N. Carolina, Duke Take On Hurdles

An arena and the NCAA tournament record book link archrivals Duke and North Carolina today in the second round.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski will set an all-time mark with 66 tournament victories, breaking a tie with former North Carolina coach Dean Smith, if top-seeded Duke (26-5) defeats ninth-seeded Mississippi State (23-10) in the Austin Regional at the Charlotte Coliseum.

Krzyzewski’s pursuit of the outright mark, however, can’t begin until North Carolina’s game ends.

The Tar Heels (28-4), seeded first in the Syracuse Regional, face ninth-seeded Iowa State (19-11) in the opening game of the only subregional site that includes two top-seeded teams.

The Blue Devils could make their eighth successive appearance in the Sweet 16, and the Tar Heels hope to win consecutive tournament games for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. Their working environment presumably should be friendly.

“We’ve played in hostile environments and done well, and we’ve also done really well at home this year,” North Carolina All-American center Sean May said. “ ... We just have to go out and play.”

North Carolina on Friday routed 16th-seeded Oakland of Rochester, Mich., 96-68, in its first game since having struggled and lost in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

Iowa State could present a bigger challenge, especially on offense.

The Cyclones drop into an unusual half-court zone after pressing and trapping full court. The fast-paced approach helped the Cyclones finish strong under Coach Wayne Morgan, formerly the coach at Long Beach State.

“We’re aggressive, quick and athletic,” Morgan said. “Those things help us a lot and put the opposing teams in uncomfortable positions.”

The faster the pace the better, the Tar Heels said.

“If they pressure us,” point guard Raymond Felton said, “we’re just going to go right past them.”

Iowa State enjoys the underdog role.

“Most people expect North Carolina to win, so that puts us in a great position,” Cyclone center Jared Homan said. “We’ve got everything to gain.”

Delaware State (19-14) took the same approach in the first round against Duke. The 16th-seeded Hornets frustrated the Blue Devils, and the score was tied, 28-28, with 8:10 remaining in the first half.

The talent disparity eventually caught up with Delaware State in a 57-46 loss. Mississippi State Coach Rick Stansbury has more to work with.

Mississippi State overwhelmed 10th-seeded Stanford in the second half of a 93-70 victory. Forward Lawrence Roberts, last season’s Southeastern Conference player of the year, had 23 points and 14 rebounds.

Krzyzewski expressed concern about the Bulldogs’ size inside.

“Mississippi State is really big,” he said. “We have to keep our big guys on the court and be careful about silly fouls.”

Could Tar Heel fans help the Bulldogs?

“I heard a lot of booing whenever Duke did something good last night,” he said. “We need those North Carolina fans to get behind us and cheer us on.”

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COACHING LEADERS

All-time winningest coaches in NCAA tournament history:

*--* Coach Schools Years 65 Dean Smith North Carolina 1967-97 65 Mike Krzyzewski * Duke 1984- 47 John Wooden UCLA 1950-75 45 Bob Knight * Indiana, Texas Tech 1973- 44 Lute Olson * Iowa, Arizona 1979- 42 Denny Crum Louisville 1972-2000 40 Jim Boeheim Syracuse 1977- 36 Jim Calhoun * Northeastern, Connecticut 1981- 36 Eddie Sutton * Creighton, Arkansas, 1974- Kentucky, Oklahoma State 36 Roy Williams * Kansas, North Carolina 1990- * active in 2005 tournamen t

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