Defensive Minded Duke Blue Devils Back in ACC Title Game

ATLANTA—After defeating the Maryland Terrapins for the third time this season in a hard-fought 67-61 win, the Duke Blue Devils are back in a place they haven't been in three years—the ACC championship game.

By Duke standards, three years without an appearance in the finals of the ACC tournament seems like an eternity.

From 1998 to 2006, the Blue Devils played in the final game of the tournament every single season.  They won seven of those nine consecutive appearances.

The last few years haven't been as kind to Duke.

In 2007, the Blue Devils were tossed from the first round of the tournament in an overtime loss to NC State.  In 2008, they lost to Clemson in the semifinals.

But now, after scraping by Boston College and holding off Maryland, Duke has a chance to win the tournament title for the seventh time this decade.

It's been a vintage Duke run to the title game, fueled by an aggressive and effective defense that is holding conference tournament opponents to a low 39% from the field.

"The last couple of games, we haven't been scoring the ball easily, so [playing defense] has been a necessity and our guys have dug down and gotten stops," said Duke assistant coach and former National Defensive Player of the Year Steve Wojciechowski.

Those stops are a good sign for Duke, whose effectiveness on defense has slipped from it's early season potency as the season has progressed.

Since the Blue Devils first ACC loss to Wake Forest in January, Duke has allowed opponents to shoot over 40% from the field in 12 consecutive games.  During that stretch, opponents were averaging 49.8% from the floor.

Even great offensive teams wouldn't win championships giving up those kinds of numbers, and Duke is not a great offensive team.

But something has changed since coming into the conference tournament.  Duke has held both of its opponents to under 40% from the field, which has given them the edge needed to compensate from less than stellar performances on offense.

"I think our communication on defense has gotten a lot better and our commitment to playing defense," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.  "Our defense is catching up to where it was for most of the year."

Duke is fighting for loose balls, getting their hands on shots and selling out on nearly every defensive play.  They're aggressively getting into the passing lanes and gambling for steals while showcasing the necessary help-side adjustments to compensate for overplaying the wings.

Kyle Singler has been particularly effective on the defensive end of the floor.  

Playing in every minute of both games, Singler is averaging 10 rebounds and four blocks in the conference tournament.  That's two boards and three blocks more than his season average.

When asked about what has creating the defensive spark for the Blue Devils, assistant coach Chris Collins said it's all about (Allen Iverson, cover your ears) practice.

"Having some practice time helps," said Collins.  "We went through a stretch where four of the last five games we played were in the course of 10 days.  We were able to get back to work on the practice floor...getting back to the basics and our guys embracing it even more than they had has really helped us because, quite frankly, we won with our defense."

Duke's defense looked good against Maryland Saturday, and it certainly won the previous game against Boston College as Duke had two consecutive stops to close the one-possession game.

Maryland fans should be pleased with the Terrapins effort in the ACC tournament.

They will certainly get an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament after beating Wake Forest handily and taking the Blue Devils down to the wire.  Their season isn't over.

Duke's defense was too much for the Terrapins to overcome Saturday.

The Blue Devils face Florida State, the ACC's best defensive team, in the championship game on Sunday.

After witnessing Toney Douglas' offensive performance against North Carolina, Duke will need all the defense it can muster to claim it seventh ACC tournament title since 2000.