ESPN Men's Basketball

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Breaking down No. 15 seed Lehigh's 75-70 upset of No. 2 seed Duke in a South Region second-round game Friday night at Greensboro Coliseum.

Overview: We waited 11 years to see a No. 15 seed upset a No. 2 seed again in the NCAA tournament.

It happened twice Friday.

Only hours after No. 15 seed Norfolk State stunned No. 2 seed Missouri 86-84 in a West Regional game in Omaha, Neb., Lehigh pulled off an equally impressive upset, surprising No. 2 seed Duke 75-70 in Greensboro Coliseum.

Before Friday, a No. 15 seed hadn't defeated a No. 2 seed since Hampton upset Iowa State in 2001. It was Lehigh's first victory in the NCAA tournament and a Patriot League team's third in 24 NCAA tournament games since 1991.

The Mountain Hawks gave Duke early notice that they weren't going to simply bow down to its blue-blood tradition. Duke led only 30-28 at the half, and it didn't take Lehigh very long to grab control in the second half. Lehigh took a 55-51 lead on guard C.J. McCollum's brilliant wrap-around pass to Gabe Knutson for an easy layup with 5:05 to play. The Mountain Hawks led by as many as seven points in the final two minutes.

Turning point: Duke guard Seth Curry picked up his fourth foul with 17:49 to go in the second half. He didn't go back into the game for more than eight minutes, after Lehigh had grabbed the lead. With Curry and injured starting forward Ryan Kelly on the bench, the Blue Devils didn't have many offensive options on the floor, and Lehigh knew it.

Key player: McCollum, a junior from Canton, Ohio, certainly looked like the best player on the floor, scoring 30 points on 9-for-22 shooting with seven rebounds and six assists. Duke's guards struggled to guard him all night. His highlight came on a nasty crossover move against Tyler Thornton in the first half, which should become a YouTube sensation.

Key stat: Duke's recent cold perimeter shooting continued, as the Blue Devils made only six of 26 3-pointers.

Miscellaneous: It was Duke's first loss in an NCAA opening-round game since falling to No. 11 seed VCU 79-77 in 2007. ... Kelly, who injured his foot in practice before last week's ACC tournament, dressed out for the game but didn't participate in warm-ups.

What’s next: Lehigh will play No. 10 seed Xavier in Sunday's third-round action in the South Region.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Here’s a quick rundown of what to look for in Friday’s evening games in Greensboro.

No. 15 Lehigh (26-7) vs. No. 2 Duke (27-6), 7:15 p.m. ET

If there’s one constant in the NCAA tournament -- other than Duke and North Carolina playing really close to home -- it’s the Blue Devils winning their opening-round games.

Under coach Mike Krzyzewski, the Blue Devils have won 25 of their 27 opening-round games and they’ve taken most of them by lopsided scores. Duke won 14 of the past 15 by an average of 26.9 points, including an 87-45 rout of No. 16 seed Hampton in the 2011 NCAA tournament.

“At Duke, our coaches are great at preparing us for games,” Blue Devils forward Miles Plumlee said. “Regardless of the opponent, we respect each and every one, and we’re just ready to play the game.”

Krzyzewski and his assistant coaches are working a little harder to prepare the Blue Devils for Friday night’s South Region second-round game against No. 15 seed Lehigh at Greensboro Coliseum.

The Blue Devils will probably be without starting forward Ryan Kelly, the team’s third-leading scorer (11.8 points per game) and rebounder (5.4), for the third consecutive game. Kelly, a 6-foot-10 junior from Raleigh, N.C., still hasn’t fully recovered from a sprained right ankle he suffered in practice March 6.

Without Kelly in the ACC tournament, the Blue Devils defeated Virginia Tech 60-56 and lost to Florida State 62-59 in the semifinals at Atlanta’s Georgia Dome.

“He will not be able to play like any type of rotation minutes,” Krzyzewski said. “In other words, you’re not going to see a Plumlee go out and Kelly come in. He might be available for some spot duty and we’ll know more about that [Friday]. Like an end-of-game situation, end of half or some type of specialty thing, but no more than that for this game.”

Kelly has become especially valuable because he’s a big man who shoots 40.8 percent on 3-pointers.

“It’s not a shooter,” Krzyzewski said. “It’s the fact that he’s a big guy who can shoot. We can put another shooter out there, but then we’re real small. So it does have an impact because you might get a few more open looks or a little bit more time to shoot the ball. There’s more space. There are a variety of things that happen as a result of him being out there.”

Kelly’s injury has also left Duke’s bench even thinner. Against the Seminoles, only three Duke reserves combined to play 47 minutes and were outscored 18-9 by their FSU counterparts.

“They would all love Ryan to be able to play,” Krzyzewski said. “But we’re fine. You play with who you got and you play; there’s no excuses for anything. Our guys are ready to go. We love to have Ryan because when he comes into ballgames, he’s different than the other two [big men, brothers Miles and Mason Plumlee]. It makes the other team have to adjust more during the course of a game.”

Who to watch:

Lehigh’s C.J. McCollum: The junior was the country’s sixth-leading scorer with 21.9 points per game. He was named MVP of the Patriot League tournament, scoring 29 points with five assists and three steals in the Mountain Hawks’ 82-77 victory over Bucknell in the championship game.

Duke’s Miles Plumlee: With Kelly sidelined with a sprained ankle, Miles Plumlee -- the oldest of three Plumlee brothers from Warsaw, Ind. -- will have to shoulder an even bigger load. The 6-foot-10 forward scored nine points on 3-for-6 shooting in the FSU loss. He was Duke’s leading rebounder over the past nine games, averaging 10.8 boards.

Duke’s Austin Rivers: Rivers, a freshman from Winter Park, Fla., and son of Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers, was sensational in his first season, leading the Blue Devils with 15.4 points per game. He was named ACC Rookie of the Year and is adept at driving to the basket for points, or kicking the ball back out to his teammates for open shots on the perimeter.

What to watch: Duke’s shooting. The Blue Devils tend to live or die by the perimeter shooting and they struggled in their last three games, making only 16 of 67 3-point attempts (23.8 percent). Rivers made only 3 of 20 3-point attempts in his past four games. Top reserve Andre Dawkins, a career 40.4 percent shooter on 3-pointers, was 1-for-12 in the past five games, after a 6-for-9 performance in a 74-66 victory at FSU on Feb. 23. If the Blue Devils are going to advance beyond this weekend, Rivers, Dawkins and guard Seth Curry are going to have to heat up again.

No. 10 Xavier (21-12) vs. No. 7 Notre Dame (22-11), 9:45 p.m. ET

About the time Xavier was trading punches with Cincinnati in the most frightening moment of the college basketball season, Notre Dame was just beginning to fight through its own troubles.

In mid-January, neither team looked like an NCAA tournament contender. On Friday night, the Fighting Irish and Musketeers will play in a South Region second-round game at Greensboro Coliseum.

“I don’t know if some people seem to have memories of elephants, that they don’t want to ever forget that,” Xavier coach Chris Mack said. “But for our kids it is a chance to go out on the biggest stage of college basketball and advance. And I truly believe that the only games that people remember are the ones you play in March.”

For a while, it seemed like neither the Fighting Irish nor Musketeers would be playing in March.

The Musketeers, who were ranked No. 8 in the country when they routed the Bearcats 76-53 on Dec. 10, lost five of six games after four of their players were suspended for their roles in an ugly brawl in the closing minutes of the Crosstown Shootout. After an 85-72 loss at Temple on Feb. 11, Xavier was 16-9 overall, 7-4 in the A-10.

“If I was being very, very honest, it was extremely difficult,” Mack said. “I don’t think there’s a manual for a coach, for a program, for your players, in how you respond. But the one thing I never questioned about our kids is their desire to compete and want to get better. We stepped in a lot of venues where we heard about the incident, but Xavier basketball is much bigger than 10 bad minutes on a Saturday. This program has done so much good for so many years that we can define ourselves with who we truly are.”

Xavier senior center Kenny Frease, whose face was left bloodied from the fight, said the aftermath of the brawl seemed to bring the Musketeers closer together.

“It was difficult just because of the pressure that was put on us from the outside world,” Frease said. “I think that as a team we always knew that if we were able to come together that we would be where we are today. And in the locker room it really brought us closer together just having gone through that type of adversity. The adversity that you’re going to see in the NCAA tournament, we have been through all that. We have been through a lot more than that. So I think that as a team we’ll be ready for anything we see.”

The Fighting Irish had their share of adversity, too. Notre Dame started 4-2, but then lost senior forward Tim Abromaitis to a season-ending knee injury in practice Nov. 25. Without him, the Irish lost six of their next 13 games and were 11-8 after a 65-58 loss at Rutgers on Jan. 16.

“I feel like it was two different seasons almost before Tim got hurt, and the way we prepared, and the way we game planned and stuff,” Notre Dame guard Scott Martin said. “And then after Tim, we kind of had to figure things out again and regroup and go from there. So I think it was just a lot of hard work and dedication out of us that paid off.”

After the loss at Rutgers, Notre Dame won nine consecutive Big East games (the longest conference winning streak in school history), including a 67-58 upset of then-No. 1 Syracuse on Jan. 21.

“You have to have great, great leadership,” Irish coach Mike Brey said. “I don’t know if I have been more proud of a captain like Scott Martin. Because his partner in leading was supposed to be Tim Abromaitis and he kind of lost him. So for him to lead through a crisis early in the season, I think really helped us. And we had our young guys we committed to them and got them playing time. They needed to play, they needed to get reps. Even if we’re losing games, they needed to get in there and get reps and I think they grew from that.”

Both teams will find out how much they’ve matured Friday night.

Who to watch:

Xavier’s Tu Holloway: Holloway, a senior, led the Musketeers in scoring (17 points per game) and assists (5.1) and was the only Atlantic 10 player in the top five in both scoring and assists. He also leads Xavier in steals (1.5) and foul shooting (86.6 percent). Holloway averaged 19.7 points and 5 rebounds in three Atlantic 10 tournament games.

Notre Dame’s Jack Cooley: Cooley, a bruising 248-pound forward, averaged 12.4 points and 9 rebounds. Cooley, from Glenview, Ill., had a career-high 27 points with 17 rebounds in a 75-69 victory over Providence on March 2, one of his seven double-doubles in the past 10 games.

Xavier’s Mark Lyons: A junior guard from Schenectady, N.Y., Lyons averaged 15.5 points with 2.7 assists. A third-team All-Atlantic-10 selection, Lyons is a potent 3-point shooter, making 39.6 percent of his attempts.

What to watch: Defense. Notre Dame turned its season around with defense, limiting opponents to only 59.2 points per game, which was second-fewest in the Big East. Notre Dame held its opponents to 60 points or fewer in 15 games, including 11 against conference foes. Five opponents were held to fewer than 50 points by the Irish.

1. Long Beach State coach Dan Monson was non-committal Monday on whether or not Larry Anderson can go for the 49ers in their second-round game Thursday against New Mexico. The 49ers won the Big West tournament without Anderson (knee), but any chances for an upset may depend on his availability. It would be a shame if the 49ers aren’t at full strength, because they were a legit, trendy pick to win a game.

2. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski wasn’t prepared to rule out forward Ryan Kelly (foot injury) for Friday's second-round game against Lehigh but wasn’t sounding too optimistic that he will play. You can’t compare Kelly to Kyrie Irving, but it is a bit of déjà vu that the Blue Devils are dealing with a foot injury heading into the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season.

3. North Carolina coach Roy Williams wouldn’t give an exact time frame for the return of forward John Henson, who missed the past two games with a wrist injury. The selection committee was under the impression that Henson would be back for the tournament.

ATLANTA -- North Carolina and Duke are still vying for a top seed in the NCAA tournament.

NC State is trying to solidify a spot in the field of 68.

And Florida State – which has already secured a spot in the NCAAs – would like to become only the second team not named UNC or Duke to win the ACC tournament in 16 years.

A quick preview of today’s NCAA semifinals at Philips Arena:

No. 1 seed North Carolina vs. No. 5 seed N.C. State, 1 p.m. EST

Will he play or won’t he play? The status of UNC forward John Henson’s left wrist -- which he sprained in the first half of his team’s quarterfinal win over Maryland on Friday -- hasn’t reached the scrutiny level of “Ty Lawson Toe-Gate,” circa 2009 (when the starting point guard sat out the entire ACC tournament, and part of the NCAAs, en route to a national title).

But give it time.

Official word Friday was that the 6-foot-11 junior would test his pain threshold Saturday morning to see if he would be able to play against the Wolfpack. But frankly, it would make sense to be cautious with the ACC’s leading rebounder, blocker and defender. UNC, after all, has wrapped up an NCAA tournament berth, and it’s just a matter of whether it ends up with a No. 1 or No. 2 seed.

If Henson doesn’t play, it opens up more room in the lane for NC State forward C.J. Leslie, who has come on particularly strong of late. He’s averaging 18.9 points and 11 rebounds over his past seven games -- including 19 points and 14 rebounds in Friday’s quarterfinal victory over Virginia.

“He [Henson] is a great player -- first-team All-ACC, defensive player of the year; we want him to play,’’ Wolfpack guard C.J. Williams said. “We don’t want to give a team an excuse, 'Oh, we didn’t have one of our best players.' He’s definitely a matchup problem for us, with his length and his size … but we want him to play.”

The Tar Heels beat their in-state rivals in both matchups this season.

No. 2 seed Duke vs. No. 3 seed Florida State, approximately 3:30 p.m. EST

Duke, which lost to Florida State on its home court in January, offered up a little bit of payback last month, when it beat the Seminoles in Tallahassee, Fla.

Guard Andre Dawkins was 6-for-12 for 22 points that game, with all six of those made shots being 3-pointers.

Since then, however, he’s made only 1 of his 12 shot attempts over his past four games. Not a good stat for the Blue Devils, especially since they are also missing forward Ryan Kelly for the ACC tournament because of a foot injury.

The key for FSU will be to limit Duke’s outside scoring while taking advantage of the Devils’ thin depth inside.

And if it’s close at the end, they have a couple of clutch options in Michael Snaer and Ian Miller, who have both buried game winners this season.

“We know we have a tremendous opportunity to do something great,’’ Snaer said. “My team is really confident in our abilities, and we’re playing like it. We’re playing together. … We know how important this game is to us, and to our program and to the history of our program. And I can’t wait for it to get started.”

ATLANTA -- Reaction from Duke's 60-56 win over Virginia Tech in an ACC tournament quarterfinal game.

Overview: Duke's coaches told sophomore guard Tyler Thornton to take the shot if he was left open. So he did Friday -- again and again and again.

Thornton scored a career-high 13 points -- on 5-for-16 shooting -- as the top-ranked Blue Devils beat Virginia Tech to advance to the semi-finals of the ACC tournament.

With junior forward Ryan Kelly out for the ACC tournament after spraining his right foot during Tuesday’s practice, and guards Seth Curry (2-for-6) and Andre Dawkins (0-for-5) struggling to hit shots, Thornton’s points were key.

But in addition, the defensive-minded sophomore was active all over the court, also finishing with four rebounds, three steals and two assists.

"We knew it was going to be a possession-by-possession game,'' Thornton said. "We knew we were going to have to fight on every possession."

Both teams shot worse than 40 percent from the field.

"I'm really proud of our team because we didn't shoot the ball well, but we didn't let that dictate our defense,'' freshman Austin Rivers said. "I think we've learned in that area."

Turning point: With just more than a minute left, Virginia Tech’s Robert Brown cut his team’s deficit to 55-51 (but missed a foul shot to convert a 3-point play). After the teams traded misses, Rivers scored in transition and made it a three-point play with a free throw with 15.1 seconds left to give the Blue Devils a seven-point cushion. It was enough.

Player of the game: Thornton was key, but so was Rivers, who led the Blue Devils with 17 points on 5-for-14 shooting.

Key stat: It marked the 10th ACC game this season the Hokies have lost by five or fewer points.

Miscellaneous: Tech said it needed to rebound, limit turnovers and finish to have a chance to win. In the end, Virginia Tech held a slight edge on the boards (38-37), but the Hokies committed 10 turnovers and missed too many easy baskets. They made 50 percent of their 3-pointers, but made only 30.2 percent of their shots overall.

What’s next: Second-seeded Duke will play either Miami or Florida State in the second semifinal game on Saturday. Virginia Tech ends the season with a 16-17 record.

Ryan Kelly scored 23 points and grabbed 8 rebounds as No. 3 Duke topped Wake Forest 79-71.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Here’s a quick look at No. 4 Duke’s 74-66 victory over No. 16 Florida State at the Donald L. Tucker Center on Thursday night:

Why it happened: The Blue Devils blistered Florida State’s vaunted perimeter defense from start to finish, making 13 of 28 3-pointers and hitting big shot after big shot. The Seminoles came into the game ranked No. 2 nationally in field-goal percentage defense (37 percent) and No. 14 in 3-point percentage defense (29.1 percent), but they were no match for Duke’s guards and forward Ryan Kelly. After FSU made its last run to cut Duke’s lead to 58-55 with 4:55 to go, Kelly and guard Seth Curry made 3-pointers on consecutive trips to make it 66-58.

Turning point: FSU had to feel a little bit confident after cutting Duke’s lead to 39-32 at the half. But then Blue Devils freshman Austin Rivers opened the second half by making 3-pointers on the first two possessions to make it 45-34. FSU was never able to contain all of the Blue Devils’ potent perimeter scorers.

Star of the game: Duke guard Andre Dawkins, a junior from Chesapeake, Va., scored 22 points on 6-for-12 shooting, his highest scoring total since he had 24 in the Blue Devils’ 73-66 victory at Clemson on Jan. 15. Dawkins, who played off the bench, made 4-of-6 3-pointers and scored nine consecutive points at one point in the first half.

Stat of the game: 7-0. Duke’s record in ACC road games this season, the first time the Blue Devils have won seven straight conference road games since 2005-06. Both of the Blue Devils’ ACC losses came at home: 76-73 against FSU on Jan. 21 and 78-74 in overtime against Miami on Feb. 5.

What it means for Duke: The Blue Devils remained in a tie with No. 7 North Carolina for first place in the ACC standings and remained in the hunt to win at least a share of their second ACC title in three seasons. Duke hosts Virginia Tech on Saturday and plays at Wake Forest on Tuesday night, before closing the regular season against the Tar Heels at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 3.

What it means for FSU: The Seminoles fell a game behind the Blue Devils and Tar Heels in the ACC standings, but remain in great shape for an NCAA at-large bid and a first-round bye in next month’s ACC tournament in Atlanta. FSU, which has a two-game lead over fourth-place Virginia in the ACC standings, plays at Miami on Sunday and at Virginia on Thursday night. The Seminoles host Clemson in their regular-season finale on March 4.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolina point guard Kendall Marshall was so excited about Wednesday’s rivalry showdown with Duke, he said, that his stomach hurt before the game.

It must have felt like a punch to the gut afterward.

The fifth-ranked Tar Heels squandered a 10-point lead in the final 2 minutes, 38 seconds at the Smith Center, losing 85-84 to No. 9 Duke when Blue Devils freshman Austin Rivers buried a 3-pointer from the right wing at the buzzer.

It was another Duke-Carolina instant classic. But not the kind these Tar Heels will want to watch over and over.

“When the ball went through, it kind of took me a second to process it -- to realize that we had lost the game,’’ Marshall said. “I was stunned.”

And still was, when talking to the media about 20 minutes after the defeat.

After all, UNC -- which now has lost five of the past six in the rivalry series -- looked like it had this one wrapped up. It had rallied from an eight-point first-half deficit to take a three-point lead at halftime. It had extended that advantage to as much as 13 with a 14-4 run to open the second half.

It had gotten star performances from senior Tyler Zeller (who scored 19 of his 23 points in the first half) and sophomore guard Harrison Barnes (19 of his 25 in the second), whose field goal with 2:38 left put the Tar Heels ahead by 10.

At that point, some in the Smith Center crowd began muttering about whether UNC would reach 100 points, so they could get the two-sausage-biscuits-for-a-buck deal at Bojangles.

Some reporters retired to the media room to start writing their stories.

And although the Tar Heels weren't celebrating yet, they looked pretty confident.

“We had control the whole time,’’ said forward John Henson (12 points, 17 rebounds), referring to the first 17 minutes of the second half.

And then it all fell apart.

After Duke’s Tyler Thornton and Seth Curry made 3-pointers to cut UNC’s lead to four, the Tar Heels turned it over on their second consecutive possession -- and Duke forward Ryan Kelly’s bucket cut the lead to 82-80.

Zeller made one of two free throws. And then after a timeout, Kelly launched what appeared to be a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left -- only to have it somehow go off Zeller’s hand and into the basket for a bucket in Duke’s favor.

“I went up and tried to grab it, and just tipped it in somehow,’’ Zeller said.

When Roy Williams was asked whether he’d ever seen something like that happen, he responded: “No. But it’s Duke-Carolina.”

And in true Duke-Carolina fashion, the rally wasn’t over.

Zeller went to the free throw line, again, and made only one of two, again, with 14 seconds still remaining. That pushed his team’s lead to 84-82.

But with the clock ticking down, the 7-footer ended up covering the 6-4 Rivers (career-high 29 points) on a defensive switch near the 3-point line.

Swish.

“I should have got up further [on him],’’ said Zeller, whose team didn't attempt a single field goal in Duke's closing 13-2 run. “I didn’t want to foul him, get him to the free throw line, but I should have gotten up further. You can’t give him a 3 when you’re up 2.”

It was a devastating final minute for the power forward, who had played so well -- and aggressively -- throughout.

And a disheartening minute for a team that could have vaulted into sole first place in the ACC, after Florida State’s loss at Boston College earlier Wednesday.

Instead, the Tar Heels left with painful what-ifs. And, perhaps, stomachs.

"It really hurts, because of how we played the whole game,” Henson said. "For us in the last three minutes just to give it up like that is really depressing.”

Follow Robbi Pickeral on Twitter at @bylinerp.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Well, well, well. Some quick, pertinent details from Duke's buzzer-beating 85-84 win over hated rival North Carolina after a 10-point rally in the final two minutes ...

Overview: Getting into a run-and-gun game with North Carolina is never a good idea, but because Duke's defense has struggled so often this season, especially recently, the Blue Devils didn't really have a choice. If they were going to win in the Dean Dome, they were going to have to outscore UNC. And for nearly 20 minutes, it worked. Duke came out hot, hitting 7-of-17 from 3 in the first half and leading Carolina the entire way. The Tar Heels couldn't stop Duke's screen action. They couldn't close out on shooters. They couldn't keep Austin Rivers out of the lane. There was the creeping suspicion that the early lead was built on a foundation of sand, but hey: This was Duke's chance. The Blue Devils deserved credit for taking it.

Alas, it didn't -- and maybe couldn't -- last long. If UNC picked up the pace late in the first half, it absolutely exploded in the second. Kendall Marshall began to push the pace, Harrison Barnes started to work his midrange game and, by the 16:34 mark, the Tar Heels rushed out to a 54-44 lead. Rivers remained hot from 3, but the rest of the Blue Devils cooled off.

However, they never went away. Every time it looked like North Carolina was going to snuff the life out of the game, Duke got a big bucket, or a key steal, or a big 3 from Rivers or Seth Curry. Slowly but surely -- almost quietly, if you can believe it -- Duke snuck back into the game. With a minute left to play, Mason Plumlee's steal led to a Curry 3, which cut a seven-point lead to four. Barnes was called for a charge on one end; Ryan Kelly made a big 2 on the other. Just like that, it was a two-point game, 82-80, and UNC's fans had no choice but to realize the sudden seriousness of the situation.

Strange events followed: At 83-80, Kelly's attempt at a 3 became a 2 when Tyler Zeller (somehow) tipped it in. After a missed free throw at 84-82, Rivers backed his hesitant defender (Zeller) away and, just milliseconds before the buzzer, launched a 3 that -- wouldn't you know -- went in. It was, well, pick your adjective. Miraculous? Ridiculous? Insane? It was all those things and more, and no rapid reaction could ever do it justice. Wow. Just ... wow.

Star of the game: Duke's Austin Rivers has been mercurial and inconsistent for much of the season -- have you seen this? have you heard about this? -- but wow, what a second half and what a finish. A star is born. Rivers finished with a career-high 29 points, made six of 10 shots from long range and even pulled down five rebounds.

Rivers was Duke's early spark, scoring 13 points in the first half, and his second-half shooting (including a pair of 3s in the midst of UNC's run) kept his team in the game when UNC looked ready to totally blow it open. When all else was failing, he kept his team's chances viable much deeper into the game than they had any right. And then, well, you saw the final shot. You're going to see it a million more times, too.

Stat of the game: Duke connected on 14 of its 3-pointers, the most the Blue Devils have hit against a North Carolina team since March 2001.

Meanwhile, UNC attempted just six 3s and hit just one of them. That’s a whopping 39-point difference from beyond the arc.

What it means: The Blue Devils just made the ACC a three-horse race after ending UNC's 31-game home winning streak. Carolina could have pulled away, but instead, Duke moves ahead to 7-2, UNC moves back to 7-2 and both are tied with 7-2 Florida State after the Seminoles' strange loss at Boston College. This thing is now wide open.

But forget the ACC standings. Honestly, who cares? This game was another insane chapter in one of the best rivalries in the world of sports, and Rivers' shot will join the all-time great players and plays in the pantheon. You'll see it replayed over and over and over, and it will be warranted, because it immediately becomes one of the greatest shots in a rivalry full of them. This was Jeff Capel-type stuff. It was nuts. And this writer won't soon forget it.

On March 3, UNC travels 8 miles to Durham for a rematch at Cameron Indoor Stadium. "Big game" doesn't even begin to describe it.

What's next: Duke hopes to carry the momentum over to a Saturday afternoon home matchup with Maryland, while North Carolina better bounce back quick because No. 20 Virginia comes to Chapel Hill next, also Saturday afternoon.

This Saturday promised one of the best wall-to-wall slates of college hoops fixtures thus far this season, and the afternoon action didn't disappoint. In fact, it just about blew my mind. Let's take a comprehensive look at what we learned from said afternoon action, shall we? (Check back late tonight for a recap of the evening action.)

Florida State 76, No. 4 Duke 73
What we learned: How cool is Leonard Hamilton? Bad charge call? He just smiles. Another bad, potentially crucial, game-deciding charge call? A smile and a wink. A buzzer-beating 3 to upset No. 4 Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium -- the same 3 that sent FSU's bench into a joyous on-court scrum? A quick nod. A walk to midcourt. A handshake. No big deal, right?

Hamilton isn't the celebratory type; he's as steady a presence as there is in college hoops. But what his team did Saturday -- just a week after it blew the doors off against North Carolina at home -- was worth much more than the cucumber-cool reaction Hamilton offered. This was a massive, season-changing win for the Florida State Seminoles.

There were plenty of opportunities to fade away. Midway through the second half, Ryan Kelly hit two 3s and a fast-break dunk to extend Duke's lead to 58-50, its widest margin of the afternoon. The crowd was rocking. FSU's shots weren't falling. It appeared Duke would do what Duke does: Gather itself, extend a lead, and ride out another ho-hum ACC home victory. Instead, the Seminoles kept battling. Within a minute, they had closed the eight-point lead to just five, and by the time the game reached its crucial moments -- the final minute -- FSU pulled just ahead at 71-70.

Things stayed tight all the way through. Kelly received the benefit of the doubt on a pretty clear charge with 20 seconds left and Duke guard Austin Rivers made a great move to the rim to tie the game at 73 with just 6 seconds remaining. But FSU guard Luke Loucks, calm as his head coach, advanced the ball to guard Michael Snaer in time for Snaer's buzzer-beating, game-winning 3 just a few feet in front of the visitors bench. That's when the ecstasy, apparently shared by all but Hamilton, commenced.

So what did we learn? We learned that the Noles are indeed very real. Are they as good as their 33-point blowout over UNC? Of course not. But they're good enough -- strong enough, defensive enough, big enough, tough enough -- to present matchup problems for some of the best teams in the country, even on those teams' home floors. Before the season, we thought Florida State was the third-best team in the ACC. After losses to Harvard and Princeton and a wipeout at Clemson, that projection looked wildly optimistic. Now, it almost feels cautious. If the Seminoles play like this the rest of the way, they're definitely better than that.

No. 5 Missouri 89, No. 3 Baylor 88
What we learned: This one-point deficit was reached thanks to a meaningless last-second 3 from Baylor's Brady Heslip, and so the score line belies the real takeaway from this Tigers road win: Missouri is no illusion. No. This team is just flat good.

Can any other conclusion be reached? Consider the accomplishment here: The Tigers went on the road against the No. 3 team in the country, one with as much size and athletic interior talent as any of the nation's contenders -- a quality supposedly anathema to Mizzou's very essence -- and scored 1.24 points per possession in a win that required a first-half battle, a second-half push and a late survival of an inevitable Baylor run. The Tigers are simply relentless on the offensive end, attacking the tiniest of defensive gaps with more speed than any other backcourt in the country.

If you were wondering why Missouri forward Ricardo Ratliffe is so handily dominating competition this season -- leading the nation in field goal percentage and effective field goal percentage by a huge margin to date -- you received your answer today. Ratliffe cuts and spaces in the middle of the paint as well as any forward in the country. He's a tireless, opportunistic offensive rebounder with great hands and lightning-quick feet. And more often than not, Missouri's guards -- particularly Phil Pressey, who was brilliant in Waco -- break down the defense, ruin its rotation and find Ratliffe for easy finishes around the rim. His line Saturday, against all that long, NBA-worthy Baylor talent: 27 points on 11-of-14 from the field (see?), 8 rebounds (6 offensive) and 2 blocks. He was, per the usual, brilliant. Meanwhile, Pressey finished with 18 points and 7 assists, 6 steals and 5 rebounds. Can't understate his total impact on the game.

There are concerns for Baylor going forward. Perry Jones III continues to live up to the occasionally unfair "soft" label; when you're a 6-foot-11 lottery pick, and the opposing team had only two contributors bigger than 6-6, 8 points and 4 rebounds just doesn't cut it. The Bears, despite their clear size advantage, allowed the Tigers to rebound 48.3 percent of their misses on the offensive end; per Ken Pomeroy's rankings, Baylor is the 220th-best team in the nation on its defensive glass. When you can run a front line of Jones, Quincy Acy and Quincy Miller (who turned in a stellar scoring performance today, it should be noted), why are you getting so consistently and comprehensively outworked on the boards?

Still, let's give the Tigers a huge amount of credit. When Missouri were blown out at Kansas State, the concerns about this team's size were seemingly validated. Sure, Mizzou played well in the nonconference. Sure, the shots were falling. Sure, Ratliffe was on a tear. But could Frank Haith's team really keep it up in conference play? Weren't the Tigers, among any team with an undefeated nonconference record, the most likely to fade into Big 12 mediocrity? The answer, as we now know, is a resounding no. Small? Sure. Guard-oriented? You bet. This team is what it is. What you see is what you get. And what you get is one of the best offensive -- check, that, one of the best, period -- teams in the nation, bar none. Great win.

West Virginia 77, Cincinnati 74 (OT)
What we learned: If you haven't seen Kevin Jones play lately, you're missing the Big East Player of the Year to date -- and a legitimate national POY contender, too. Frankly, you might not recognize him. Jones, who struggled to adapt to a star role last season, has emerged as all that and more in 2011-12. This form was again on display today, especially late in regulation, when Jones hit a massive go-ahead 3 to help WVU push Cincinnati to overtime, where the Mountaineers outlasted the Bearcats for a massive home win. Jones finished with 26 points on 11-of-15 from the field, hitting both of his 3-point attempts and grabbing 13 rebounds in the process. Like I said: If that's not the Big East Player of the Year thus far, I don't know who is.

In the meantime, despite the loss -- and a truly questionable layup attempt by Dion Dixon, when the Bearcats needed a 3 to tie -- Cincinnati can come away from this game looking pretty good. Just a few days after beating UConn on the road, it faced down a star-led squad on its brutal home court and very nearly, but for a few late errors and big plays by West Virginia, came away with a win. If you thought Cincinnati was the second-best team in the league after the win over the Huskies, you might still feel that way now.

Tennessee 60, No. 11 Connecticut 57
What we learned: The Huskies can't stop the slide. Saturday's loss at Tennessee marks UConn's fourth loss in its past six games, and was again emblematic of the woes facing this team: disjointed offense, a willingness to take bad shots, lack of leadership in tough situations, interior play far below the sum of its insanely talented parts. We knew Cuonzo Martin's Tennessee squad would come out and play hard in Knoxville. Even when the Volunteers have been bad this season (which has been often: This win moves them to a mere 9-10 overall), they've played with a blue-collar, let's-work-hard spirit preached constantly by their first-year head coach. Today it paid off.

But Connecticut deserves much of the blame here, too. Andre Drummond and Alex Oriakhi should be dominating undermanned frontcourts like UT's. Instead, they combined for 11 points and were obviously outplayed by freshman Jarnell Stokes, who posted a double-double in his third career game. The same Stokes who was a 17-year-old kid in high school last month. Great win for the Vols, of course, but the postgame questions will be all about UConn. As of Jan. 21, this team -- so talented, so promising, so mystifyingly mediocre -- still has miles to go before it can be considered a Big East contender, let alone one with national title aspirations.

No. 2 Kentucky 77, Alabama 71
What we learned: There are no moral victories in college hoops. Alabama coach Anthony Grant will be eager to share that rather cliché bit of information with his team following Saturday's loss at Kentucky. And it's true -- a win is a win, a loss is a loss, and minimal nuance is allowed to color those stark W's and L's at the end of the season. Still, in the final moments of Bama's impressive Saturday road stand, against the No. 2 team in the country and a program that has won its past 47 road games, the longest active streak in Division I, the only thought that occurred to this viewer was: "Well, no matter whether they win or lose, this was a great game for Alabama."

It was. The Crimson Tide are in the midst of a three-games-in-eight-days scheduling bump, one that put them on the road at Mississippi State (loss), at home against Vanderbilt (loss, and an ugly one at that) and then, mercilessly, on the road at Kentucky. Yet Alabama never quit coming at the typically impressive Wildcats. Even when struggling forward Tony Mitchell fouled out with five minutes remaining, the Tide kept getting scores and free throws and good looks, pushing the game and preventing UK from ever finishing in comfort.

In the end, Anthony Davis' freakish interior defense saved Kentucky's day; the last of his four blocks came with 7 seconds left to preserve a four-point lead, and thus the expected result was achieved. But give Alabama credit: That was a gutsy, tough road performance. This team seemed easy to write off over much of the past two months, but if Saturday's performance was any indication, it will be a worthy competitor in the coming SEC stretch run.

Dayton 87, Xavier 72
What we learned: The Flyers have come a long way since Nov. 30. That's when this team lost 84-55 to Buffalo at home, three days after winning the Old Spice Classic title game over Minnesota. Four days later, Dayton was blown out at Murray State. At that point, first-year coach Archie Miller appeared to have a sincere rebuilding project on his hands. Nearly two months later, the Flyers are, well, flying. This 15-point home win over putative Atlantic 10 favorite Xavier puts them at 4-1 in A-10 play, another excellent addition to a résumé that includes victories over Alabama, Saint Louis and, most recently, a strong 10-point win at Temple. By now, Dayton isn't a rebuild. It isn't a neat little story. It's a legitimate A-10 contender with an easy case to make for an at-large spot in the NCAA tournament. Who saw that one coming?

In the meantime, Xavier's off-and-on struggles -- which appeared to abate with a four-game winning streak in A-10 play -- reared their ugly head again. The Musketeers were mediocre on offense and downright bad on defense, allowing 87 points in 65 possessions, or 1.33 points per trip. Sometimes it's ugly offense, sometimes it's lenient defense, but in either case, it's clear Chris Mack's team hasn't put its midseason slide entirely in the rearview.

Some other observations from Saturday afternoon's selections:

• I didn't get to see all of Kansas' tough 69-66 road win at Texas, but the portions I did see lent some solid eyeball observations to my current theory on Texas: The Longhorns have plenty of holes, particularly in their frontcourt, but they're much better than most people seem to think. To wit, the Longhorns entered Saturday ranked No. 24 in Ken Pomeroy's adjusted efficiency rankings. They're solid on the offensive glass, good at getting to the free throw line, and while they don't play vintage Rick Barnes defense, they keep games close enough to give lights-out scorer J'Covan Brown chances to go win the game late. He had one such chance Saturday, and it missed, but the lesson was well-taken: Texas will give superior teams fits from here on out. Don't say you weren't warned. (And how 'bout Tyshawn Taylor's continued torrid pace with 22 points and ZERO turnovers? What a three-game stretch.)
• Playing Kentucky's brutal Davis-led defense must have a way of making other defenses feel wide open. That appeared to be the case in Fayetteville today, where the Arkansas Razorbacks -- fresh off a loss to the Wildcats this week -- made their first 11 shots and went 80 percent from the field in the first half against Michigan. Early in the second half, the score was 49-33 Arkansas, and a blowout appeared to be in the works. But the shooting slowed down, Michigan made its comeback, and the Razorbacks narrowly avoided a late loss when Wolverines guard Trey Burke's last-second 3 missed. Bad second half, but a nonetheless solid win for freshman B.J. Young and the rest of Mike Anderson's young team. And what a day for the SEC, eh?
• Purdue had the toughest task of any team in the country Saturday afternoon: The Boilermakers had to fight a Midwestern snowstorm that trapped them on their airport tarmac and prevented them from getting more than a few hours of sleep before the 12 p.m. ET tip. Predictably, Michigan State rolled. Purdue has serious issues on both ends of the floor, particularly with an offense that offers little but a barrage of outside shots. But it's hard to blame the Boilermakers too much for the lopsided 83-58 result.
• Yes, it's hard to win on the road. Yes, it's hard to win on the road in the Big East with a team comprised almost entirely of freshmen. But it's even harder to lose when your opponent shoots 3-of-24 in the first half, 12-of-41 for the game -- which ties Harvard for the season record for fewest field goals in a win -- and makes just three of its 14 3-point field goal attempts on the afternoon. And yet, that's exactly what Rutgers did Saturday, as Georgetown overcame a legendarily poor shooting performance (effective field goal percentage: 33.8) to rally for a late win. Hoyas freshman Otto Porter continued his stellar freshman campaign, scoring Georgetown's final six points and nailing the winning free throws with just 8 seconds remaining. Georgetown fans won't necessarily be pleased with this one, but when you shoot this poorly and still get a win, and thanks to a steady freshman to boot, there's encouraging stuff in there somewhere.
• Maryland will eagerly await to hear the status of freshman center Alex Len, who left the Terps' 73-60 loss to Temple at the Palestra with an ankle injury. Len has helped lead a quiet stretch of solid play from the Terps. With him, this team can compete in the ACC. Without him, well, it's not looking good.
• Poor Boston College. The Eagles showed signs of improvement in two early ACC wins over Clemson and Virginia Tech, but Steve Donahue's team returned to early-season form Saturday, which is a way of saying it got beat soundly at home by another very marginal team -- in this case, a 71-56 home loss to Wake Forest. Yeesh.
• What happened to Belmont? Everyone's favorite mid-major darling -- which returned the lion's share of personnel from last season's 30-5 campaign -- fell 79-78 at USC Upstate on Saturday, dropping to 13-7 overall and 6-2 in the Atlantic Sun to date. The other loss came at home to Lipscomb earlier this month, and all of a sudden the Bruins' expected A-Sun dominance looks entirely vulnerable. Strange times in the Volunteer State.

Duke 91, Wake Forest 73
Duke's Ryan Kelly came off the bench to score 20 points, grab 10 rebounds and hand out four assists in the win. He's the first non-starter this season to reach those three levels in a game.

Washington State 81, Stanford 69
WSU's Faisal Aden poured in 33 points off the bench in the win, the most points in a game by a Big Six non-starter this season.

The Cougars shot 93.1 percent (27-29) from the free-throw line, the highest percentage by a Big Six team this season in a game with at least 25 free throw attempts.

Central Connecticut State 69, Bryant 51
CCSU's Malcolm McMillan handed out 10 assists without scoring a point in the win. Six players this season have had a scoreless, double-digit assist game; McMillan is the first to do it twice.

Vanderbilt 69, Alabama 59
Alabama's Tony Mitchell missed all eight of his field goal attempts en route to the first scoreless game of his career. The eight misses are tied for most by a Big Six player this season in a scoreless effort.

Oregon 65, USC 62
The Trojans managed only five assists on 25 made field goals. They are the third Big Six team this season to record five or fewer assists on 25 or more made baskets.

VCU 69, William & Mary 68
VCU's Treveon Graham missed all seven of his field goal attempts but went 10-for-12 from the line. He's the third bench player this season to score in double-figures without a made field goal.

Niagara 75, Canisius 56
Niagara guard Juan'ya Green recorded as many assists (11) as Canisius' entire team.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Amid all of his postgame questions about rotations and adjustments and tempo, Duke coach Mike Krzyewski might have summed up the importance of the sixth-ranked Blue Devils' 61-58 victory over No. 17 Virginia on Thursday night with five little words:

“We can play defense, too.”

Maybe not great defense, not yet. Probably not even as consistently good as the Cavaliers, who entered the game allowing foes to score a mere 50.5 points per game and make only 38 percent of their shots.

But good enough to hold Virginia linchpin Mike Scott, who looked like he was en route to career night in the first half, to 3-for-9 shooting after halftime. Good enough to stymie Virginia into 29.4 percent shooting in the second half. Good enough to survive two potential game-tying 3-pointers in the final 10 seconds (and prevail despite making only a quarter of its 3-pointers and 42.1 percent of its free throws).

Good enough to prove that the Blue Devils still know how to play tough.

“It was really a terrific win for our kids because they had to fight for 40 minutes against an outstanding team,” said Krzyzewski, whose team snapped Virginia's 12-game winning streak, and has now won 44 in a row at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

There had been some budding questions about Duke’s grit, particularly because of how it was – or wasn’t – making stops.

The Blue Devils entered the game ranked an uncharacteristic second-to-last in the ACC in scoring defense, allowing foes 69.4 points per game; and dead last in field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot 44.3 percent.

Players had admitted those numbers smarted, especially in a program that has always prided itself on hard-nosed, floor-slapping, game-changing D.

“Part of our culture at Duke is great defense,’’ forward Miles Plumlee said. “Looking at our team, we knew our defense wasn’t where it needs to be.”

Early on, it wasn’t where it needed to be, either, as the Cavs shot 51.9 percent in the first half thanks to 16 points from Scott (who finished with 23, and who has to be a leading contender for ACC Player of the Year because of the impact he’s had on his team).

But after halftime, Miles and Mason Plumlee (12 points) buckled down on the fifth-year senior forward, trying to push him out of his comfort zone by staying on his hip.

“They were physical with him,’’ Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. “… He actually got some good looks, he just missed some.”

Meanwhile, Duke started making some.

With the score knotted 38-38 with 15:47 left, Blue Devils guard Seth Curry buried a 3-pointer. Then he blocked Sammy Zeglinski’s 3-point attempt, which led to a Tyler Thornton layup – one of Duke’s first transition buckets of the game. Scott’s baseline jumper wiggled out, leading to a transition dunk by Miles Plumlee. An Austin Rivers 3-pointer eventually stretched the breakaway to 10-2 and the Blue Devils’ lead to 48-40.

“We got on a little run when we were making shots and playing good defense,’’ Devils forward Ryan Kelly said. “And when we do that, we’re really good.”

Virginia scrapped back in the final minute, though, closing to within three points after Kelly – 14-for-14 from the line last weekend at Georgia Tech – missed two free throws, and Cavalier Akil Mitchell answered with a dunk.

But after Curry missed a jumper, Scott and teammate Jontel Evans missed two potential game-tying 3-pointers as time ran out.

“You can’t complain about getting two clean looks at the rim to extend it to overtime,’’ said Bennett, whose team allowed the Devils to shoot 60.9 percent in the second half.

Although Duke, which “broke down a little bit” on defense in those final seconds, Kelly said, will probably have something to say about it once they see it on tape. Which might be a good thing, because it reinforces the fact that the Blue Devils are not a great defense, not yet.

Although they’re getting better. And tougher.

“I don’t think that game came down to that last shot,” Duke guard Rivers said. “I think that game came down to rebounds, and the big stops we made, and the defensive stops we made, and the emphasis we had on Scott in the second half.”

Said Krzyzewski: “You can play defense a variety of ways. They played it well, and I thought we played it well tonight.”

Robbi Pickeral can be reached at bylinerp@gmail.com. Twitter: @bylinerp.

DURHAM, N.C. -- A quick look at No. 6 Duke’s 61-58 victory over No. 17 Virginia at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Thursday night:

What it means: Despite another superb effort by Virginia forward Mike Scott -- who followed his 23-point effort against Miami with a 23-point game against the Blue Devils -- Duke extended its home winning streak to 44 games (behind only Kentucky, nationally) while halting the Cavaliers’ s run of victories at 12.

How it happened: The score was knotted 38-38 early in the second half when Duke made its breakaway. First, Seth Curry buried a 3-pointer. Then he blocked Sammy Zeglinski’s 3-point attempt, which led to a Tyler Thornton layup -- Duke’s first true transition bucket of the game. Scott’s baseline jumper wiggled out, leading to another Duke transition bucket. An Austin Rivers 3-pointer eventually stretched the run to 10-2 and the Blue Devils’ lead to 48-40.

Duke’s defense -- ranked second-to-last in opponent scoring in the ACC entering the game, allowing 69.4 points per game, and dead last in the league field-goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot 44.3 percent -- was more active in the second half.

But Virginia still had two shots to send it to overtime.

After Duke’s Ryan Kelly missed two free throws in the final minute, Virginia’s Akil Mitchell dunked back a miss to cut Duke’s lead to 61-58. Curry missed on a well-defended drive with about 15 seconds left, but Scott and teammate Jontel Evans both missed 3-pointers for Virginia in the final 10 seconds as time ran out.

Mason Plumlee led Duke, which shot 52.2 percent, with 12 points. Virginia shot only 39.3 percent, including 29.4 percent in the second half.

Numbers to know: Duke has now beaten Virginia eight consecutive times in the series and 15 straight times in Durham. Over the past 10 seasons, the Blue Devils are 17-1 against the Cavs. ... Duke made only 8-of-19 free throws Thursday night. According to ESPN Stats & Information, it's just the second time since 1996 the Devils have shot less than 50 percent from the line in an ACC home game. The other time came in an 85-83 loss to North Carolina in 2001. Duke was also just 5-of-20 from long range, its worst 3-point shooting performance of the season. ... Mike Scott scored 23 points (10-19 FG) and grabbed nine rebounds. The rest of Virginia's starters combined for 20 points (7-27 FG) and 13 rebounds.

What’s next: The Blue Devils travel to Clemson for a Sunday meeting. The Cavaliers get the weekend off, and will play at Georgia Tech on Thursday.

Robbi Pickeral can be reached at bylinerp@gmail.com. Twtter: @bylinerp.

LAHAINA, Hawaii -- Fans from both sides had warring chants that echoed throughout the crowd. Mike Krzyzewski was leaping up and down and spilling out on the floor with emotion. Bill Self twisted and recoiled with every turn of the game.

Duke players leapt into each other’s arms when it was over as the faces on their Kansas counterparts had the far-off look of a team that had just dropped an elimination game of some sort.

Was this game played in November or in March?

The Maui Invitational is often a great event. But it’s played so early in the season and is such a departure from the typical mood of big-time college basketball that usually it can’t help to have at least some exhibition feel to it.

And then a night like Wednesday happens, when two legacy programs played a high-intensity game that could have just as easily been taking place in a dome and not a tiny band-box gym in the middle of the ocean.

In a way, it is a shame that the final score will be recorded as "Duke 68, Kansas 61," because it doesn’t imply the sort of struggle it was. Or how badly both sides clearly valued the game.

They hadn’t played against each other since 2003, so there was a gravity to the game. The key players in both jerseys had been a part of matchups like this before, but not in the roles they were going to play. All of this added to the tension, and it was tangible.

The game was ultimately decided on a wild and freakish shot, the unheralded Tyler Thornton heaving in a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock with 20 seconds left that made it a two-possession game. Krzyzewski later called it a “dream shot” as he sat next to Thornton, who was clearly still floating and not yet realizing that he might’ve made one of the shots of his life. While that was the obvious final highlight, it was only a bit of what took place.

During the second half, as the lead repeatedly changed hands, Krzyzewski sprang off the bench to fire his team up. Playing their seventh game in 12 days, fatigue was a factor for Duke. But it was so clear that their coach wanted them to fight through it because he understood the magnitude of the game.

“I want to win and I wanted them to see I haven’t retired yet,” he said. “It was important for me and important for them.”

The game was loaded with moments like that.

There was KU's Thomas Robinson showing off his all-around game in front of nearly a dozen NBA general managers, displaying a multi-faceted offensive game from jumpers to post moves to sheer power. He demanded the ball, playing with such a purpose that he often seemed to be moving at a different speed. His 16 points and 15 rebounds spoke to that. So did the fire with which he played and the long face that he left the floor with, totally spent.

“This is what we came to Kansas for, for games like this,” Robinson said. “I haven’t been around that long, but I do think it’ll go down as one of the top games [ever] in the tournament.”

But all Robinson’s play did was end up setting up a series of mighty one-on-one battles with Duke’s Mason Plumlee in the final minutes, with Plumlee’s longer arms and strength able to shut down Robinson’s effectiveness. With his 17 points and 12 rebounds, Plumlee ended up getting the edge in that matchup.

The Blue Devils’ Ryan Kelly, who had 17 points and was named the event’s MVP, had a game-long struggle with Kansas bigs Jeff Withey and Justin Wesley. There was Kansas guards Tyshawn Taylor and Elijah Johnson and their back-and-forth with Duke’s Seth Curry and Austin Rivers.

Taylor’s speed and aggressiveness stymied his counterparts as Curry and Rivers, who were a force during the tournament, were rendered mostly ineffective. Curry was just 2-of-8 and had trouble staying with Taylor on defense. Rivers got in foul trouble and wasn’t a factor in the second half, something not foreseen. Taylor finished with 17 points and Johnson had 10.

But Taylor’s excitement at times was too much and Duke’s pressure only increased as the game wore on and he ended up turning the ball over an ugly 11 times, 7 of them in the second half.

All of it together created something more than a game in Maui. It was instantly a candidate for one of the best regular season games of the year.

“I can’t imagine there being a better atmosphere than that game with two historic programs,” Self said. “I know our guys had a blast playing in it. I had a blast coaching in it.”

LAHAINA, Hawaii -- Coming into the season, the buzz around Duke centered on two sons of the NBA -- Seth Curry and Austin Rivers. And for the first six games of the season, Rivers and Curry led the team in scoring and set the tempo for the team.

But on Wednesday night, with the Maui Invitational title on the line against a feisty Kansas team, it was the trio of Ryan Kelly, Mason Plumlee and Tyler Thornton who stole the show.

Kelly led all Duke scorers with 17 points. Plumlee grabbed 12 boards and played stifling defense on Thomas Robinson. And Thornton hit two improbable 3s in the final few minutes of the game to give the Blue Devils the 68-61 victory over KU, giving the school its fifth Maui championship and maintaining its perfect record (15-0) in the event.

Kelly, who was named MVP of the tournament, kept the Blue Devils in the game in the first half with his perimeter shooting. In addition, he constantly pulled Robinson away from the basket and showed off his ability to create off the dribble. Whether he was hitting his shots or missing them, he spread the floor for the Blue Devils and kept Robinson out of the paint on the defensive end.

Kelly, who averaged just 6.6 points per game as a sophomore while shooting 32 percent from 3, looks like a completely different player as a junior. Last season, he was a bit of a shrinking wallflower that lacked confidence. This season, Kelly is on the hunt for his offense and is giving the Blue Devils a huge boost.

"I'm happy for Ryan," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "I really think Ryan's going to be one of the best players when he finishes up. He's going to be a pro ... Ryan, I think was deserving for three straight days in what he did, but he wouldn't be MVP if Mason didn't play well tonight."

Indeed, Plumlee was also crucial for the Devils. His length and athleticism gave Robinson a number of problems in the second half. On the offensive end, he got deep position on the KU bigs on multiple possessions and worked his way to the line. Plumlee's 17 points were the second-highest output of his career and he was even more impressive from the line. Coming into the game, Plumlee was shooting 34 percent from the charity stripe this season. On Wednesday night, he was 7-for-9 from the line.

"I thought the key guy to the game was Mason," Krzyzewski said. "You know, Mason really played like such a man with physicality and size. When you're playing with a guy that's playing that hard and that demonstrative, it gives you confidence.

"It's tough to single out anybody else, but I'm telling you just effort-wise, I've done this a long time, that was the key to the game. I know he didn't make the all-tournament team or whatever, but he made my team. We don't win this championship without him."

But the star of the night was Thornton, the scrappy backup guard for the Blue Devils. In the first two games of the tournament, Thornton scored a total of 4 points. For the season, he had taken a total of nine shots in six games. But with Rivers struggling down the stretch, Coach K decided to bench his star freshman in favor of Thornton.

And that's why he's Coach K.

Thornton played tenacious defense on Elijah Johnson and Tyshawn Taylor and hit his first bucket of the ball game, a huge 3, with 1:12 left to go in the game. The shot gave the Blue Devils a 63-61 lead. A minute later, with the shot clock winding down to zero and with just 20 seconds left in the game, Thornton hit a high-arching, double-clutch 3 at the shot-clock buzzer to extend the lead to 5. It was a dagger to the Jayhawks.

"Give him credit. I don't even know if he saw the rim when he shot it," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "But it was a heck of a shot. It was a great shot. It was the ballgame."

"I saw the rim," Thornton said. "But it was a tough shot. When Seth kicked me the ball, I looked at the shot clock, it was 3 seconds, and I just tried to get up a good shot. Once it left my hands, I kind of thought it was going to be in and luckily it was."

Added Krzyzewski: "It's a dream shot. People say it was a lucky shot, but I will tell you I'm lucky to have him on my team to shoot that shot. Sometimes you're just on a bus with a guy who deserves to win, and for that moment we were on his bus. Thank goodness he knew how to drive it."

A few more notes from the Duke-KU game:

-- Just as improbable as Thornton hitting those shots was the fact that Thornton was in the game at all. Rivers picked up his fourth foul with 6:39 left in the game. Thornton replaced him and Coach K never subbed Rivers back in for him. It was a pretty bold move considering that Rivers, up until that moment, was the Blue Devils' leading scorer and later would be named to the all-tournament team. Rivers was struggling in the second half and took a couple of wild shots, but Krzyzewski said the benching wasn't a punishment.

"Just defensively we needed it. Austin had four, and he got banged up on his shoulder a little bit. It wasn't that we were ... he didn't do anything wrong. It was just that team out on the court was so good defensively that you didn't want to mess up with it. He's fine with it. He'll win a lot of games for us, and he has. That's why he made all-tournament team. He's played well here."

-- Had the Jayhawks won the game, Robinson would have garnered the MVP of the tournament. He had another excellent game with 16 points, 15 rebounds and a block. However, Robinson also showed that he can be bothered by long, athletic, physical players like Plumlee. Robinson shot just 6-for-15 from the field and especially struggled down the stretch against Plumlee's stiff defense.

-- There's a downside to tweeting during a live game. Early in the first half, I tweeted "Best I've seen Tyshawn Taylor in years. Been good all 3 games for KU." At the time, he was slicing through the defense, hitting big shots and collecting dimes. But in the second half, Taylor regressed badly and ended the game with a whopping 11 turnovers. "Tyshawn had an unbelievable first half," Self said. "So even though he got careless there late, it may have been because he was a little fatigued and lost focus. So I've got to do a better job with that."