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Men's Final Four notebook

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 30, 2001

Duke, Maryland guards eager to renew long rivalry

MINNEAPOLIS -- Steve Blake and Jason Williams know each other all too well. The respective point guards from Maryland and Duke have faced each other six times over the past two seasons. They roomed together when they played last summer for the U.S. junior national team in Brazil.

No one-on-one battle will be watched more closely Saturday, when Maryland and Duke take the Final Four stage to renew a rivalry that has become possibly the nation's most compelling.

And if the Terps advance to Monday's national championship game, Blake probably will have gotten the best of Williams in their fourth showdown this season.

"We're friends off the court. When we play against each other, we just go at it," said Blake, whose defense has kept Williams in check in all but two of their encounters.

Williams, the most explosive scoring threat with the nation's most prolific offense, has had trouble breaking down Blake and breaking down the Terps defense off the dribble. The only thing that stopped Blake on Jan. 27, when Duke erased a 10-point deficit with 54 seconds left in regulation before edging the Terps in overtime, was Blake.

With 1:51 left in regulation, Blake fouled out after forcing Williams to commit a season-high 10 turnovers. With Blake on the bench, Williams saved Duke by making two three-pointers and scoring eight points in a 14-second stretch of regulation.

SHOPPING FOR RELAXATION: Michigan State's first 24 hours in town were uneventful and distraction-free, which is just how the Spartans wanted it.

Michigan State arrived on Wednesday night, and that meant the team would at least have one full day before being dragged into the madness of the Final Four.

The Spartans practiced Thursday at St. Thomas College, and it wasn't surprising that their first distraction-free practice of the week was their best.

They didn't practice Monday. When they practiced Tuesday, it was a designated media day in East Lansing.

"Getting here a day early was great," coach Tom Izzo said. "Today was a chance for us to be by ourselves. We definitely had a good practice today."

Strong practices can be in short commodity during Final Four week. The Spartans play Arizona on Saturday at the Metrodome, but the obligations -- media interviews and public practice time -- begin to pile up today.

The Spartans are away from a lot of the Final Four action. Their hotel is by the airport, a 20-minute drive from downtown.

Another benefit: The hotel is near the Mall of America.

The players were given some free time Thursday evening to go to the mall. They also attended the college slam-dunk contest.

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