J.J. Redick was not having a good night,but when Duke was down 51-49 , like he has so often in the clutch, Redick drained a three with 3:22 left to give Duke a 52-51 lead. And I felt the Devils were going to prevail.
But all season long, Duke was bothered by quick, athletic teams and the Blue Devils just couldn't overcome an LSU team that was quick to the ball and played down the stretch like they wanted it more.
LSU deserved the 62-54 win, holding Duke to just 28 percent shooting while hammering Duke on the glass 46-36.
Both teams had trouble scoring. With Redick shooting just 3 of 18, Shelden Williams kept Duke in the game with 23 points and 13 rebounds. But when he picked up his fourth foul, he couldn't play aggressively.
And LSU's Glen Davis (14 points, 5 rebounds) and Tyrus Thomas asserted themselves. Thomas, despite four fouls, had 13 rebounds and five blocked shots. The Tigers said after the game, their focus was to stop Redick; and doing the main job was 6-5 freshman Garrett Temple, who was draped on him like a blanket the whole night.
Williams and Redick scored 34 of Duke's 54 points. The rest of the team had 20 and that was not going to get it done with Redick effectively taken out of the game.
In the second half, both teams had trouble scoring but it looked like Duke was ready to put them away, up 45-40, and Redick had a shot for three and you could sense the dagger coming. But he couldn't put it down. LSU's Darrel Mitchell comes down and drains the three and it's a game again, and you sensed Duke was tightening up a bit.
Down the stretch, Duke was the veteran team but it was the Tigers who came up with the big rebounds. It was LSU freshman Tyrus Thomas who saw the opening with the one-point lead who took it down for the slam. And while LSU couldn't hit free throws, they came up with the rebounds. With Duke up 52-51, the Tigers closed it out with an 11-2 run and Duke's season ends for the second straight year in the Sweet 16.
Afterwardm you could see the tears in J.J. Redick's eyes as he closed out a great career with his worst game of the season. Coach K said in the post-game that Redick and Williams were two of the best kids he ever coached, but at this time, I don't think any words could make them feel better. This was not what Redick and Williams envisioned when they returned for their senior year.
But tonight, LSU was better. A young team was not intimidated by the No. 1 team in the country. They played like the veterans They made the plays down the stretch. It's LSU advancing to the Elite Eight and it's Duke going home to ponder what if ...
