The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Duke
Redick shoots No. 1 Duke past No. 2 Men's Basketball
12.10.2005 | Men's Basketball
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- There was no doubt about the latest No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup.
There was no doubt who the top players were, either.
J.J. Redick had career highs of 41 points and nine 3-pointers and Shelden Williams added 23 points as No. 1 Duke beat No. 2 Texas 97-66 on Saturday, the third-biggest margin in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup.
The Blue Devils (9-0) used some impressive defense to pull away early in the second half, holding Texas (8-1) without a field goal for a span of 8:25. In that time, Duke went on a 21-3 run and all that was left for the sellout crowd of 19,579 was to cheer for Duke and chant Redick's name.
Sean Dockery, the other senior guard on Duke, was the game-changing player with his defense. He harassed Texas' Daniel Gibson as soon as he crossed midcourt, and the Longhorns never got into their offense. The Blue Devils had 21 points off 16 turnovers.
Redick finished 9-for-16 on 3-pointers, bettering the eight he had against Florida State last season. His previous best for points was 38 against Wake Forest last season.
One of the biggest ovations he got from the pro-Duke crowd was when he drew a charging foul on P.J. Tucker. It happened with 9:52 to play, when Redick already had 36 points and the Blue Devils were up by 25.
Duke was expected to have trouble rebounding with the Longhorns, but the Blue Devils finished with a 31-30 advantage on the boards. Williams had six rebounds and five blocked shots. Dockery had seven points, seven rebounds and four assists.
LaMarcus Aldridge led Texas with 21 points, and Tucker and Kenton Paulino each had 14.
The biggest margin in meetings of the nation's top two teams came in 1951, when No. 1 Kentucky beat St. John's 81-40. In the national semifinals in 1968, No. 2 UCLA beat Houston 101-69. This one wasn't expected to be a blowout, with Duke a slim favorite in most betting lines.
The win gave Duke a 3-3 record in No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups. It also improved Duke's record in Continental Airlines Arena to 17-1, extending its winning streak there to 10 games.
Texas was playing in its first No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup - the Longhorns are now 0-6 against No. 1 teams.
Duke led 45-33 at halftime, but Texas opened the second half with a 9-2 run to get within five. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski called a timeout with 17:43 to play and things were never the same.
Redick hit a 3 on the play out of the timeout. Aldridge scored with 17:21 to go to make it 50-44, but that was Texas's last field goal for what seemed like an eternity.
Duke had a 16-0 run during that 8:25 span, with half of those points coming from Redick, and when Tucker finally got a field goal for the Longhorns, it made it 71-49 with 8:56 to play.
Redick's 41 points were the most by a Duke player since Danny Ferry had 58 against Miami 17 years ago.
