CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Here we go again.
It's bitter rivals Duke and North Carolina meeting for the fourth time in the 1990s in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship game today.
Duke not only trails the storied Tar Heels 6-2 overall in ACC tourney title games, but the streaking Blue Devils will have to do battle this time without their celebrated senior Trajan Langdon, who will miss a second straight game with a strained left foot.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski made sure his top-ranked and top-seeded team would be in the title game by apparently using one of the oldest psychological ploys in the coaching profession yesterday.
Krzyzewski purposely got himself rung up for a technical foul with 6: 44 left in the first half when his team was struggling against fifth-seeded North Carolina State, said two of his top players after Duke rallied to bury the Wolfpack, 83-68, in the first ACC semifinal.
"Talk about a contrived technical, I think that was one," said Duke forward Shane Battier, who hit a three-pointer soon afterward. "Coach K. knew we were down and needed something to pick us up. It worked."
Langdon agreed, saying, "He planned it. I knew it was coming. He saw us flat and down. He knew he had to do something."
However, Duke center Elton Brand, who had 19 points after a slow start, wasn't so sure if it was intentional.
"I really believe he was that mad," said Brand after official Larry Rose hit Krzyzewski with the technical shortly after William Avery was called for a charging foul. "Coach K. was really steaming and had to be held back [by assistant coach Quin Snyder]."
It was the first technical drawn by the coach in two years.
Krzyzewski was noncommittal about the entire issue, saying only, "Whatever I said, I deserved it [the technical]."
Justin Gainey cashed in the two technical free throws as N.C. State (18-13) reduced the Duke lead to 25-20, but it was mostly show time the rest of the afternoon in the mismatch that produced the 26th straight win for the Blue Devils, who are now 31-1.
At one point, Duke scored on 12 straight second-half possessions to turn a 53-45 game into a 23-point lead with 10: 20 left.
Freshman forward Corey Maggette drew his first starting assignment with Langdon out and responded with a season-high 24 points on 8-for-10 shooting.
Maggette quickly eased any nerves by tossing in a three-pointer just 27 seconds into the game and went on to hit two of four shots from beyond the arc.
And Langdon?
He said a decision was made for him not to play against N.C. State yesterday and today against North Carolina after his foot failed to respond to treatment.
"There was no pressure for me to play in these two games," said Langdon, who was hurt Thursday in Duke's opening-round victory over Virginia. "I have to rest up for the NCAA tournament.
"But I can't tell you how disappointed I am not to play in the last two ACC tournament games of my career."
NORTH CAROLINA STATE -- Inge 1-12 2-2 4, Grundy 7-15 1-2 19, Thornton 4-5 0-0 8, Harrington 0-2 3-4 3, Gainey 3-9 3-4 12, Wells 1-4 0-0 3, Kelley 4-10 2-3 10, Bean 3-5 1-3 7, Williams 0-0 2-2 2, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-62 14-20 68.
DUKE -- Maggette 8-10 6-8 24, Burgess 2-3 4-6 8, Brand 6-12 7-8 19, Carrawell 1-5 3-8 5, Avery 5-10 0-0 11, Battier 3-7 3-4 11, James 2-5 0-0 5, Domzalski 0-1 0-0 0, Simpson 0-0 0-0 0, Bryant 0-0 0-0 0. R.Caldbeck 0-0 0-0 0, J.Caldbeck 0-0 0-0 0. 27-53 23-34 83.
Halftime--Duke, 43-35. 3-point goals--N.Carolina St. 8-15 (Grundy 4-6, Gainey 3-5, Wells 1-1, Bean 0-1, Inge 0-2), Duke 6-17 (Maggette 2-4, Battier 2-4, James 1-3, Avery 1-6). Fouled out--Thornton, Harrington. Rebounds--N.Carolina St. 38 (Grundy 8), Duke 36 (Brand 12). Assists--N.Carolina St. 8 (Gainey 4), Duke 16 (Avery, Carrawell 5). Total fouls--N.Carolina St. 25, Duke 20. Technicals--Duke bench, Avery. A--23,895.
Pub Date: 3/07/99