Like it is : LSU’s talent, guts ensure Duke must geaux
Posted on Friday, March 24, 2006
ATLANTA - Geaux home Duke.
Geaux home.
The heralded Duke, the No. 1-ranked team in the country most of the season, was handed a Louisiana loss - the hard way.
The Tigers of LSU, ranked No. 19 in the nation despite winning the SEC regular-season title, refused to let the wheels come off and down the stretch the difference was their underclassmen played like veterans.
Generally, that is what is written about the Duke Blue Devils.
Thursday night, though, in front of a crowd wearing Mardi Gras beads and toting a ton of support, the Tigers showed Duke to be a two-man team.
The Blue Devils have lived and died with Shelden Williams and J. J. Redick, but it was never more apparent than Thursday night that a team of athletic basketball players can best a team of basketball players almost every time.
Put LSU freshman Garrett Temple down as the unheralded hero.
He ate Redick's lunch with his tenacious defense.
The all-time leading scorer in Atlantic Coast Conference history had a horrific night shooting, making only 3 of 18 field-goal attempts, and those three were when the Blue Devils found a way to screen Temple out of the play.
Duke had its chance, but wasn't tough enough.
LSU had led most of the way when it appeared the wheels were starting to creak and could come off.
The Tigers had taken a 37-31 lead with a Glen Davis field goal, but LSU was suddenly colder than an Anchorage Christmas.
The Tigers went 8: 01 without a field goal and by the time Darrel Mitchell broke the drought with a three, LSU trailed by five.
Davis and freshman Tyrus Thomas had been battling foul problems the entire game, and this might be the perfect time to set the record straight.
Duke does not get all the calls.
In fact, if anything, the Blue Devils don't get enough.
Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski dined on zebra the entire first half and Williams got away with a couple of apparent charges and Redick more stiff-arming than Matt Jones did against Texas that glorious Saturday afternoon in Austin.
Yet, the referees could not help Duke against the aggressive Tigers.
LSU took this one, 62-54, with shrewd coaching by SEC Coach of the Year John Brady and pure guts by the players.
They refused to back down an inch from the team that most considered the favorite to be piling on the floor in celebration in Indianapolis on the night of April 3.
Instead, LSU advances to the Elite Eight and in doing so Brady, underrated by most, gets the monkey off his back.
He never panicked and had his team playing the best it had all year.
He breathed confidence into kids whose biggest games of their lives had been in high school - until Thursday night.
Thomas is a 19-year-old redshirt freshman - he suffered a preseason neck injury last season - in the game program, but on the court he was a man.
The 6-9 freshman blocked 5 shots, grabbed 13 rebounds (tying Williams as the game's leader ) and scored 9 points, missing only 2 shots.
What Temple did on defense, Thomas did on both ends.
In fact, he was the straw that broke the Blue Devils' back.
Redick had just made two free throws with 38 seconds to play and Duke, down 55-54, was pressing because LSU is not good against pressure.
A pass went to Thomas, who hurried to get it over the time line, but once he did he realized his own speed and athleticism had put him in front of everyone so he did what came naturally. He went in and slammed it home; just four seconds had elapsed.
Brady might have wished more time had run off the clock, but not for long. Just eight seconds later, Thomas blocked Greg Paulus' shot and the only thing missing was the obligatory free throws at the end.
LSU made 5 of 8 and as Davis," Big Baby,"was making the final two with nine seconds to play, John Brady waved the No. 1 sign at his wife, Misty.
Geaux home, Duke. The best team won Thursday night.
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