Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 12, 1995 TAG: 9503130001
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: GREENSBORO, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
That's because when the NCAA Tournament bracket is revealed this evening, the Cavaliers and Wake Forest won't have to meet again at least until the national semifinals.
If coach Jeff Jones' team then has to play Duncan and the Deacons again, UVa might be sleepless in Seattle. In Wake's three-game sweep of the Cavaliers this season, the Deacons' center has 55 points and 43 rebounds.
And that doesn't count the intimidations and alterations, such as those the ACC's rebounding and shot-blocking leader provided in Wake's 77-68 triumph Saturday at the Greensboro Coliseum.
No man is an island, but Duncan is from one - St.Croix, in the Virgin Islands - and he often plays so wide he's like one. The Deacons haven't measured Duncan's wingspan, and maybe that's good news for opponents.
Why give them something else to consider about the solid game that made him a first-team All-ACC pick as the youngest of the conference's super sophomores.
Wake guard Randolph Childress scored 30 points, giving him 70 in two days, but unlike Duncan - who had a third double-double against the Cavs - he didn't subtract anything from Virginia's game.
The Demon Deacons (23-5) will be playing today for their first ACC championship in 33 years and in their first ACC tournament final since 1978, and it's because of 6-foot-10 Duncan.
Why is he the difference so often in Wake victories? Because he's not just a difficult player, he's a different player.
That's why, when Wake began the second half of Saturday's semifinal with an eight-point deficit, it also began with a play for the very precocious 18-year-old sophomore.
Duncan started the half by making a free throw after a Chris Alexander foul. Only 27 seconds later, he had drawn Alexander's fourth personal, hit a jump hook and completed an old-fashioned three-point play.
Virginia's trio of post players - Alexander, Yuri Barnes and freshman Norman Nolan - combined for 24 points six days earlier against Maryland pivotman Joe Smith, the likely ACC player of the year.
Against Duncan, they combined for nine fouls and one basket. Yes, the Cavaliers (22-8) killed Wake on the boards, but with an ACC season-high 26 offensive rebounds, Virginia managed only 16 second-chance points. Wake had 14 second-chance points in the second half alone.
In the wily and whirling Junior Burrough, who finished his last ACC tournament with 67 points in two games, UVa had an inside offensive match for Childress' perimeter marksmanship.
However, Burrough was 4-of-12 in the second half with little help. The other Cavaliers combined to go 6-for-30 in the last 20 minutes. They were rushing shots, and a very big reason why UVa hit a season-low 34.3 percent was Duncan.
He had six blocks - physically. Who knows how many mental adjustments he forced the Cavaliers to make? He's a big problem for a short team like UVa on the offensive end of the floor, but bigger when Virginia has the ball.
``The only way we have to play Duncan, using standard defense, is to limit his catches,'' Jones said. ``Most of [the fouls by Alexander and Barnes] came when we were trying to keep him from getting the ball.
``He's very good offensively, but his biggest contribution is that he changes an opponent's game in the lane. Those six blocks he had, you're talking a potential 12 points. Those hustle plays, where we have layups, he says, `No you don't.'''
In a game between two teams that entered the game ranked ninth (Wake) and 10th in the nation in field-goal percentage defense, the Deacons tied their 1983-84 school record for victories with their ninth consecutive triumph.
Dave Odom's team has allowed only five teams to shoot 43 percent or better this season. Only two teams have scored more than 70 points against the Deacons, none in two months.
``We wanted to take the ball inside in the second half, try to build up some fouls and get it to Tim,'' Odom said. ``In the first half, we gave in to early jump shots too much.''
In the second half, against the only ACC team the Cavaliers didn't beat this season, the Wake-up call was one UVa had seen before and could do little about.
It was just another Duncan exhibition.
by CNB