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Duke begins title quest against Boston College

Mar 13, 2009 - 7:50 PM By Dan Pieringer Stats Writer

Boston College (22-10) vs. No. 8 Duke (25-6), 9:30 p.m. EST

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- After struggling through the middle of its conference schedule, Duke played well down the stretch - a run the Blue Devils hope will help them end their recent postseason struggles.

Playing their first game in the ACC tournament against one of the last teams to beat them could be a good barometer of their progress.

The ninth-ranked Blue Devils begin what they hope will be a long postseason run Friday night in a quarterfinals matchup against Boston College, which snapped a 24-year drought in the series less than one month ago.

Duke (25-6) dropped four of six games from January 28-February 15, the last of which was an 80-74 loss at Boston College. The Blue Devils were outscored 48-37 in the second half and allowed the Eagles to shoot a season-high 58.8 percent overall in their first loss to Boston College since March 17, 1985.

The Blue Devils rebounded from their slump by winning five in a row before a 79-71 defeat at then-No. 2 North Carolina in their regular-season finale Sunday. They hope to carry their recent success into tournament play, where they haven't had much over the last two years.

After finishing the 2007-08 regular season with a 26-4 record, Duke managed one win in the ACC tournament before getting upset by Clemson in the semifinals.

The second-seeded Blue Devils then edged No. 15 seed Belmont 71-70 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before being eliminated with a 73-67 loss to No. 7 seed West Virginia.

It was the second straight season of early exits for Duke, which lost its ACC and NCAA tournament openers the previous year.

The Blue Devils know they'll need more than one win to make up for those disappointments, but they also know it starts with this game.

"This is a very important step for us," junior swingman Gerald Henderson told the team's official Web site.

It would also be big for the Eagles (22-10), who are hoping to pad their resume for an NCAA tournament berth. Boston College did its part with a 76-63 win over Virginia in the opening round Thursday night.

Rakim Sanders had 25 points and shot 7-for-11 from the field while All-ACC second-teamer Tyrese Rice was held to nine points and 1-for-6 shooting.

Rice had 21 points, six rebounds and six assists in the win over Duke. He's averaging 23.7 points and shooting 57.5 percent (23-for-40) over his last three meetings with the Blue Devils.

Kyle Singler led Duke with 25 points and eight rebounds against Boston College, and Henderson added 20 points and four steals.

Duke guard Nolan Smith remains questionable for this game because of a mild concussion. Team spokesman Matt Plizga said that the point guard took part in "light basketball activities" during Tuesday's practice but continues to be held out of full-contact work.

Smith, a sophomore who came off the bench in his last six games, has missed three straight after he was hurt more than two weeks ago against Maryland.

While Smith's absence would be a blow, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski sounds optimistic heading into the postseason.

"We're fresh," he said. "Health is not just a sprained ankle. Health is mental. How fresh are you mentally? Our guys are working like crazy after practice. In other words, they want to be in the gym. That's a good sign."

The winner of this game will meet No. 2 seed and eighth-ranked Wake Forest or seventh-seeded Maryland in the semifinals Saturday.