PAGE 4 / Wednesday, March 14, 2012 Tallahassee Democrat / SPORTS

Duke tuning out subplots in South bracket

DURHAM, N.C. Duke
has plenty of alluring sto-
rylines throughout its NCAA
tournament bracket. The
Blue Devils cant afford to
worry about any of them.
Theyve had three straight
subpar showings over the
past two weeks. Because of
that, the second-seeded Blue
Devils focus is squarely on
15th-seeded Lehigh, and not a
possible South regional nal
rematch with Kentucky 20
years after Christian Laett-
ners unforgettable last-sec-
ond shot beat the Wildcats.
Coach Mike Krzyzews-
ki insisted Tuesday that
he hasnt looked beyond
his four-teampod that also
includes 10th-seeded Xavier
and seventh-seeded Notre
Dame. Duke (27-6) plays
Lehigh (26-7) on Friday night
in Greensboro.
And you may think Im
lying, but I will tell you
that I never lie, Krzyzews-
ki said. I never have, nev-
er will. I could not tell you
the 16 teams in our region. I
knowKentuckys in. I know
that Notre Dame and Xavi-
er, because my staff ... you
have lead scouts for themin
case we win. But I dont look
at any of that.
Those subplots stuck out
almost immediately once
the bracket was revealed on
Selection Sunday. Among
them:
O An opening game against
Lehigh, the school Krzyze-
wski beat for the rst of his
Division I-record 927 career
wins, a 56-29 victory for his
rst Army teamin Novem-
ber 1975. Quipped Krzyze-
wski: I hope its the same
score.
O Apossible matchup Sun-
day with Notre Dame and
coach Mike Brey, one of
Krzyzewskis assistants at
Duke from1987-95.
OA potential meeting
next week with UNLV in
the round of 16 would rekin-
dle memories of consecu-
tive early-1990s Final Fours.
The Runnin Rebels blasted
Duke by 30 points in the 1990
championship game, and the
Blue Devils win the follow-
ing year in the seminals
remains one of the most sig-
nicant victories in school
history.
OAnd, of course, that
possible South Regional
final rematch with Ken-
tucky on March 25 three
days before the 20th anni-
versary of Laettners shot
sent Duke back to the Final
Four, marked its run to a
second straight national
title and remains a staple
of NCAA tournament high-
light reels.
Freshman Austin Rivers
admitted he peeked across
the bracket to get a feel of
what might await the Blue
Devils if they advance.
Just seeing where would
we be if we (win) this game
and this game, Rivers said.
We have a tough region, but
thats fun. Imlooking at the
teams ahead of us and Im
excited. Of course, it starts
off rst with Lehigh, but after
them, you just kind of look
just to see, if you do win,
who youd play, and theres
a lot of good teams.
Countered guard Seth
Curry: If we dont win
these first two games, it
doesnt matter whos in our
region.
The more pressing issue
for the Blue Devils is gur-
ing out how to get back to
playing well at both ends of
the court, a slump that start-
ed when they were embar-
rassed on their home court
by rival North Carolina in
the regular-season nale.
Itll certainly help if
injured forward Ryan Kel-
ly can get healthy, after a
sprained right foot kept him
out of the Atlantic Coast Con-
ference tournament.
Krzyzewski hopes to have
him back on the practice
court by Thursday, calling
it a day-to-day thing and
saying he trained in water
Monday to work on his move-
ment and conditioning.
If we were playing water
polo, I guess hed be ready to
play, the coach quipped.
Kelly, a 6-foot-11 junior,
poses unique matchup prob-
lems for opponents. He has
40 3-pointers this season and
opposing big men must come
to the perimeter to guard
him, freeing up space inside.
Without him, Duke was unim-
pressive in a tight quarter-
nal win over Virginia Tech
and was beaten by eventual
champion Florida State in
the seminals.
We run a lot of our offense
through him, so I think hes a
guy who can handle the ball,
whether its dribble-handoff
stuff or pick-and-pop situa-
tions, Curry said. Hes a
threat fromthe 3-point line,
so that opens the oor up for
guys like me and Austin, who
can drive in, and just helps
our offense. We dont have
that right now
Hopefully, he can be back.
Well just have to gure out
a way to get better.
#Z+PFEZ.D$SFBSZ
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$)6$, #6350/5)& "440$*"5&% 13&44
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzveski speaks viIh guard AusIin ivers (0) during Ihe rsI
haIf of a recenI game. The Iue DeviIs are Ihe No. 2 seeded Ieamin Ihe 5ouIh rackeI.
South Florida will try to turn NCAA game ugly
DAYTON, Ohio Every
pass is a risk. Every basket is
an accomplishment. The score-
board doesnt change very much
and may not make it up to 50
until late in the game.
South Florida is bringing its
own brand of ugliness to the
NCAA tournament.
The Bulls (20-13) got to the
First Four because of their abil-
ity to make a basket the ulti-
mate challenge. They set a Big
East record by allowing only
56.9 points per game this season,
reducing high-ying offenses to
40 minutes of futility.
Thats what we want to do,
coach Stan Heath said on Tues-
day. We want to disrupt you.
We want to smell your breath.
We want to get underneath your
skin. We want to make life mis-
erable for you.
Next on their misery index
is California (24-9), a balanced
team that has four players in
double gures and has never
seen anything quite like what
theyll face tonight in the First
Four. The Golden Bears have
spent the last couple of days
watching video of South Flor-
ida frustrate one offense after
another, no matter what their
style.
Like to shoot 3s? Not going
to do it. Like to get the ball
inside? Forget about it. Eager
for some fast-break baskets off
rebounds? Might as well just
become resigned to walking the
ball up the court.
During interviews on Tues-
day at the University of Dayton,
Pac-12 player of the year Jorge
Gutierrez was asked whether
California has faced another
defense similar to South Flor-
ida. He thought a few seconds
and couldnt identify another
one. He glanced at teammate
Harper Kamp for a suggestion
and got none.
The Bulls pose a unique chal-
lenge.
I think its going to be the
rst (such) team, Gutierrez said.
Its going to be a real challenge
on the physical side of the game.
Were excited for the challenge,
and well see what happens.
Hint: Its not going to be pret-
ty.
South Florida held 16 oppo-
nents in the 50s in scoring and
seven opponents in the 40s dur-
ing the season, giving up a sea-
son-low 43 points in a win over
Florida Southern. Their 58-51
win at Louisville on Feb. 29
prompted coach Rick Pitino to
later equate facing their defense
to getting a root canal.
The Bulls took it as the high-
est formof praise.
This is certainly not the rst
time youve seen a defensive
teamgo out and be successful,
forward Ron Anderson Jr. said.
A lot of times nowadays, people
are more interested in the ashi-
ness of a game or howhigh some-
bodys jumping or how many
blocked shots you can get. But
when its all said and done, it
boils down to fundamentals.
Every head coach across
the nation, on the rst day of
practice, they always harp on
defense. Thats where you start
off with. And for us, its really
helped us out, won us most of
our games this year.
#Z+PF,BZ
5IF "TTPDJBUFE 1SFTT
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5ouIh fIorida coach 5Ian HeaIh vaIks up
courI during pracIice on Tuesday,
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SPORTS / Tallahassee Democrat Wednesday, March 14, 2012 / PAGE 5
Syracuses Fab Melo out with eligibility issue
SYRACUSE, N.Y. Syr-
acuse will have to chase a
national championship with-
out startingcenter FabMelo,
who has been declared ineli-
gible for the NCAAtourna-
ment.
The universityannounced
Tuesday that the 7-foot Bra-
zilian, who didnot travel with
the teamto Pittsburgh for
the second- and third-round
games, wont take part inthe
tournament due to aneligibil-
ity issue. The school did not
elaborate.
Melo missed three games
earlierthisseasonincluding
oneof thetop-seededOranges
two losses because of an
academic issue.
ESPN, citingananonymous
source, reported that Melos
absence is relatedto the rst
suspensionandthat theNCAA
revisited the case and again
ruled himineligible.
Coach JimBoeheimsaid
the Orange will be ready
to play.
As he left the bus in front
of the teamhotel Tuesday,
Boeheimat rst said he had
nothing to say. He then told
TheAssociatedPress that all
we cando is be readyto play
with the guys we have.
Thats all we can do, he
said. There are injuries,
things happen during a sea-
son. Well be ready to play
and well go play.
Melos sudden ineligi-
bility made waves in Las
Vegas, where Cantor Gam-
ingdroppedSyracuses chanc-
es of winningthe title to 12-1
from10-1 Tuesday morning,
said Mike Colbert, Cantors
risk management director.
Colbert said the regions No.
2, Ohio State, was liftedto 5-1
from6-1 andother lines were
affected.
Syracuse went from a
16.5-point favorite against
16-seeded UNC-Asheville to
a 15.5 point favorite.
Boeheimhas not decid-
ed who will start in place of
Melo, the BigEast Defensive
Player of Year, on Thursday
when Syracuse (31-2) opens
the tournament against No.
16 seed North Carolina-
Asheville.
#Z+PIO,FLJT
5IF "TTPDJBUFE 1SFTT
Scoring has become
tough task in 2012
College basketball teams
have been offensively chal-
lenged all season, at times
struggling to score 50 points.
And as one coach says, no one
is enjoying the drop-off.
Fast-paced transition
attacks have been replaced by
grind-it-out ghts with scores
in the 50s and 60s. Scoring is
at its lowest level in 15 years
in Division I. Throwout the
up-tempo styles of teams like
North Carolina or Kentucky,
and its even uglier.
Coaches and players offer
explanations ranging from
defenses, coaching styles,
more physical play and
improved scouting. What-
ever it is, it adds up to fewer
points.
The last three years, it
seems theres been a conu-
ence of events that have come
together to put the game in a
bad spot, said Jay Bilas, a
member of Mike Krzyzewskis
rst Final Four teamat Duke
in 1986 and an ESPNanalyst.
Weve had three years where
the quality of play has been
lowor lower. It doesnt mean
it hasnt been competitive and
it hasnt been fun to watch,
but nobody can tell me the
quality of play is as good this
year as it was in 2008 or 2009.
Its not.
Division I teams are aver-
aging 68 points per game this
year, down three points from
the 1997-98 season, according
to STATSLLC. Andthere have
been no shortage of unsight-
ly scores rolling across TV
tickers.
Michigan State 58, Ohio
State 48.
Syracuse 52, Louisville
51.
Kansas 59, Kansas State
53.
Texas A&M47, Texas Tech
38.
And those came in a four-
day span in February. Things
didnt get much better in the
conference tournaments,
either.
Duke scored 60 and 59
points in its two Atlantic
Coast Conference tournament
games. Louisville beat Cincin-
nati 50-44 inthe BigEast nal,
Colorado beat Arizona 53-51
in the Pac-12 championship,
while Vermont beat Stony
Brook 51-43 in the America
East nal to prove the strug-
gles werent conned to just
the power conferences.
And fans shouldnt get their
hopes up that things will turn
around dramatically in the
NCAAtournament.
Last years Final Four
shouldve been an omen of
what was on the horizon. Con-
necticuts defense overpow-
ered Butler in a 53-41 victo-
ry that capped a weekend in
which the teams averaged 56
points, the worst in the shot-
clock era.
The decline has extended
into this season and there are
plenty of factors.
Theres the ongoing exo-
dus of underclassmen to the
NBA, leaving behind young-
er teams relying on players
whose games havent reached
maturity. The game is more
physical, whether its defend-
ers clutching and grabbing
cutters or the bigger, faster,
stronger bodies that keep
crashing into each other in
the paint.
Coaches can scout oppo-
nents easier than ever with
no shortage of games avail-
able on television or online,
even using DVRs to record
broadcasts and le themaway
for an upcoming league game
or a teamthat could pop up
in their NCAA tournament
bracket.
With those factors work-
ing together, its no wonder
offenses are forced to slow
things down and work deep-
er into the shot clock. And
of course some teams run
clock by design to shorten
games and prevent more
talented teams fromutiliz-
ing their athleticismto wear
themdown.
As a result, the average
number of shots in a Division
I game has fallen to its low-
est level in 15 seasons, down
from115 in 1997-98 to about
109 this season. And with
turnovers also down, teams
are getting fewer chances to
run out in transition for easy
baskets.
I think most teams would
love to get up and down the
court most kids like to run
and play, Florida State coach
Leonard Hamilton said. ...
People are just not giving
you those easy opportunities
because theyre defendingand
working hard and not allow-
ing you to get your rst, sec-
ond and third options.
#Z"BSPO#FBSE
5IF "TTPDJBUFE 1SFTT
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