateur basketball. It literally was the stuff of movies, even if Butler wasn't quite the underdog everyone seemed to think. But it didn't have a movie ending. Quite the opposite.

(Unless that movie is "Little Big League" or "Friday Night Lights." You get the point.)

TURNING POINT II: When Butler couldn't inbound the ball the first time with 13 seconds left, instead having to use its final timeout. With that timeout, maybe the Bulldogs get a better shot in the final seconds. Maybe not. But it couldn't have hurt.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Kyle Singler -- 19 points, nine rebounds, three blocks, two assists. Singler was huge. Every time the Devils seemed to need a big shot, he made it. His defense on Hayward was effective. His block on Shelvin Mack in the final minutes saved a basket. Singler arrived in Durham three years ago with as much hype as any Duke recruit in a long time. Monday night, he fulfilled it.

STAT OF THE GAME: 61 points. It's the first time a Butler opponent has broken the 60-point barrier all tournament. It barely happened, and it came at the most inopportune of times.

STAT OF THE GAME II: Seven blocks. The Bulldogs didn't commit many turnovers, and though they didn't shoot particularly well, their 34.5 percent shooting had less to do with an off night than it had to do with Duke's defense. Comparing each team's box scores, blocks -- seven for Duke, zero for Butler -- sticks out. Duke managed to collect itself on the offensive boards in the second half, grabbing eight by the time the game finished. Zoubek, naturally, had six.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Quick thoughts with Duke ahead 53-49 over Butler with 7:58 left in the game.

• Kyle Singler is playing an MVP type of game with his ability to make big shots and come up with key defensive stops.

• Butler gambled and went small and it cost the Bulldogs on an inbouds play that Singler converted, using his size advantage. There have been some odd matchups like Willie Veasley on Brian Zoubek.

• Butler is in jeopardy of losing control here. Butler has been forcing turnovers and coming up with stops, but hasn’t finished consistently.

• Hard to see Butler winning if Gordon Hayward can’t make a few big shots. He is driving to to the basket, but that’s not enough.

• Duke is earning every bucket, but the Blue Devils’ offense has been enough to stretch out a lead.

INDIANAPOLIS -- West Virginia played 13 guys in its Final Four game against Duke.

Three guys beat the Mountaineers.

The real final score: Duke 78, West Virginia 57.

The other final score: Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler 63, West Virginia 57.

The Big Three, as they’re called, finally lived up to their moniker in a game when Duke needed them most.

The trio provided 63 of the Blue Devils’ 78 points, 17 of their 20 assists, 12 of their 13 3-pointers and 12 of their 29 rebounds to put the Blue Devils back in the national title game.

“It’s a lot of fun when we get it going like that, a lot,’’ Singler said. “It’s like we all feed off one another. When we shoot like that, with our defense and our rebounding, we’re tough to beat.’’

The triumvirate ranks as the highest-scoring trio in NCAA basketball this season, but it’s been a long time since all three were firing on all cylinders.

In this NCAA tournament, the three have more often taken turns dominating a game than combining to dispatch an opponent together.

Smith had the hot hand against Baylor, Singler against Purdue. It was Smith’s turn against California and back to Singler in the opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Saturday's game was only the third time all season all three had at least 19. In fact, this was the first Final Four game in nine years in which three teammates scored 19-plus. The last team to do? Duke's title team of 2001 (with Shane Battier, Carlos Boozer and Jay Williams pulling it off).

“We definitely feel a responsibility to score the ball,’’ Smith said. “We know when all three of us have a good game, how tough this team is to beat.’’

Against WVU, the trio shredded West Virginia’s 1-3-1 zone. They teed it up for 12-of-23 shooting from 3-point range, putting the Mountaineers on their heels with seven treys by the halftime break.

“Those threes are just daggers,’’ Brian Zoubek said. “I think when they miss, we get the rebound, kick it out and then they hit it, that just really takes a lot out of a team.’’

INDIANAPOLIS – Walk-on Casey Peters left Duke’s practice down a tooth the other day, the latest casualty in the skirmishes that have become commonplace for the Blue Devils this season.

“It seems like every practice, someone leaves bleeding,’’ Brian Zoubek said.

Once labeled soft, Duke has changed its tenor this season, allowing its size to redefine the image of the program. The Blue Devils don’t always shoot the ball, but they always rebound it.

This season Duke is beating its opponents on the boards by an average of seven rebounds per game, but it’s on the offensive glass that has really been the difference. The Devils average 14 offensive rebounds per game.

In a 78-57 win against West Virginia, the Blue Devils shot 53 percent and still pulled down 11 offensive rebounds.

Think about that.

Duke barely missed yet still managed a 19 to 7 edge on second-chance points, including scoring the first 17 second-chance points of the game.

“We rebound the heck out of the ball,’’ Lance Thomas said. “If they miss, we’re going to rebound it and kick it back out to them. They aren’t going to miss twice too often.’’

Rebounding isn’t something that just comes upon a team like some sort of midnight inspiration. It’s an attitude and it has to be honed.

For Duke, that’s happened at practice.

“We go at it,’’ Thomas said. “It’s ugly. We really suffer and push it to the brink. Sometimes there’s some scuffles’’

Zoubek, who now gets a ‘Zoooo’ chant from the Duke faithful just for snagging a board, dresses more like a lineman than a center – thigh pads, knee pads, arm bands – and has become the angrier face of the once placid Duke team.

His 10 rebounds against WVU were every bit as critical as the points scored by the big three of Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer.

“It’s hard. You have to learn to love it,’’ Zoubek said. “I think for a while we didn’t understand that you had to work that hard. Now we recognize it’s all for a reason. We’re here and it’s well worth it.’’

INDIANAPOLIS –- It was two years ago, but the memories are pretty fresh.

And so are the postgame quotes.

West Virginia didn’t just beat Duke in the 2008 NCAA tournament.

It beat Duke up, beat Duke down, beat Duke sideways. And then the Mountaineers mocked the Blue Devils on the way to the Sweet 16.

At one point in the game, Joe Mazzulla got down and slapped the floor, Dukie style. (“A spur-of-the-moment thing,” Mazzulla said.) And several WVU players remarked after the 73-67 victory how unimpressed they were with the blue-blood Blue Devils.

Mountaineers forward Wellington Smith: “It's just a name on the front of a jersey,” he said. “It's not like they have Jason Williams or Carlos Boozer anymore.”

Mountaineers star Joe Alexander, after crushing Duke 45-19 on the glass: “We knew that coming in that they were just going to stand around and not rebound, so we were ready to exploit that.”

Mountaineers reserve Cam Thoroughman, when told that point guard Greg Paulus was one of eight McDonald’s All-Americans on the Duke roster: “Oh my God. Are you kidding?”

West Virginia did everything but graffiti Cameron Indoor Stadium and draw a mustache on Mike Krzyzewski (the latter disrespect was performed Friday by the Indianapolis Star). And there was nothing the Devils could do about it.

It’s safe to say that Duke has not forgotten.

“I definitely remember the game,” senior guard Jon Scheyer said. “You do remember parts of what people say.”

Anyone think those quotes might have found their way onto the Duke locker room bulletin boards? Maybe?

“Yeah, yeah, I'm sure I am,” Thoroughman said Friday. “But that doesn't bother me too much. That's OK with me.”

Thoroughman said his ’08 comments weren’t “supposed to be for the media. I didn't mean to disrespect anybody.” But he did. And you can be sure that Duke is making a big deal about it, as every team would in that situation.

“Of course we want to beat a team that knocked us out two years ago,” Scheyer said. “Who wouldn’t? That’s our approach.”

Duke certainly will be eager to show how much it has grown up since that whipping in Washington, D.C. Especially inside. The finesse Blue Devils team that was mauled on the backboard then looks much more rugged now.

Duke has pulled down a whopping 63 offensive rebounds on 125 missed shots this NCAA tournament and is a plus-45 on the glass through four games. The Devils’ two senior big men, Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas, have gotten bigger and better, and they are buttressed by brothers Miles and Mason Plumlee off the bench.

“They’re a lot more aggressive on the boards this year, especially offensively,” said West Virginia’s Da'Sean Butler. “Zoubek and Lance Thomas and (Kyle) Singler do a great job of just attacking offensive boards. For us to be successful this year, I believe we need to neutralize that, make sure we don’t let them get to the offensive glass as much as they usually do. Coach said they’re the best on the offensive glass that we’ve played all year.”

The Mountaineers, of course, aren’t too bad in that department either. Ken Pomeroy’s stats rate them the No. 2 offensive rebounding team in the country. So this figures to be quite the Toughman Contest in the paint.

The question is this: If it tilts West Virginia’s way again, will Mazzulla slap the floor once more?

“Depends on how the game goes,” he said.

HOUSTON -- Some quick thoughts from a high-energy game in front of a highly-energized crowd here at Reliant Stadium:

• The crowd advantage does matter. This place is green and it's LOUD. In the last five minutes of the half, Duke looked completely rattled. Remember, these Blue Devils have never played for a chance at the Final Four. The name on the jersey doesn't mean diddly in this building.
• Baylor's athleticism is showing up all over the court. The Bears are much better in transition (7-0 edge in fast-break points) and the explosiveness of Ekpe Udoh and Quincy Acy is something Duke simply can't match. The big men have 12 combined points for Baylor, and the Bears are dominating Duke inside, with 20 points in the paint.
• And forget about Tweety Carter and LaceDarius Dunn. No one in a Duke uniform can match them. The guards have been sensational and forcing tempo and upping the freneticism for Baylor. Carter has 10 and Dunn 13.
• Brian Zoubek's three fouls hurt but aren't a killer. The 7-footer looks extremely frustrated and hasn't really been effective in this game in the face of guys as big as him but more athletic. The Plumlee brothers have given the Devils critical minutes here, and with their skill set, might be a better option anyway.
• Duke isn't going to win with Kyle Singler going scoreless. The junior is 0-for-6 from the floor, saddled in part by foul trouble. Take Nolan Smith out of the equation and the Blue Devils are 7-of-19. They can't win that way.

HOUSTON -- A quick look to the Elite Eight matchup in the South Region, where the last Final Four ticket will be awarded:

Key to the game: The battle on the boards just might decide who goes to the Final Four. Between Brian Zoubek, Lance Thomas, the Plumlee brothers, Ekpe Udoh and Josh Lomers, there’s more than enough heft in the post to make things interesting.

In its first three games of this NCAA tournament, Duke is outrebounding its opponents by an average of 14.3 boards per game. That not only leads to easy putbacks, but it extends Duke’s possessions. Never was that more important than against slow-down Purdue, when the Blue Devils topped the Boilers by 21 on the backboards.

Baylor, meanwhile, is up eight boards per game on opponents and really took it to Omar Samhan and Saint Mary’s in the Sweet 16. The Bears topped the Gaels by 12 on the boards, but it was their 14 offensive rebounds that really made the difference.

“We can’t jump with them,’’ Thomas said. “We’re going to have to put bodies on them and let them know it’s going to be a game for 40 minutes.’’

Player to watch: Kyle Singler. He has been the difference maker for the Blue Devils, especially as Jon Scheyer has struggled in this NCAA tournament (just 6-for-26 from the arc). Singler is 13-for-22 outside of the paint, while his teammates are only 19-of-58. He’s also drained eight 3-pointers, and against Baylor’s zone, his ability or inability to get off a good shot will drastically affect Duke’s chances.

“I don’t know if he’s an X factor, but he’s probably an A, B, C, D, E, F, G factor,’’ Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “Singler is one of the best players in the nation for a reason. He’s tremendous. He’s been playing great basketball and he’s a great player.’

Who has the edge: It’s open season on No. 1 seeds (perhaps West Virginia feels less unhappy about the perceived slight now?), and I think Duke might just fall into the heap as well. I expect a close game and a well-played matchup, but I’m not sure that the Blue Devils have what it takes to counter the athleticism of the Bears’ guards. If LaceDarius Dunn and Tweety Carter can shoot it, I think Baylor makes its first Final Four since 1950.

HOUSTON -- Here’s a quick look ahead at the Sweet 16 matchups in tonight’s South Region:

Baylor vs. Saint Mary’s

Key to the game: Overlooked in the Omar Samhan frenzy is the fact that the Gaels are one of the best shooting teams in the country. They set a school record with 270 3-pointers this season and connected on 41 percent from beyond the arc. Saint Mary’s will need all of that and more against a Baylor zone that, with Ekpe Udoh in the middle, is both long and active.

“Our defense changes as far as our zone," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “We’ll always tweak it and adjust it to the team we’re playing and what they like to do. I know with Saint Mary’s, they have an inside and outside attack. We’ll have to make sure that we keep them on their toes and try to keep them guessing and not let them get in a rhythm.’’

Player to watch: LaceDarius Dunn. The most highly recruited player to choose Baylor when he signed three years ago, Dunn has more than lived up to the billing. A gifted athlete who can shoot 3s, beat you off the bounce and is one of the best finishers in the game, Dunn is averaging 19.4 points per game. Only five teams have been able to hold him under double digits in scoring all year and frankly, Saint Mary’s doesn’t have anyone in the backcourt to keep up with him.

“Dunn is one of those guys you might do a great job on defending him and he still might score," Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett said. “We’ve watched enough film on him. We know he’s a tough match-up for anybody."

Who has the edge: Considering how well the Gaels did against Villanova it’s hard to say they’ll have a tough time because of the backcourt of Baylor. But here’s the twist: The Bears have a much better frontcourt than the Wildcats. Ekpe Udoh, the Michigan transfer, and Quincy Acy add length to that zone but also offer inside/low post scoring.

Mix in what will essentially be a homecourt for Baylor -- Waco is just a three-hour drive and many alums call the Houston area home -- and the Saint Mary’s magic runs out.

Duke vs. Purdue

Key to the game: Purdue has had trouble scoring since Robbie Hummel went down with his knee injury, but the real problem in this game for the Boilermakers is going to be rebounding. If Purdue can hold its own on the boards, the Boilers’ improbable run can continue. If they can’t, it could be like last year all over again when the Blue Devils crushed Purdue on the boards, 44-26, in a 16-point rout in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

“At times with this team, when we’ve won against teams that are bigger than us, it doesn’t come down to always about with that size,’’ Matt Painter said. “It comes down to chasing down rebounds and being quicker to the basketball. That’s what we’re going to have to do to be successful against them.’’

Player to watch: Jon Scheyer. The guard is coming off a horrible shooting night against Cal, 1-of-11 from the floor, 1-of-8 from the arc. Mike Krzyzewski talked to him after the game, reminding Scheyer to relax and just play his game. If he starts shooting it well early, Purdue could be in trouble quickly.

“He doesn’t shoot the same shot all the time and that means you’re thinking about different things,’’ Krzyzewski said. “Jon wants it so badly. I came in here and heard his answer, ‘I knew we were playing great defense and if I hit that shot, we could break it open.’ So that’s not the reason you take that shot. You should take your shot because it’s open and you shoot it. So he’s putting more on it.’’

Who has the edge: Duke hasn’t been to the Final Four since 2004, not much of a drought for most programs in this country but Duke isn’t most programs. The Blue Devils are well aware of the drought and the doubting Thomases flocking around their program. But it’s not just the desire to prove people wrong that gives Duke the edge. The Blue Devils are one of the better defensive teams in the country, holding teams to just 48.5 points in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament. For a team like Purdue that has been struggling to score since losing Robbie Hummel, that’s not good news.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Nolan Smith never slapped the floor.

But had the Duke guard chosen to go that route on Sunday, well even the most hardened Blue Devils haters might have cut him some slack. Smith's defensive effort against California star Jerome Randle set the tone for his team's incident-free, 68-53 second-round NCAA Tournament victory.

Randle was the Pac-10 player of the year, an explosive scorer because of his speed and nearly unlimited shooting range. Against Duke and Smith, though, he finished with just 12 points, including only one field goal after halftime.

Smith also had his way on the other end, scoring a game-high 20 points.

"Nolan, he just dominated that matchup," Blue Devils forward Lance Thomas said. "Randle had nothing for him. He took the initiative and picked him up from three-quarters of the court and let him know it was going to be a fight all game. And Nolan knocked him out."

Duke has been knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by the round of 16 in seven of the past eight years and in each of the past five seasons. Its hopes of going longer seem stronger this time, largely because of defense.

The Blue Devils allowed just 61.7 points per game in the regular season, its lowest total since 1950. First-round opponent Arkansas-Pine Bluff mustered just 44 points, while Cal -- which came in averaging 78 points per game -- was held to its lowest score since Feb. 28, 2008.

Defense is why Duke could get nothing from Jon Scheyer, miss 14 of its 17 3-point shots -- a harbinger of tournament death in the recent past -- and still win.

"I don't know if we'll go any further, but this is a better team because it can play total defense," Krzyzewski said. "I mean, someone will say in the past, they relied on the 3-point shot. Well, what else were we going to rely on?

"This team is better. It's not a great team, but it's an excellent defensive team."

That defense starts with Smith, who takes on the challenge of guarding the other team's main ball handler every night. His assignment on Sunday loomed as one of his more daunting tasks, and Randle scored seven points in the first 10 minutes, including a pair of layups.

"I got really upset with myself," Smith said.

From then on, though, Randle was the one feeling bad about things. Smith smacked the ball away as Randle tried to attempt a last-second shot before the half. Randle went just 1-for-5 in the second half while Smith wore him down on offense in what Krzyzewski called "a marvelous performance."

"I wanted to pick him up as early as I could," Smith said. "I've seen films where he'd come up and shoot from 30 feet while guys are backpedaling. Today I was just up in him. He had to look at me before he looked at the rim tonight."

Duke has always prided itself at guarding the perimeter, even if some of its guards were limited athletically. Now Krzyzewski has a ferocious on-ball defender in Smith and length with guys like Kyle Singler, Thomas and 7-foot-1 center Brian Zoubek, who had 14 points and 13 rebounds on Sunday. Even if they get beat off the dribble, the Blue Devils now have confidence that someone on the back line will swat away the shot or take a charge.

And that has the team thinking bigger things than the Sweet 16 this year.

"If we defend and rebound, I think we can beat anyone," Thomas said. "I don't care who we play. If we stick to our defensive game plan, we can take anyone out."