ACC Title Is Extra Special for Duke

Mike Krzyzewski coaches by feel, and by all accounts this one felt pretty good.

Doubted by many they could repeat as Atlantic Coast Conference champions after losing three players early to the NBA, the No. 2-ranked Duke Blue Devils surprised everyone but themselves by winning their fourth consecutive regular-season conference title Tuesday night at Durham, N.C.

The Blue Devils received a career-high 34 points from Shane Battier in the title-clinching 96-78 victory over Wake Forest.

“The veterans take a lot of satisfaction in this because last July a lot of people thought we couldn’t be here again,” Battier said. “We took that personal and worked our tails off.”

Duke, 22-3 overall and 13-1 in conference, won four consecutive ACC titles outright for a second time, matching its run from 1963-66.

“We didn’t need any help. We did this on our own,” Krzyzewski said. “We played with tremendous heart.”

Duke’s last two ACC regular-season championships have been achieved without much drama, going 16-0 last season and 13-1 so far this season with two games left.

Still, Krzyzewski hugged Battier and senior Chris Carrawell as they left the Cameron Indoor Stadium court with seconds left.

Battier made 11 of 16 shots while Carrawell had 19 points as Duke defeated Wake Forest for the seventh consecutive time.

“Shane Battier’s performance was one for the ages,” Wake Forest Coach Dave Odom said.

Battier’s previous high was 31 points earlier this season against Davidson.

“Coach got on me the last couple of games for not shooting, so I took the Larry Bird approach, every time I touched it I thought about shooting,” Battier said. “I hit a couple and I just felt good.”

Wake Forest (14-13, 5-9) lost for the first time in 11 games when scoring 70 or more points. Darius Songaila had 25 points for the Demon Deacons, who have dropped nine of their last 12.

Duke was leading, 66-58, with 11:48 left as the Demon Deacons were playing their best offensive game in months. But Battier banked in an off-balance three-pointer with the shot clock running down and was fouled. The junior completed the four-point play as Duke went on a 21-7 run.

Alabama 68, No. 11 Auburn 64--Terrance Meade made two free throws with 3.8 seconds to play at Tuscaloosa, Ala., ending the Crimson Tide’s losing streak at four games to the Tigers.

Rod Grizzard, a freshman forward, led Alabama (12-13, 5-8 in the Southeastern Conference) with 25 points and successfully battled Auburn’s Chris Porter. Porter, a senior, led Auburn (21-5, 9-4) with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

No. 17 Iowa State 89, No. 14 Texas 77--Marcus Fizer scored a career-high 35 points for the Cyclones (23-4, 11-2 in the Big 12) at Ames, Iowa.

Iowa State pulled into a tie with Oklahoma State for first place in conference with three games to play. Texas (19-7, 10-3) dropped one game back.

Michael Nurse had 20 points for Iowa State, which trailed 8-0 and was down 14 before taking a 38-37 halftime lead on Jamaal Tinsley’s three-pointer at the buzzer.

Fizer also had nine rebounds and a career-high five assists, blocked two shots and made two steals.

Illinois 87, No. 16 Indiana 63--Cory Bradford accounted for five of Illinois’ 13 three-point baskets and scored 26 points at Champaign, Ill., as the Illini (18-7 overall, 10-4 in the Big Ten) won its seventh in a row.

Kirk Haston and Jeffrey Newton had 17 each for Indiana (18-6, 8-5).

The Hoosiers, who lost to No. 6 Ohio State Saturday, dropped consecutive games for the first time this season largely because leading scorer A.J. Guyton continued to struggle. Guyton, held without a basket the last 13 1/2 minutes of the Ohio State game, made only one against Illinois and had three points. He averages almost 21 a game.

No. 19 Maryland 76, Clemson 63--Lonny Baxter scored 25 points to lead the Terrapins (20-7, 9-4 in the ACC) at Clemson, S.C.

Clemson’s Will Solomon won the battle of the ACC’s top scorers, finishing with 12 points. Solomon and Maryland’s Juan Dixon both came in averaging 21.6 points in league play. Dixon scored 11 points.

The win extended Maryland’s ACC win streak to seven games and was its fifth in a row over Clemson (9-17, 3-10).

WOMEN

No. 5 Notre Dame 83, Miami 68--Ruth Riley scored 36 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Fighting Irish (24-2, 15-0 Big East) defeated the Hurricanes (11-14, 5-9) at South Bend, Ind., extending the nation’s longest winning streak to 20 games.

No. 15 Old Dominion 89, St. John’s 50--Natalie Diaz led six players in double figures with 16 points and the Lady Monarchs (21-4) defeated the Red Storm (9-16) at Norfolk, Va., for Coach Wendy Larry’s 350th win.

No. 24 Oklahoma 64, Kansas State 56--Phylesha Whaley had 28 points and 12 rebounds as the Sooners (21-6, 11-3 in the Big 12) defeated the Wildcats (12-15, 5-9) at Manhattan, Kan.

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ACC Champions

Regular-season champions in the Atlantic Coast Conference:

School: Titles

North Carolina: 17

Duke: 16

North Carolina State: 6

Wake Forest: 3

Georgia Tech: 2

Maryland: 2

Virginia: 1

South Carolina: 1

Clemson: 1