Murray St.-Duke Preview

3/20/2008 10:34 AM

By JEFF MEZYDLO
STATS Senior Writer

The last time Duke earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament, it reached the national championship game.

The Blue Devils are hoping for the same good fortune this time, starting with a matchup against 14th-seeded Murray State in the Oklahoma City Regional on Sunday in College Park, Md.

After being a No. 1 seed each of the past two years, ninth-ranked Duke (23-9) doesn't have as much pressure playing as a third seed for just the second time in school history.

The Blue Devils were seeded third in 1998-99 when they finished 29-7 and lost 62-45 to Purdue in the national title game. This season, Duke tied for third in the ACC while suffering its most defeats since finishing 19-11 in 1996-97.

Duke upset then-No. 2 Tennessee in the regional finals in 1999, and would likely have to get by the top-seeded Volunteers in the same round of this season's tournament.

"Really at this point, they are just numbers," Duke junior Abby Waner said. "We're still Duke and at Duke, we expect to win. We're not going to stop at anything less than winning a national championship."

An impressive run to the conference tournament title game could provide some momentum for the Blue Devils, who lost 86-73 to second-ranked North Carolina in the ACC final on March 9.

"I was proud of our team's fight," said coach Joanne P. McCallie, in her first year at Duke after guiding Michigan State for seven seasons. "There's some lessons here for us, definite lessons that we'll take."

Led by 6-foot-5 junior Chante Black, who averages 13.7 points and 6.8 rebounds, the Blue Devils appear content with their underdog role compared to last season when they were upset 53-52 by Rutgers in the regional semifinals. Duke lost in overtime to Maryland in their second NCAA title game in 2006.

"We're not talked about as much as we were last year because we lost (top players) Lindsey (Harding) and Ali (Bales), but at the same time we're a really confident team right now," Duke's Wanisha Smith said. "We think we can play with any team in the nation."

Among the ACC's top defensive teams, allowing an average of 59.2 points, the Blue Devils begin the tournament by facing a Murray State team which led the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring at 74.3 points per game.

The Racers (24-7) are facing Duke for the first time in its first ever NCAA tournament game.

"I think that any time you match up with a team that is among the top 10, you're matching up with a very talented team," Murray State coach Jody Adams said. "As I look at Duke and what coach McCallie has brought in her first season, I think they've done a tremendous job."

The Racers, who tied for second in the Ohio Valley during the regular season but beat Eastern Illinois 69-58 in the conference tournament final on March 8, are among the nation's top 3-point shooting teams at 36.5 percent.

Junior guards Ashley N. Hayes and Amber Guffey combined for 44 points against Eastern Illinois. While Hayes averages 18.2 points, Guffey adds 18.0 per contest and is shooting 44.1 percent (71-for-161) from 3-point range.

The winner of this contest will face either sixth-seeded Arizona State or No. 11 seed Temple in the second round Tuesday.