ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- A "bump in the road," that's what a reporter called Michigan State. The Duke contingent took offense, seeing as how State felt more like a punishing boulder.

"Michigan State is a great team," Trajan Langdon said last night after Duke's 68-62 victory. "I don't think there's any bump in the road."

Then it was coach Mike Krzyzewski's turn.

"Hold on one second. Just let me make an opening remark," Krzyzewski said. "Let me just say Michigan State was the No. 2 team in the country. They are not a bump in the road. They are a great basketball team.

"We beat a great basketball team in a great basketball game. Both teams played their hearts out on the defensive end of the court. It was tough to get shots because each kid invested all that they had. For us to win a game like that, we are ultimately proud, ultimately proud."

The moderator then asked the reporter to repeat his question, drawing laughter in the interview room. And Krzyzewski interrupted again, still harping on the "bump in the road" remark.

"It would be disrespectful to the two teams that played to say that. It was a great basketball game. Sorry."

A little defensive, Coach K?

Yes, and maybe a little scared, too.

In part, Krzyzewski's comments were directed at the perception that the Final Four amounted to the Duke Invitational, when in fact it boasted the three top-ranked teams in the country. And in part, Krzyzewski wanted everyone to know that last night's victory was more difficult than it appeared, even conceding that his team might be tired.

Connecticut isn't as physical as Michigan State, but it likely will employ the same rugged strategy in tomorrow night's championship game, pounding Duke at every turn.

The Blue Devils led the entire way last night, but not without a struggle. Michigan State trailed by 12 points at half, then cut the deficit to three after Duke center Elton Brand picked up his fourth foul with 10: 12 left.

Langdon and Will Avery hit three-pointers, seemingly putting Michigan State away. But Duke, a 70.8 percent free-throw shooting team, missed 12 of its last 20 foul shots.

Were the Blue Devils tired?

"I think it's a good point, for both teams," Krzyzewski said. "When you're playing like that, sometimes you don't know you're tired until you stop -- and the free throws are when you stop. More so than nerves, the hard-fought nature of the game put us in that position."

Krzyzewski said his players exhausted themselves in the first half, building a 24-12 rebounding advantage over a team that out-rebounded them in their first meeting, 42-27.

"We're pretty tired, but we had to practice tremendously hard all week," said Brand, who had 13 rebounds in the first half, but only two in the second.

Langdon, too, admitted to fatigue -- he missed six of nine shots.

"Emotionally, physically, it was a draining game," he said. "They're a team that never goes away. They pound you on both ends of the floor."

So, is an upset in the final imminent?

Well, Duke basically goes only six deep, with Corey Maggette the one significant contributor off the bench. But those six are still better than Connecticut's.

The Huskies clearly were superior to Ohio State last night, yet struggled to a 64-58 victory after leading by nine points in the first half and 10 in the second.

This is the title game everyone wanted to see -- the Big East champion that was ranked No. 1 from Nov. 30 to Feb. 7 against the ACC champion that was No. 1 the rest of the season.

The two teams, a combined 70-3, were too much for the best of the Big Ten. They're both athletically gifted. They're both effective in half-court and full-court games.

But Duke still rates the edge.

The Connecticut offense is too reliant on Richard Hamilton and Khalid El-Amin. The Huskies won't get easy transition baskets the way they did against Ohio State. And Ricky Moore can't guard every Duke player.

Moore is indeed a terrific defender -- he held Ohio State point guard Scoonie Penn to 3-for-13 shooting last night, "cutting the head off the dragon," in the words of Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun.

But the Buckeyes had no third option beyond Penn and Michael Redd. And with El-Amin a defensive liability, the matchups against Duke will be that much more difficult.

The likely scenario is that Moore will guard Avery and Hamilton will defend Langdon, with the 5-foot-10 El-Amin matched up against the 6-6 Chris Carrawell.

Lots of luck.

Offensively, the Huskies face other problems. Hamilton and El-Amin combined for 42 of their 64 points last night. Moore was the Huskies' next highest scorer with six points.

What if Carrawell shuts down Hamilton the way he did Maryland's Steve Francis earlier this season? What if El-Amin shoots 0-for-12 the way he did in the West Regional final against Gonzaga?

Calhoun, coaching in his first Final Four, barely had time to celebrate his semifinal victory before those questions were posed to him last night.

"It's a valid point," Calhoun said. "But we are 33-2. We've played some good people. And we've had our whole team involved.

"Kevin Freeman is averaging [12.6] points per game -- today he had five. Albert Mouring is one of the three or four best shooters I've ever coached. Today, he missed three open shots.

"Against a terrific team, we'll need other people to get involved. But we've done that in the past. We're averaging almost 80 points per game. We truly believe we have a better game in us."

They'll need their best game, but suddenly there is hope.

Duke is tired.