Duke downs UConn

NEW YORK

The game that started with more wins between the coaches than any other in Division I history was far from an instant classic.

Duke and Connecticut combined to miss 90 shots from the field, and the team that missed more rebounded its way to another big win at Madison Square Garden. No. 7 Duke and Mike Krzyzewski won another NIT Season Tip-Off last night with a 68-59 victory over No. 13 Connecticut and Jim Calhoun.

The coaches, both Hall of Famers, set the record for total career wins in a game, and Krzyzewski now has 839, fourth on the all-time list. Calhoun still has 809, good for sixth place.

"It was a big-time game, shots were so hard to come by, open shots. Both teams are very, very good defensively and you know, you get by one guy and it's hard to get to the bucket," Krzyzewski said. "But we rebounded very well, and we played outstanding defense."

The Blue Devils (6-0) dominated the Huskies (4-1) in every category except shooting in extending their winning streak in the tournament to 12 games with a third straight title (2000, 2005) and fourth overall (1985).

Duke shot 28.4 percent (21 of 74) compared to Connecticut's 37.3 percent (22 of 59), but the Blue Devils finished with a 56-43 rebound advantage, including 25-14 on the offensive boards.

"We missed 53 shots, and we had 56 rebounds, you know?" Krzyzewski said. "It's a very unusual game, but it's a game where both teams played with a lot of heart, and we feel very fortunate to win this game and win the NIT championship."

The victory also snapped Connecticut's four-game winning streak in the series with the last two victories both in Final Fours -- the 1999 national championship game and the 2004 semifinals.

It was the first time Duke won a game shooting under 30 percent since a 68-53 victory over Navy on Feb. 4, 1950, when the Blue Devils shot 27.3 percent.

"The last time we lost a game when we held a team to eight field goals in the second half and 28 percent shooting, I can't remember," Calhoun said. "Quite frankly, they outwilled us and did the things you need to do to win a game."

Tournament MVP Jon Scheyer had 19 points to lead Duke, Nolan Smith scored 16 points, and Lance Thomas added 11 points and 11 rebounds.

"Our defense was really great and it had to be since we shot the ball so poorly," Scheyer said. "Defense won this game and our big guys rebounded huge for our team."

Jerome Dyson had 15 points and Gavin Edwards added 12 for the Huskies. "They just wanted the offensive rebounds more than us, and that killed us," Dyson said.

Duke took a 37-28 halftime lead with an 8-2 run in an ugly last four minutes. Kyle Singler hit a 3 with 4:17 left that gave the Blue Devils a 32-26 lead. That was Duke's last field goal of the half and UConn had just one in that span, a drive by Stanley Robinson with 51 seconds left that made it 37-28.

The Blue Devils used a 12-0 run to go ahead 53-34 with 13:18 to play. Calhoun called two timeouts in 1:13 during the run to try to slow things down but the Blue Devils were scoring from the perimeter and overpowering the Huskies down low.

CONNECTICUT

Min FG-A FT-A OR-T A F PT

Robinson 35 5-12 0-1 3-4 0 1 10

Oriakhi 33 3-8 2-4 3-14 1 3 8

Okwandu 24 1-2 0-1 2-5 0 2 2

Dyson 36 6-20 3-9 2-5 0 5 15

Walker 34 4-12 1-2 0-4 8 5 9

Beverly 7 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 0

Cmb-McDnl 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0

Trice 1 0-0 0-1 0-0 0 0 0

Smith 3 0-0 3-4 0-2 1 0 3

Edwards 23 3-6 6-6 1-5 0 4 12

Totals 200 22-61 15-28 16-48 11 21 59

Percentages: FG .361, FT .536. 3-Point Goals: 0-4, .000 (Walker 0-1, Dyson 0-3). Team Rebounds: 9. Blocked Shots: 10 (Oriakhi 4, Edwards 2, Walker 2, Dyson, Robinson). Turnovers: 17 (Walker 5, Dyson 4, Edwards 3, Smith 2, Beverly, Okwandu). Steals: 4 (Walker 2, Dyson, Edwards). Technical Fouls: Bench.

DUKE

Min FG-A FT-A OR-T A F PT

Singler 31 2-12 1-2 0-7 1 3 6

MiPlumlee 19 1-3 1-2 3-6 0 5 3

Thomas 29 2-4 7-8 4-10 0 5 11

Smith 40 5-22 5-6 2-4 1 2 16

Scheyer 37 6-18 5-6 0-4 5 2 19

Czyz 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Dawkins 17 4-6 1-1 1-3 0 0 11

Kelly 5 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 0

Davidson 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Johnson 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Zoubek 22 1-5 0-0 8-11 3 5 2

Totals 200 21-72 20-25 21-52 10 23 68

Percentages: FG .292, FT .800. 3-Point Goals: 6-18, .333 (Dawkins 2-3, Scheyer 2-8, Singler 1-2, Smith 1-4, Kelly 0-1). Team Rebounds: 7. Blocked Shots: 8 (Thomas 3, Mi.Plumlee 2, Smith 2, Zoubek). Turnovers: 10 (Smith 3, Scheyer 2, Singler, Mi.Plumlee, Thomas, Zoubek). Steals: 6 (Scheyer 3, Zoubek, Smith, Thomas).

Connecticut 28 31 -- 59
Duke 37 31 -- 68