#1 Duke marches on to Atlanta to face LSU

ATLANTA - Nine Sweet 16s in a row. That has a nice sound to it. Nobody else in the country can come close to that achievement.

The good thing about Duke’s situation, as it faces a game against LSU in the Georgia Dome on Thursday, is that the Blue Devils can still play a lot better.

The last time they played in the domed stadium in Atlanta, in 2004, they defeated Illinois and Xavier to advance to Mike Krzyzewski’s 10th Final Four. If they do it again, it will be No. 11 since 1986, one year beyond the 64-team field being introduced, and a national domination that hasn’t been seen since John Wooden retired at UCLA in 1975.

If there was a blessing to last week, and 10:10 p.m. starts certainly weren’t it, Duke was playing in Greensboro, where it already had good memories of the seventh ACC tournament championship in eight years.

Duke's J.J. Redick named Naismith Finalist

ATLANTA (AP) - Connecticut's Rudy Gay, Adam Morrison of Gonzaga, Duke's J.J. Redick and Allan Ray of Villanova have been named finalists for the 2006 Naismith Trophy as the top college basketball player in the country, the Atlanta Tipoff Club said Tuesday.

#1 Duke advances to 9th straight Sweet 16 - LSU & Big Baby Davis await

GREENSBORO, N.C., March 18 — After watching his two freshmen starters struggle against Southern in the first round of the N.C.A.A. tournament, Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski did what he had to do to beat George Washington in the second round and prepare his team for a championship run.

He put the ball back in the hands of those freshmen. Given a second chance, point guard Greg Paulus and power forward Josh McRoberts demonstrated why they are so crucial to Duke's title hopes this season.

McRoberts had 14 points and 13 rebounds in the Blue Devils' 74-61 victory over George Washington on Saturday at Greensboro Coliseum. Paulus had 10 points and 6 assists, driving the lane early, then adding some late free throws to help lift Duke into the Round of 16.

The top-seeded Blue Devils (32-3) face fourth-seeded Louisiana State (25-8) on Thursday in the Atlanta Regional semifinals.