ATLANTA REGION FINAL FOUR PREVIEW

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ATLANTA REGION FINAL FOUR: Duke is More Than Redick, Williams

ATLANTA REGION FINAL FOUR: Duke is More Than Redick, Williams

March 21, 2006

By Carlisle Richards
BodogNation Contributing Writer

Ask Boston College guard Jarred Dudley for a strategy on beating the Duke Blue Devils and this is what he says: "Make someone else beat you."

That someone is anyone besides shooting guard J.J. Redick or power forward Shelden Williams, the NCAA’s most prolific scorer and well-rounded post player, respectively. And with the LSU Tigers preparing to give J.J. and Shelden one of the toughest games of their NCAA careers, the Blue Devils could be the next contender to fall victim to March Madness if their offense remains two-dimensional.

Luckily for Duke, two role players have found their sophomore games in their freshman seasons.

Energetic guard Greg Paulus and versatile forward Josh McRoberts have put together some solid play in a tourney where timing is everything and regular-season rankings and records are useless. Although they combined for only 10 points in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against No. 16 Southern (Duke won 70-54, but did not cover the -25.5-point spread), the freshmen came alive against No. 8 George Washington on Saturday.

With Redick and Williams combining to take only 24 shots in the game, Paulus contributed 10 points and six assists, exploiting George Washington’s tendency to double team his backcourt partner. McRoberts, who put up 14 points and 13 rebounds, did the same when the Colonials ganged up on Williams. The balanced numbers put the Blue Devils well over the -8.5-point spread with a 74-61 victory. And with Duke’s brutal 3-7 mark against the spread in their last 10 games (14-18-1 overall), that’s no small accomplishment.

"The tournament is different," Duke sophomore DeMarcus Nelson told the Associated Press after their victory over the Colonials. "You could play in games all year, but nothing has the amount of importance as this. In the regular season, there's always another game. Now, you lose and you go home. We needed a total team effort and got it, and I think the guys [Paulus and McRoberts] just settled in."

More consistent play from the freshmen will be needed to get by LSU, a team that has shut down top flight players before. The Tigers kept West Virginia star Kevin Pittsnogle to eight points on 3-for-11 shooting in a 71-68 victory over the Mountaineers on Nov. 26. They also held UConn’s usually efficient starting backcourt to 7-for-27 shooting from the field during a 67-66 loss to the Huskies in a Jan. 7 contest (the Tigers went 2-0 ATS in those games against the Big East).

"Teams always double J.J. and Shelden,” McRoberts told the AP. “And it's up to us to step up and take advantage. It's important to be aggressive and try and knock down a few shots so they can't just focus on them."

And while the freshmen are making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament, they don’t plan on holding anything back in the Sweet 16 round.

"There's still a long way to go," McRoberts said to the AP. "It was a goal to get to the Sweet 16, but this isn't like back when I always cheered for Butler. This is kind of expected for us."

After struggling to find their game in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, the Longhorns regained their swagger in Round 2 against No. 10 North Carolina State.

Although they struggled in the first half on Sunday, the Longhorns dominated the Wolfpack in the second and vaulted to a 75-54 victory as -8-point favorites.

"We did it with our defense today.” Texas coach Rick Barnes told the AP after the win. “That's a team that gets 10 three-pointers a game and we really got out on the perimeter and made it difficult for them."

Now that they've survived Penn (in a 60-52 win as -13.5-point favorites on Friday) and N.C. State, Texas focuses on the Sweet 16. The Longhorns will need to continue their strong play against West Virginia, a team that's 2-0 ATS in the tournament and appears to be a brand new squad compared to the inconsistent team that stumbled periodically in the regular season.

PHOTO: J.J. Redick doesn't have to go it alone. He's found some back up in the form of two freshmen (AI Wire photo).

Note: All times Eastern; all games on CBS.

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