Central Michigan-Duke Preview
3/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 21, 2003
GAME: No. 11 Central Michigan (25-6) vs. No. 3 Duke (25-6).
REGIONAL: West, second round.
TIME: Saturday, 8:10 p.m. EST.
SITE: The Jon M. Huntsman Center; Salt Lake City.
In the opening round, Duke looked a lot less ready to make a long run through the NCAA tournament than Central Michigan did.
Two days after dodging an upset, the third-seeded Blue Devils hope to avoid falling victim to the confident Chippewas in a second-round West Regional contest.
Seeking its sixth straight trip to the regional semifinals, Duke must guard against suffering its earliest exit since 1997. While the Blue Devils struggled to beat Colorado State 67-57 on Thursday, 11th-seeded Central Michigan dominated most of its first-round game and defeated No. 6 seed Creighton 79-73.
"I think it was a good game for us to play close," Duke sophomore Daniel Ewing said. "If we had blown a team out, we might have come out lackadaisical on Saturday."
Thursday's game was close throughout for the Blue Devils, who shot just 35 percent from the field and led by only two points with less than three minutes to play.
Central Michigan, meanwhile, was in control for much of its matchup with the Bluejays and held a 26-point lead early in the second half. The Chippewas never trailed, though their lead was cut to two late in the contest.
"Being favored doesn't mean a thing to us," said Central Michigan's Mike Manciel, who scored a season-high 29 points. "I always feel like the underdog. We've been working hard and that's what we're going to stick with."
Though Manciel was the Chippewas' star in the opening round, 7-footer Chris Kaman has been their best player all season and could present problems for the Blue Devils.
Kaman had just 12 points and six rebounds Thursday, but the Mid-American Conference player of the year averaged 22.7 points and 12.3 rebounds this season.
Duke had trouble stopping a 7-footer in the first round, as Colorado State's Matt Nelson collected 21 points and eight rebounds.
Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzeweski will count on a trio of big men to counter Kaman. Starter Shelden Williams, a 6-foot-9 freshman, and reserves Nick Horvath and Casey Sanders accounted for 21 rebounds Thursday, but combined for just 16 points on 3-for-13 shooting.
"It's not the Duke team that we wanted to show tonight," Williams said. "We've still got some things to work on."
The Blue Devils are again likely to depend on perimeter scorers Dahntay Jones and J.J. Redick, who combined for 39 points in the first round. Duke, though, could use more production from guards Chris Duhon and Ewing.
Duhon had five points on 2-of-8 shooting and only one assist - nearly six below his season average. Ewing, who averaged 20.7 points in the ACC tournament, was held to seven points.
Duke has never faced Central Michigan, which is looking to join Kent State and Miami of Ohio as MAC teams that have reached the round of 16 in the last five years.
"We continue to believe in one another," Manciel said. "It's still not over."
PROBABLE STARTERS: Central Michigan - F Tony Bowne, F Manciel, C Kaman, G J.R. Wallace, G T.J. Meerman. Duke - F Williams, F Jones, G Redick, G Ewing, G Duhon.
TEAM LEADERS: Central Michigan - Kaman, 22.3 ppg and 12.1 rpg; Wallace, 3.4 apg. Duke - Jones, 17.2 ppg; Williams, 6.0 rpg; Duhon, 6.5 apg.
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Central Michigan - Automatic bid, Mid-American Conference tournament champion; beat No. 6 Creighton 79-73, first round. Duke - Automatic bid, ACC tournament champion; beat No. 14 Colorado State 67-57, first round.