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Men's Basketball Game Notes: 4/3/04 vs. Connecticut, 9 PM, CBS
March 30, 2004
DURHAM, N.C. - Duke (31-5, 13-3 ACC), the Atlanta Regional champion, will face Phoenix Regional champion Connecticut (31-6, 12-4 Big East) in the national semifinals on Saturday, April 3 in San Antonio, Texas. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:47 p.m.
Duke leads the all-time series with Connecticut, 4-3, dating back to 1964. Four of the seven games have come in NCAA Tournament play, with the Blue Devils picking up postseason wins in 1964, 1990 and 1991 while the Huskies earned a 77-74 victory over Duke in the 1999 NCAA title contest.
The Huskies have won the past three meetings between the two schools by a total of 12 points. The last six games between Duke and Connecticut have been decided by an average of 4.8 points, with the 1976 and 1990 tilts going to overtime.
Duke-Connecticut Series
Date Score Note Mar. 14, 1964 Duke 101, UConn 54 NCAA1 Dec. 14, 1976 Duke 64, UConn 62 (ot) Mar. 24, 1990 Duke 79, UConn 78 (ot) NCAA2 Mar. 22, 1991 Duke 81, UConn 67 NCAA3 Nov. 29, 1994 UConn 90, Duke 86 Mar. 29, 1999 UConn 77, Duke 74 NCAA4 Nov. 12, 1999 UConn 71, Duke 661 - NCAA Regional Finals (Raleigh, N.C.) 2 - NCAA Regional Finals (E. Rutherford, N.J.) 3 - NCAA Regional Semifinals (Pontiac, Mich.) 4 - NCAA Championship (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Duke in the Final Four
Duke is making its 14th appearance in the Final Four, moving into a second-place tie with UCLA on the all-time list (North Carolina - 15). Duke has made previous appearances in the Final Four in 1963, 1964, 1966, 1978, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1999 and 2001.
Under coach Mike Krzyzewski, the Blue Devils are advancing to the Final Four for the 10th time.
Duke holds an all-time record of 9-4 in national semifinal tilts, including a 7-2 ledger in such games under Krzyzewski.
Storylines
- Duke, the No. 1 seed in the Atlanta Region, will be gunning for its fourth NCAA Tournament championship in 2004. The Blue Devils previously earned national titles in 1991, 1992 and 2001
- Duke is making its 14th appearance in the Final Four and its 10th under head coach Mike Krzyzewski
- Duke is 33-5 as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and earned national titles from this seed in 1992 and 2001
- Since 1985, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski has 64 NCAA Tournament victories, 29 more than the next-closest coaches (North Carolina's Roy Williams and Arizona's Lute Olson each have 35 NCAA wins during this period)
- The two head coaches - Duke's Mike Krzyzewski and Connecticut's Jim Calhoun - have combined for 1,372 career coaching wins. Krzyzewski (694) and Calhoun (678) rank 17th and 18th, respectively, on the NCAA Division I all-time coaching victory chart
- With 64 career NCAA Tournament wins, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski stands one victory shy of matching the all-time record of 65 held by North Carolina's Dean Smith
- Chris Duhon's 38 steals in NCAA Tournament games rank tied for second all-time with Kentucky's Wayne Turner and behind only Duke's Grant Hill (39)
- Duke advanced to the Final Four by winning the Atlanta Regional with victories over Illinois (72-62) and Xavier (66-63). Luol Deng was named the MVP of the regional after averaging 18.5 points per contest in the two games. Deng, who became the first Duke freshman to earn regional MVP honors, was joined on the all-regional team by teammate Shelden Williams
- Shelden Williams is having a fine NCAA Tournament run for the Blue Devils, averaging 13.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.3 blocked shots, 1.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game. Williams is shooting .581 (18-of-31) from the floor and .905 (19-of-21) from the foul line
- Led by Chris Duhon's perfect 11-of-11 accuracy, all five Duke starters are shooting at least .737 from the foul line in NCAA Tournament play (Duhon - 1.000; Shelden Williams - .905; J.J. Redick - .900; Luol Deng - .842; Daniel Ewing - .737)
- By virtue of this year's 2004 Final Four berth, every Duke class from 1986 to 2007 except one (1998) will have played in at least one Final Four
- For the fifth time in ACC history, the league will be represented by two teams in the Final Four. The other years for multiple ACC squads to advance to the Final Four were 1981 (North Carolina & Virginia), 1990 (Duke & Georgia Tech), 1991 (Duke & North Carolina) and 2001 (Duke & Maryland)
- Duke's Luol Deng and Connecticut's Charlie Villanueva were prep teammates at Blair (N.J.) Academy, both graduating in 2003
- Of the 801 games coached at Duke by Mike Krzyzewski, 662 of them have come as a ranked team (83 percent). Duke's record as a ranked team is 544-118. Of those 662 contests, 163 have come as the No. 1 team in the country (144-19 record)
- Now with 31 victories this season, Duke has reached the 20-win plateau for the 39th time in school history, including the last eight seasons in succession. Duke now has eight 30-win seasons - all have come under Coach K and the eight 30-win seasons are an NCAA record by a coach
- In the AP poll, Duke is one of only two teams in the nation to be ranked among the nation's top 10 all season (Connecticut is the other). The No. 6 Blue Devils have not been ranked lower than sixth all season
- Duke made its seventh straight ACC Tournament Championship game appearance on March 14. Maryland, the No. 6 seed, defeated Duke, 95-87 in overtime, to end the Blue Devils' five-year reign as ACC Tournament champions
- Duke clinched its 16th ACC regular season title - the 10th in the past 19 seasons under Mike Krzyzewski. The Blue Devils won their sixth ACC regular season title in the past eight seasons. Duke finished 13-3 in the league
- Duke's entire regular starting five - Chris Duhon, J.J. Redick, Shelden Williams, Luol Deng and Daniel Ewing - each earned some kind of All-ACC recognition. Duhon was first team All-ACC, Redick and Williams second team, Deng third team and Ewing an honorable mention selection
- Deng was a unanimous selection to the ACC All-Freshman Team and Williams and Duhon were the top two vote-getters for the 2004 ACC All-Defensive Team (media vote). The duo of Williams and Duhon also were named as members to the coaches' All-Defensive Team
Advancing To San Antonio
No. 1 seed Duke opened the 2004 NCAA Tournament by posting 96-61 and 90-62 victories over No. 16 seed Alabama State and No. 8 seed Seton Hall, respectively, in Raleigh, N.C.
Then, this past weekend in Atlanta, Ga., the Blue Devils downed No. 5 seed Illinois (72-62) and No. 7 seed Xavier (66-63) to claim the regional championship. The win over Xavier pushed Mike Krzyzewski's record in regional title games to 10-1. Luol Deng was named the regional's MVP and was joined on the all-regional team by Duke's Shelden Williams along with a trio of Xavier players -- Lionel Chalmers, Anthony Myles and Romain Sato.
Through four games in the tournament, Duke is shooting .489 from the floor while holding its opponents to just .390 field goal shooting. The Blue Devils have outscored their four opponents by an average of 19.0 points per contest.
In Alabama State (SWAC Tournament), Illinois (Big Ten regular season) and Xavier (Atlantic 10 Tournament), the Blue Devils have knocked off three conference champions in their four NCAA Tournaments games in 2004. On Saturday, Duke will face Big East Tournament champion Connecticut.
Duke In The NCAA Tournament
Duke, which is making its 28th NCAA Tournament appearance overall, has been one of the best NCAA Tournament teams in the history of college basketball. The Blue Devils' .771 winning percentage (81-24) in NCAA Tournament play is best all-time. Duke's 81 NCAA Tournament victories and 105 NCAA Tournament games rank fourth in NCAA history. Duke remains just one of three programs to make five or more consecutive Final Four appearances (the Blue Devils advanced to the Final Four every year from 1988-92).
In 2003-04, the Blue Devils are making their ninth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 20th in the last 21 seasons under Mike Krzyzewski.
Krzyzewski In The NCAA Tournament
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has enjoyed tremendous success in the NCAA Tournament throughout his career. His .800 winning percentage (64-16) is the third-highest among all active coaches with a minimum of 20 NCAA Tournament games. His 64 NCAA Tournament victories rank second all-time and his 10 Final Four appearances rank third all-time. Coach K is one of only four coaches in history to win three or more NCAA Tournament titles. Here is a look at Krzyzewski's standing among all coaches in the NCAA Tournament:
Most NCAA Tournament Victories
Coach, Team Wins Dean Smith, North Carolina........ 65 Mike Krzyzewski, Duke............. 64 John Wooden, UCLA................. 47 Denny Crum, Louisville............ 42 Bob Knight, Indiana/Texas Tech.... 42
Highest NCAA Tournament Winning Percentage*
Coach, School (Record) Percent John Wooden, UCLA (47-10)..................... 82.5 Mike Krzyzewski, Duke (62-16)................. 80.0 Tom Izzo, Michigan State (18-5)............... 78.3 Rick Pitino, four schools (27-9).............. 75.0 Steve Fisher, Michigan/San Diego St. (20-7)... 74.1 * - minimum 20 NCAA Tournament games
Most Final Four Appearances
Coach, School Appearances John Wooden, UCLA............. 12 Dean Smith, North Carolina.... 11 Mike Krzyzewski, Duke......... 10 Denny Crum, Louisville........ 6 Adoph Rupp, Kentucky.......... 6
Most Final Four Victories
Coach, School Victories John Wooden, UCLA................ 21 Mike Krzyzewski, Duke............ 10 Adoph Rupp, Kentucky............. 9 Dean Smith, North Carolina....... 8 Bob Knight, Indiana/Texas Tech... 7
Duke as a No. 1 Seed
Duke earned a No. 1 seed in the Atlanta Region in 2004, marking the sixth time in the past seven seasons (eighth time overall) the Blue Devils have entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed. Duke previously earned No. 1 seeds in 1986, 1992, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002. Duke's record as a No. 1 seed is 33-5 overall (.868). The Blue Devils earned national championships from this spot in 1992 and 2001.
Duke, which now has a 33-5 record as a number one seed, advanced to the Final Four nine times overall under head coach Mike Krzyzewski and four times - 1986, 1992, 1999 and 2001 - as a number one seed. The Blue Devils advanced to the Final Four four times as a number two seed (1988, 1989, 1991 and 1994) and once as a number three seed (1990).
Since the seeding process inception in 1979, Duke became the first team to earn five consecutive number one seeds from 1998-2002. Only four other schools - DePaul from 1980-82, Virginia from 1981-83, Kentucky from 1995-97 and Michigan State from 1999-2001 - managed number one seeds in three successive seasons. In addition, Duke has been a number one seed eight times since 1979, tied with Kentucky for the most by any program in the nation:
Times As Number One Seed In NCAA Tournament
Team Times Duke............... 8 Kentucky........... 8 North Carolina..... 7 Kansas............. 6 Georgetown......... 5 Oklahoma........... 5 Michigan State..... 4
Against the Field
Including the first four rounds of the 2004 NCAA Tournament, 22 of Duke's 36 games this season came against teams that were invited to this year's tournament. Duke has posted a 18-4 (.818) record vs. teams advancing to the NCAA Tournament in 2004. The 18 victories vs. NCAA Tournament teams are the most by any program in the nation this season. Here is a look at Duke's success vs. teams in the 2004 NCAA field:
Team Seed Region Record Georgia Tech..... 3 St. Louis........ 2-1 N.C. State....... 3 Phoenix.......... 1-1 Texas............ 3 Atlanta.......... 1-0 Maryland......... 4 Phoenix.......... 2-1 Wake Forest...... 4 E. Rutherford.... 1-1 Illinois......... 5 Atlanta.......... 1-0 North Carolina... 6 Atlanta.......... 2-0 Michigan State... 7 St. Louis........ 1-0 Xavier........... 7 Atlanta.......... 1-0 Seton Hall....... 8 Atlanta.......... 1-0 Pacific.......... 12 St. Louis........ 1-0 Princeton........ 14 Atlanta.......... 1-0 Valparaiso....... 15 St. Louis........ 1-0 Alabama State.... 16 Atlanta.......... 1-0 Liberty.......... 16 E. Rutherford.... 1-0
Against the Final Four
Against teams heading to the 2004 Final Four, Duke has posted a 58-25 cumulative record, including a 4-3 series mark against semifinal opponent Connecticut. Duke is 53-21 against Georgia Tech and 1-1 versus Oklahoma State, all-time.
