UCONN 79, DUKE 78: Huskies erase a nine-point deficit late and nip the Blue Devils for their second title-game appearance.
By BRIAN LANDMAN
Published April 4, 2004
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Connecticut junior center Emeka Okafor hardly looked like an All-American for the first half of Saturday's Final Four matchup with Duke.
He had no points, one rebound and two fouls in four minutes.
But in the second half and especially in the waning moments, Okafor was a force and looked like one of the nation's best, helping the Huskies erase a nine-point deficit in the final 4:44 and lead them to a 79-78 win at the Alamodome.
The Huskies (32-6), the preseason favorite to win the title, will now make their second trip to the final - they beat Duke in 1999 in St. Petersburg - where they will play another ACC team, Georgia Tech, on Monday night. The Yellow Jackets beat UConn in the Preseason NIT semifinals 77-61 on Nov. 26 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Okafor played hurt in that game, going 2-for-10 from the field and scoring nine.
Though he has been slowed by back spasms and a neck stinger during the NCAA Tournament, he was integral in setting up the rematch with the Yellow Jackets.
"I wanted the ball and my teammates wanted to give me the ball," he said.
He had 18 points on 7 of 8 shooting, including five in the final 78 seconds, six rebounds and two blocks in 18 minutes after intermission. After the longest first half of his life.
Though his team got off to a 15-4 lead after just 5:55, looking every bit like the favorites many considered them in November and at the start of the Final Four, Okafor was a nonfactor.
"I told the kids that Duke has a champion's heart," Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said.
The Blue Devils (31-6) showed that. Sophomore forward Shavlik Randolph, who has been playing better of late, hit all four of his field goals and had nine points by halftime. That's as many points as he had in all but nine games this season. Freshman forward Luol Deng had 12 as Duke outscored the Huskies 30-14 in the paint.
Even more glaring was Duke's 17-2 edge in points off turnovers. All of that contributed to the Blue Devils taking a 41-34 halftime lead.
"It was one of the most difficult things I had to do," Okafor said of sitting out most of the half. "It was the first time in the Final Four and I didn't want to miss a minute and I missed 16. It was eating me up inside."
Duke opened its largest lead (45-34) on a Deng follow tip-in but the Blue Devils' big men continued to amass fouls. In less than five minutes, sophomore forward Shelden Williams and Randolph had four each.
Okafor got into the scoring column with a free throw at 17:46 then hit three baskets in less than a three-minute span to cut the deficit to 54-50 with 11:56 left.
The Blue Devils looked ready to pull away after a J.J. Redick 3-pointer gave them a 59-50 lead, but Okafor answered. Not only did he make consecutive shots, including a left-hander around Williams, he blocked two, including one to rob Deng of a layup, to bring his team back to within 61-60.
Duke again went on a run and took a 73-64 lead on junior guard Daniel Ewing's 3-pointer with 4:44 left. The Huskies weren't done.
"That's when we showed our champion's heart," Calhoun said.
Sophomore swingman Rashad Anderson, the former Lakeland Kathleen star, hit a couple of 3s and then Okafor capped an 12-2 run with a follow lay-in to give the Huskies a 76-75 lead with 25.9 seconds left.
"I missed a shot," he said. "Josh (Boone) got a hand on it and I saw an orange object floating in the air saying, "Grab me.' That's what I did."
After a steal, Anderson made two free throws, Redick missed a 3 and Okafor sealed the win with a free throw.
"We couldn't make any plays down the stretch," Duke senior point guard Chris Duhon said. Duhon hit a cosmetic 3-pointer at the buzzer to close out the scoring. He finished with 15 points.
"He's the best player in America," Calhoun said. "If you need any further proof, tonight's another example of why he's so special."
