Big Defense: Zoubek helps Duke tower over FSU

After Duke defeated Maryland in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament and catapulted into yesterday's championship against towering Florida State, Coach Mike Krzyzewski was asked how he planned to combat FSU's advantage in size.

"We're not going to grow overnight," he answered.

As it turned out, the Blue Devils didn't have to.

Instead Krzyzewski's real answer came three minutes and 42 seconds into yesterday's title game, when he put a player into the game who had played just one minute against the Terps.

He inserted Brian Zoubek, a move that had far more impact on the Blue Devils' 79-69 victory than Zoubek's statistical line of no points and six rebounds in nine minutes might suggest.

"We talked to Brian about the fact that the game against Maryland, it's a tough game for him," Krzyzewski said after cutting down the nets on the Blue Devils' 17th conference title. "Their centers shoot 3s.

"We just told him, ‘Just be ready. We're going to use you.' And he came through."

Zoubek, at 7-1 and 260 pounds, was able to neutralize Solomon Alabi, Florida State's 7-1, 241-pound freshman center. Alabi already had contributed 25 points and 11 rebounds in tournament victories over Georgia Tech and North Carolina.

"They knew rebounding was going to be huge and defending Alabi was going to be huge," Zoubek said. "I think we did both of those things well.

"We were really strong on the boards today, and that was a huge key. And I think taking Alabi out of his game a little bit was also very important. He's been playing very well."

It was a classic gambit that worked well enough to, for the most part, eliminate a piece that Florida State needed to win its first title. Alabi finished with 10 points and five rebounds, but six of his points and two of his rebounds came in the final six minutes after Duke's lead had swelled to 65-43.

When the game was decided, during the Blue Devils' 15-3 run midway through the second half, Alabi was watching from the bench. Also, for that matter, was Zoubek, but he had done his job.

Alabi played 26 minutes against Georgia Tech and 32 against North Carolina. Against Duke, he played 19.

"I tried to score over him and get him in foul trouble, but it didn't really work out that way," Alabi said. "We ended up switching the system."

Zoubek wasted little time making his considerable presence felt. Moments after Gerald Henderson's 3-pointer tied the game at 8, Alabi caught the ball on the low block and turned, only to have Zoubek block his shot.

The play tilted the scales on both players' confidence, in opposite directions.

"That can hurt a player's confidence," Zoubek said of the block. "I think that was huge.

"He got a little discouraged, and he wasn't as aggressive going to the basket. And that was the story right there."

Over the next string of possessions, when Alabi came out of the game, so did Zoubek.

And when Alabi came back in, so did Zoubek. When both were in, Alabi struggled to get established on the low blocks as the Seminoles' inside game produced next to nothing.

While Duke was building a 35-21 halftime lead, FSU was shooting only 22 percent from the floor. The Seminoles made three of nine from 3-point range but only two of 14 from inside the arc.

"I just tried to work when he didn't have the ball and make sure I pushed him off the block as far as possible -- and once he got the ball to just stay behind him and put my hands up," Zoubek said. "I'm pretty heavy and pretty strong, so he can't get around me that well, and it's hard to shoot over me."

The play that epitomized the performance of both players came with about seven minutes left in the half, with Duke leading 26-14. Alabi received the ball on the left baseline, struggled in vain to find his balance against Zoubek and took a shot that bounced off the side of the backboard out of bounds.

Moments later, at the other end, Zoubek set a ball screen that Jon Scheyer used to drill a 3-pointer that extended Duke's lead to 15.

On a day the Blue Devils needed all the height they could get, their biggest player had never stood taller.

"I hope this is my best," Zoubek said. "This was the toughest and the biggest game of my life.

"And so I'm glad in the biggest game of my life, I could play the best nine minutes of my life."

■ Dan Collins can be reached at 727-7323 or at dcollins@wsjournal.com.