College basketball

Men: Redick finds rhythm, Duke claims crown

By wire services
Published February 23, 2006

ATLANTA - As he watched J.J. Redick struggle to find his jump shot, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski could still see everything falling into place.

"I don't think he's ever been 2-of-17, but we just believe that the next shot is your first shot," Krzyzewski said. "To me, that's mental toughness."

Shelden Williams had 26 points and 11 rebounds and Redick overcame a horrid start to score 22 points as the top-ranked Blue Devils beat Georgia Tech 73-66 on Wednesday night.

The victory gave Duke its 11th ACC regular-season title under Krzyzewski, but the focus was on Redick, who entered the game with a chance to become the league's career scoring leader.

Redick missed 15 of his first 17 shots, but he did hit the go-ahead jumper with 8:51 remaining.

After Jeremis Smith's fastbreak jam gave Georgia Tech a 51-47 lead nearly 3 minutes earlier, Redick missed a 2-foot runner, a jumper inside the free throw line and a fastbreak layup that Josh McRoberts put back to tie it at 53-all with 9:34 to play.

"I never really lost my confidence," he said. "I did feel a little pressure. When I missed that layup, I said that it can't get any worse."

Redick needs nine points to break the ACC mark of 2,587 set by Wake Forest's Dickie Hemric 51 years ago.

Duke (26-1, 14-0) has won 20 of 21 games against Georgia Tech since losing in Atlanta 10 years ago. Tech (10-15, 3-11) have lost three straight and is 1-11 since beating Centenary last month.

NO. 21 UNC 95, NO. 15 N.C. ST. 71: David Noel had 11 rebounds and a career-high 25 points, Reyshawn Terry scored 20 and the Tar Heels handed the Wolfpack their first home league loss.

WAKE FOREST 74, CLEMSON 68 (OT): Justin Gray made a contested 3-pointer to send the game to overtime and then Eric Williams hit go-ahead free throws in the extra period to help the host Demon Deacons end their eight-game conference losing streak.

MIAMI 70, VA. TECH 59: Guillermo Diaz scored nine of his season-high 29 and host Miami's last 13 points, including a three-point play that put it up 64-52 with 2:29 to play. He was 10-of-14 from the field, and Miami shot 51 percent.

KENTUCKY 80, OLE MISS 40: Two quick 3-pointers by LeMaster helped ignite an early 17-2 run for the host Wildcats, who led 40-17 at halftime. Thirteen of the 14 Wildcats who played scored.

NO. 24 LSU 77, VANDERBILT 66: The Tigers clinched the western division title while winning for the first time at Vanderbilt since Jan. 10, 1996.

AUBURN 75, MISS. ST. 71: Rasheem Barrett scored 22, Daniel Hayles had 18 and both hit key free throws for the host Tigers in the final 49 seconds after Auburn saw a 20-point lead cut to three in the final minutes.

NO. 23 GEORGETOWN 66, RUTGERS 50: Quincy Douby, the Big East's leading scorer, had 29 points on 9-for-20 shooting to lead the visiting Scarlet Knights, who were held to their second-lowest point total of the season and shot just 31 percent.

LOUISVILLE 65, DePAUL 53: Juan Palacios scored 14 and Taquan Dean 11 for the host Cardinals, who moved into a tie with Providence for 10th place in the jumbled bottom half of the league.

NO. 6 GEORGE WASHINGTON 77, LA SALLE 65: Regis Koundjia scored 13 to lead five players in double figures and the host Colonials extended the nation's longest win streak to 15.

NO. 7 TEXAS 65, KANSAS ST. 64: Kenton Paulino went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final 16 seconds, and the visiting Longhorns narrowly avoided their second straight loss.

NO. 13 OHIO ST. 79, MICHIGAN ST. 68: The Buckeyes hit 11 3-pointers to snap the Spartans' 15-game home win streak, tie Iowa for first in the Big Ten and end a 10-game losing streak at the Breslin Center.

BRADLEY 71, NO. 25 NORTHERN IOWA 49: Tony Bennett had 13 points for the Braves, who swept the series with host Northern Iowa for the first time in five years.

INJURY: John Tofi, UTEP's leading scorer and rebounder, injured his right knee in the first half against No. 4 Memphis and was taken from the court on a stretcher. The game was not complete at press time.

SUTTON TO HAVE SURGERY: Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton, who was involved in a car accident earlier this month and took a medical leave of absence, will undergo surgery to correct chronic hip and back problems before he enters an alcohol treatment center.

[Last modified February 23, 2006, 01:10:09]