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NCAA Tournament Recap (Florida A&M-Duke)
Posted: Fri March 12, 1999 at 11:03 p.m. EST CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Ticker) -- The mismatch was everything it was supposed to be. Elton Brand scored 17 points to lead six players in double figures as top-seeded Duke slammed Florida A&M, 99-58, in the first round of the East Region of the NCAA Tournament. William Avery added 15 for the Blue Devils (33-1), who extended their school-record winning streak to 28 games. Duke, considered the most overwhelming favorite to win the NCAA Tournament since Nevada-Las Vegas entered the 1991 edition undefeated, had no trouble with the Rattlers and held a 59-20 lead after 20 minutes. The Blue Devils played without starting shooting guard Trajan Langdon, who missed his third straight game with a foot injury. His presence was not missed as Shane Battier, Chris Carrawell, Chris Burgess and Taymon Domzalski all broke into double figures in the scoring column. "We have a lot more talent and should have won," said Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski. "With Trajan's status and Corey (Maggette) with three fouls, we were able to give J.D. (Simpson) some minutes and had a chance to look at our big lineup." Duke will play eighth-seeded College of Charleston or Tulsa in Sunday's second round. The Blue Devils have not been to the Final Four since 1994, their longest drought since coach Mike Krzyzewski's first five seasons in Durham. Monroe Pippins scored 23 points for the Rattlers (12-19), who were making their NCAA Tournament debut after a stunning run to win the Mid-Eastern Athleltic Conference tournament. Florida A&M completed a string of five first-round defeats by newcomers in the field of 64 as Winthrop, Samford, Arkansas State and Kent also lost in the first round. "The reality of tonight was we got whipped," said Rattlers coach Mickey Clayton. "They handed it to us. Duke was very obviously the better team. Their size was just tremendous. We couldn't contest their size at all." Duke never trailed as Avery and Carrawell hit 3-pointers in the first 71 seconds. The Rattlers hung tough in the early going and were within 17-13 after two free throws by Travis Grant 4:12 into the contest. But that's as close as Florida A&M would get as the Blue Devils scored the next 23 points of the game. A 3-pointer by Battier started the tear, and Brand had five points before a 3-pointer by Nate James made it 28-13 at the 12:24 mark. Carrawell took the spotlight, getting a dunk and lay-in before Avery had a steal and easy bucket. Carrawell had a five-footer before Battier and Brand each sank two free throws to give Duke a 40-13 lead with 8:06 left. The Blue Devils actually held a 40-point lead in the first half, opening a 58-18 bulge on two free throws by Simpson with 1:37 to go. "Our gameplan was to rebound and run, but we had some good looks early and knocked them down," said Avery. "This is a great place to play, and I hope we continue to have success here." Duke shot 66 percent (19-of-29) in the first half, made 5-of-6 3-pointers, hit 16-of-18 free throws, scored 20 points off 14 Rattlers turnovers, held a 23-8 rebounding advantage, netted 14 fast-break points and outscored Florida A&M 26-4 in the paint. The Blue Devils threatened to break the NCAA Tournament record for a first-round victory when they held a 50-point lead with 4:50 left on a lay-in by Maggette, but the Rattlers closed the game with a 15-6 run. Avery had 15 points, Domzalski 14, Burgess 13, Battier 13, and Carrawell 11 for the Blue Devils, who shot 62 percent (34-of-55) and 8-of-12 from 3-point range. No starter shot less than 50 percent from the floor and Duke held a 42-23 rebounding advantage.© 2000 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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