Duke vs. Georgia Tech Preview

[kris]

No team has ever won six consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference tournaments. If fifth-ranked Duke continues to perform as it did Friday, that could be about to change.

The Blue Devils (26-4) will try to extend their record winning streak in ACC tournament games to 17 when they meet No. 14 Georgia Tech (23-8) in the semifinals Saturday in Greensboro, N.C.

Sophomore forward Shelden Williams and junior guard Daniel Ewing provided a dominant inside-outside attack Friday, leading the top-seeded Blue Devils to an 84-74 victory over Virginia in the quarterfinals.

Williams, known mostly for his defense, had a career-high 27 points and eight rebounds, while Ewing added a season-high 26 points.

Ewing scored 18 of his points in the first half, and Williams chipped in with 18 of his own after the break.

"Daniel, I thought, carried us in the first half and Shelden did in the second half," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "They had two magnificent performances."

The Blue Devils have not dropped an ACC tournament game since an 83-68 loss to North Carolina in the 1998 championship game.

Williams, who entered the game averaging 12.6 points, finished 8-of-9 from the floor. He also had three blocks despite playing only 27 minutes due to foul trouble.

"Throughout the game I was putting myself in good position where I'm sealing my man off, and I knew if I kept doing that and calling for the ball, my teammates would find me," Williams said. "After it started happening in the second half, I started going on the roll."

Senior guard Chris Duhon, a first team All-ACC selection, had six points, five assists and three steals. He said the Blue Devils need Williams to continue dominating the post.

"Shelden played like a man today," Duhon said. "He rebounded, he finished, he knocked down big free throws for us. Even though he played with foul trouble, he was smart enough not to pick up silly fouls. We need him to continue to play like that."

The Blue Devils, who split their two games with Georgia Tech this season, will likely need more than just Williams to get past the Yellow Jackets.

Georgia Tech shot 51.0 percent from the field while holding Duke to 34.3 percent in a 76-68 win at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 3, ending the Blue Devils' 41-game home winning streak.

The Yellow Jackets continued their hot shooting in the quarterfinals, making 49.1 percent of their shots against No. 16 North Carolina on Friday.

However, they needed a 15-foot jumper from sophomore guard Jarrett Jack with 1.5 seconds remaining to lift them to an 83-82 victory.

"It was kind of scary how open I was," Jack said. "If nothing else, I knew I had to rim it to give us a chance. But it went through and there's nothing like being the hero in an ACC tournament game."

Jack finished with 17 points for the fourth-seeded Yellow Jackets, and coach Paul Hewitt credited him with getting his team into the semifinals.

"He totally bailed me out and now we have an opportunity to play against another quality opponent," Hewitt said.

Duke leads the all-time series 52-21.