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NCAA Second Round Recap - California vs Duke

(1) Duke 68, (8) California 53

The California Golden Bears (24-10, 13-5 Pac 10) entered the tournament trying to win over a skeptical public.  The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee clearly had faith in the Bears, having awarded them an at large No. 8 seed, indicating that Cal was nowhere near the proverbial bubble.  The basketball-watching public, however, having suffered through a dismal year of basketball in the Pac-10, did not put much weight on the regular season championship.  When Cal lost in the conference tourney to Washington, it did nothing to assuage the public’s skepticism. 
 
Like the Bears from Berkeley, Calif., the Duke Blue Devils also face a skeptical nation of hoops connoisseurs.  Nobody would dispute that the Blue Devils, who won both the ACC regular season title and the ACC tournament championship, belong in the field.  Rather, Duke’s skeptics focus on their seeding.  Duke was granted the No. 1 seed in the South region, jumping ahead of Syracuse to claim the No. 3 overall seed.  The South region was widely considered to be the weakest of the four, with a weak No. 2 seed in Villanova, which was bounced in the second round by No. 10 seed St. Mary’s.  Syracuse, on the other hand, would face Kansas State if the seeding holds a much tougher potential foe than Villanova.  Duke’s first round matchup was also the winner of the play-in game, which - despite not traditionally going up against the overall No. 1 seed - nonetheless contributed to no end of Duke/NCAA Selection Committee conspiracy theories. 
 

As expected, Duke easily bounced Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 73-44, to advance to the second round.  Perhaps less expectedly, both Cal and Washington survived their first round games, and on Saturday, Washington advanced to the Sweet 16 in the East region with a win over New Mexico.  Back in the South, No. 1 seed Duke (30-5, 13-3 ACC) would provide a stiffer test for its Pac-10 foe.  Cal came into the game with a severe size disadvantage.  Cal’s tallest starter is 6’8” senior forward Jamal Boykin, who is, ironically, a transfer from Duke.  The Bears play a three-guard lineup and are significantly shorter at every position than the Blue Devils. 
 
The Blue Devils used their height advantage throughout, dominating Cal underneath.  The Bears had nobody to match up against Duke’s 7’1” center Brian Zoubek, who did not shoot often, but did not miss when he did take a shot, finishing 6 for 6 from the floor for 14 points and 12 rebounds, six of them on the offensive boards.  Duke dominated every statistic that one would expect, given its height advantage: rebounds, offensive rebounds, blocks, and points in the paint.  Guard Nolan Smith led the Blue Devils in scoring with 20 points and forward Kyle Singler added 17. 

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Cal was able to keep Duke from turning the game into a complete blowout, but the outcome was never really in doubt, either, as Duke’s lead in the second half was never less than seven and stayed in double-digits for most of the half.  Was Duke vindicated?  Did Cal prove to be unworthy of its at-large bid?  This was a No. 1 seed against a No. 8 seed.  It was a game between a top 4 team against a team that was in the 29 to 32 range.  A fifteen-point win is about what one should expect in such a game.  Cal did not embarrass itself, and Duke did what it should have done.  Duke’s vindication will come if and when the Blue Devils reach the Final Four. 

 
WHAT’S NEXT

In the Sweet 16, No. 1 seed Duke will play No. 4 seed Purdue, who beat No. 5 seed Texas A&M in an exciting overtime finish to advance to the round of 16.

By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Staff Writer

> California Golden Bears 2010 NCAA Tournament preview