ESPN.com - NCB - For Duke, winning is just plain normal

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Shane Battier, plastered against the back wall in the bowels of the Dean Dome, answered every question in dignified fashion. Until one came shooting his way that had to do with how it felt to get a piece of the ACC championship.

"It felt normal," Battier said with a chuckle.


	Duke's Shane Battier, who scored 25 points to help beat North Carolina, is used to success.

Normal. Normal for Battier to get the piece of the title by scoring 25 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, blocking five shots and picking up four steals in 39 minutes.

Normal for Battier to nearly get a category on the stat sheet all to himself -- such as, 'points off Battier blocks.'

Normal for Duke to play one of the most important games of the season, against its longtime rival North Carolina, without its lone starting low-post scorer in injured Carlos Boozer.

Normal for Duke to beat Carolina by pressing, trapping and going with a smaller lineup that left the Tar Heels so flustered they couldn't even keep Kris Lang and Brendan Haywood on the floor for most of the second half. Why? North Carolina coach Matt Doherty said the Tar Heels couldn't go big because they couldn't keep up with Duke's smaller lineup.

Normal for Duke to do what the national consensus thought was impossible, beat North Carolina 95-81 in Chapel Hill without Boozer, split the season series and be on track for a potential No. 1 seed in the East.

Normal for Duke coach Mike Kryzewski to yell, "Yes!" and pump his fist toward his bench when the Blue Devils had the game in hand at 93-76 with 1:12 remaining.

Yeah, for Duke, and especially for Krzyzewski and Battier, normalcy is at a little higher level than it is for most.

"This game had everything we wanted," Duke point guard Jason Williams said. "The ACC championship, the No. 1 seed in the East, but I can truthfully say we thought about none of that. We only thought about Carolina. This is the most focus we've had for a game because of the adversity. Losing Carlos made us focus all on the game and we came in here and played great."

Krzyzewski kept his lineup a trade secret prior to tipoff, before opening with two ballhandlers in Williams and Chris Duhon. He sat Nate James, not because he was ineffective, but to exploit Carolina's weakness. Duke's strength was its quickness and the Tar Heels couldn't get into their halfcourt offense because of the traps employed by the Blue Devils. Carolina point guard Ron Curry struggled with quick shooting, going 1 for 6 on 3-pointers, 3 for 11 overall and committing seven turnovers. Guard Joseph Forte made only 7 of 21 shots and had three turnovers.

Krzyzewski said he expects Boozer will be back for the NCAA Tournament. Boozer's fractured foot will be evaluated at the end of the ACC tournament next weekend.

That could mean more minutes for Casey Sanders if the Blue Devils meet Maryland in the semifinals Saturday. Sanders started in place of Boozer and struggled at times with Haywood, finishing with a bucket, two blocks and fouling out in 11 minutes. But he said he got the confidence he needed to play in a big game. Krzyzewski rotated Matt Christensen and football player Reggie Love in the middle, too. But it was Battier's blocks that helped them out defensively and jump-started the offense.

Battier blocked a shot by Forte that led to a 3-pointer by Williams to give Duke a 50-47 lead in the second half. That started a chain reaction on 3s with a consecutive string by Duhon, Battier and Williams for a 62-52 lead midway through the second half.

"If we keep playing this way, it will be a style and tempo that when Carlos comes back he'll help us out that much more," Williams said. "We'll be down there rebounding with him and that will really help."

Rebounding is critical to playing uptempo. The Blue Devils were able to get out on the break by controlling the defensive backboard and limiting North Carolina to one or two shots on most possessions. Battier had 11 rebounds, Mike Dunleavy nine and James seven off the bench.

During the first meeting in Cameron last month, the Tar Heels were able to use their size in Haywood and Lang to their advantage. Boozer was a non-factor and the Blue Devils shot themselves into a loss by making only 34 percent of their 3s and shooting 48 percent at the free-throw line.

But the trend reversed in Chapel Hill with the Tar Heels making 55 percent in the second half, 48.6 overall and 64.7 percent (11 of 17) at the line.

"We just knew this was going to be a great day because of the seniors' leadership," freshman Duhon said of Battier and James. "It's no secret that we're not big. We're not going to have a strong inside presence. So, for us to come out and use one of our strengths -- which is speed -- that helps us a lot."

Duke enters the ACC tournament as the No. 2 seed to North Carolina's one. Being the No. 1 seed won't be easy, though. Maryland is playing its best basketball of the season and stands in the way on Saturday, assuming Duke beats N.C. State and Maryland beats Wake Forest on Friday. Maryland has its confidence back after beating Duke Tuesday in Durham. Meanwhile, North Carolina has to get past fourth-seeded Virginia, assuming the Cavaliers can beat Georgia Tech and the Tar Heels beat the winner of Clemson-Florida State.

But Duke took a step forward Sunday. NCAA Tournament selection committee chair Mike Tranghese said Thursday that the committee would have a chance to evaluate Duke without Boozer. The first impression has to be pretty good.

"I don't think anyone should be amazed by what happened," Krzyzewski said of Duke beating Carolina without Boozer. "These two schools have storied programs, no matter who is coaching them and no matter who plays in the games."

Normalcy. It was another game won by Duke following a loss. It also was a statement game by Duke, which showed that it can play without Boozer if needed. That might not work over three days in Atlanta at the ACC Tournament or in six in the NCAA Tournament. But it's possible – we all know that after Sunday.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.

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