By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Duke got two tests to open its run as the No. 1 overall seed in March Madness. The Blue Devils responded both times, the latter coming when they got their defense and star freshman Cameron Boozer rolling after halftime.
Boozer shook off a quiet first half to finish with 19 points and Duke shot 61.5% after halftime Saturday to pull away from TCU for an 81-58 win in a physical second-round game at the NCAA Tournament.
The forward voted a unanimous first-team Associated Press All-American earlier this week had just two points and missed his only shot in the first half. But he scored three times during the 11-0 second-half burst — twice on high-low feeds from fellow big Patrick Ngongba II in his return to the lineup — as Duke (34-2) finally shook free of the ninth-seeded Horned Frogs (23-12).
“They did a great job swarming the point, protecting the rim,” Boozer said. “So I just didn’t have a lot of looks really. Second half we figured out some things that got me going downhill, got some high-lows.”
That 11-0 run was the capper on a 26-6 surge that spanned nearly nine minutes, with TCU missing 15 of 17 shots after Jayden Pierre’s layup tied it at 44-all with 13:56 left. TCU shot just 10 for 38 after halftime and 33.3% for the game, while Duke finished with a 42-25 rebounding advantage.
“I thought the defense in the second half was big time,” coach Jon Scheyer said. “We found it, and really that’s what willed us.”
The Blue Devils opened the tournament with an uncharacteristically shaky performance that had them flirting with only the third 16-versus-1 upset against Siena. Now they’re off to the Sweet 16 for the third straight season, earning a trip to the nation’s capital to face the St. John’s-Kansas winner Friday.
Micah Robinson scored 18 points for TCU, which beat eighth-seeded Ohio State on Xavier Edmonds’ basket in the final seconds of the first round. But the Horned Frogs couldn’t sustain a quality first 25 minutes after taking a 40-38 lead on Robinson’s jumper with 16:15 left.
TCU was playing in its fourth tournament in five years under Jamie Dixon, but the Horned Frogs fell short of a chance to reach the second weekend of the tournament for the first time in the modern era since expansion to 64 teams in 1985.
“Had the lead, got away from us,” Dixon said. “We certainly had some challenges with it, but I’m proud of our guys.”
Flagrant fouls
The game had four flagrant fouls on a day that had players repeatedly getting arms tangled and tussling through contact.
First there was TCU’s David Punch taking an elbow on Boozer’s first-half drive and coming up with a bloody nose. Punch came to the bench with holding his nose with blood pouring between his fingers, and officials later assessed Boozer with a flagrant-1 foul on review.
Early in the second half, TCU’s Tanner Toolson was called for a flagrant-1 after a review on Boozer when he went airborne to block his shot, landed on Boozer then grabbed him as he flipped over toward the floor.
And there was a late double-flagrant foul when Ngongba and Edmonds ended up tangled and fell to the floor.
Dixon’s tech
Dixon also picked up a second-half technical foul after officials didn’t call goaltending when Duke’s Maliq Brown blocked Toolson from behind. Dixon appeared to be complaining in frustration to officials when he was whistled at the 8:57 mark and Duke leading 59-50.
“I didn’t get set off. I had a conversation with them,” Dixon said. “There was no raising the voice. There was conversation, as he had asked for. What are you going to do? Obviously we know what it was. Everybody knows what it was.
“What can you say?” Dixon continued. “It’s a big play, big play. Then you compound it. I didn’t cuss. I didn’t say anything bad. Had a conversation with him. It’s a huge impact on the game.”
Up next
One thing is certain: The Blue Devils will face a Hall of Fame coach and national title winner in the regional semifinals. The fourth-seeded Jayhawks, led by Bill Self, meet the fifth-seeded Red Storm led by Rick Pitino on Sunday.