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ACC CHAMPS!!!#3 Men's Basketball Defeats Maryland 81-68 To Win Second Straight ACC Tournament
3/12/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jason Williams Dubbed ACC Tournament MVP
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) (March 12) No. 3 Duke wasn't about to let its only Atlantic Coast Conference loss in two seasons go unchallenged.
The Blue Devils (27-4) secured a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and probably the nation's top ranking with an 81-68 victory Sunday over No. 20 Maryland in the ACC tournament title game.
Duke should ascend to No. 1 after losses by Cincinnati and Stanford _ teams ahead of the Blue Devils in the poll.
Duke's freshmen led the way this time when Jason Williams scored a season-high 23 points and Carlos Boozer added 21 as the top-seeded Blue Devils became the first program since the 1973 and 1974 North Carolina State teams to win consecutive outright ACC regular-season and tourney titles.
Mike Krzyzewski won his fifth ACC crown. The veteran coach pulled his starters with 33 seconds left and gave each a bear hug near the bench.
Juan Dixon led the second-seeded Terrapins (24-9) with 19 points. Maryland had to go the final 32 1/2 minutes without starting forward Danny Miller, who injured his left ankle trying to block a shot on a breakaway layup by Mike Dunleavy.
The Blue Devils' home loss to the Terrapins a month ago snapped their ACC regular-season record 31-game winning streak, but the second half belonged to Duke and the team's youngsters this time.
Williams, the team's point guard, scored 15 of his points in the second half and got Duke's outside game going with a 3-pointer to open the half. The 6-foot-9 Boozer scored 11 points after the break, taking care of Duke's inside game.
After struggling from the outside in the opening 20 minutes and leading by a point at halftime, the Blue Devils came out by hitting their first three 3-pointers to begin pulling away. They made 64 percent of their shots in the second half.
Maryland trimmed a 10-point lead to four at 56-52 with 8:50 left, but Williams hit a 3-pointer and got a goaltending call, and Boozer converted a three-point play and Duke was en route to its 11th ACC crown.
Williams' previous career high was 22 against North Carolina A&T on Dec. 12, 1999.
Duke made a combined 30 of 59 3-pointers in its first two games of the tourney, but struggled from long range in the opening 20 minutes, going 1-for-11.
But Maryland's offense was just as ineffective early as the Blue Devils took a 25-13 lead 8:50 before the break, going on an 11-2 run as four different players scored.
The Terrapins countered with an 8-0 run of their own as Dixon and Terence Morris sank 3-pointers 34 seconds apart as both teams began to heat up from the field.
Players Mentioned
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