Sulaimon, Duke take out Creighton

Philadelphia, PA –  Rasheed Sulaimon scored 21 points and Seth Curry added 17, as Duke advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament with a 66-50 triumph over Creighton in a third-round Midwest Region contest.

Mason Plumlee tallied 10 points for the second-seeded Blue Devils (29-5), who will face No. 3 seed Michigan State Friday in the regional semifinals at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

"The first two rounds I felt challenged," Sulaimon said referring also to Duke's win over Albany Friday. "The first game we didn't play as well as we could, but we were just happy to get past there. And this game playing against a great team like Creighton we stepped up our level of intensity, stepped up our level on the defensive side. I thought these were two great games in preparation for Michigan State next weekend in Indianapolis."

Sunday's result allowed the Blue Devils became the fourth program in NCAA history to reach 2,000 victories (2,000-839).

Doug McDermott scored 21 and had nine rebounds for the seventh-seeded Bluejays (28-8), who beat Cincinnati on Friday. McDermott shot 4-of-16 from the field, part of a woeful 30.2 percent (16-of-53) performance for Creighton. The Bluejays went 2-of-19 from 3-point range.

"They were real physical with me, and it seems like they were switching every screen, down screen, pick, just they were switching everything, making it frustrating," McDermott said. "I missed a lot of shots I normally make, so that was unfortunate. But they did a great job finding me, not letting me get anything easy, so you've got to give them credit."

Plumlee, Ryan Kelly and Josh Hairston were in foul trouble, but the Blue Devils battled through it and also overcame 38.8 percent shooting from the field.

In a back-and-forth first half, the Bluejays went ahead 21-20 with nearly three minutes left following Austin Chatman's two made free throws.

Duke then went on a 9-2 spurt to end the half and capped it when Tyler Thornton made a double-clutch, running 3-point shot at the buzzer, when the ball banked in off the backboard.

"It was just tough to get buckets," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Tyler's shot at the end of the half was a big lift, but they came right back, and Seth put on a display."

Plumlee picked up his fourth foul 2:12 into the second half, and Ethan Wragge's 3-point play had the Bluejays within 34-30 with over 15 minutes left. But another 9-2 burst, this one capped by Amile Jefferson's layup, moved Duke to a double-digit advantage at the midway point.

The Bluejays never seriously threatened down the stretch and couldn't get closer than eight points.

Game Notes

Top seed Louisville and No. 12 seed Oregon will be the other matchup Friday in Indianapolis ... Duke is into the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in five years ... McDermott hit all 12 of his free throws.

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Duke frustrates McDermott and sends Creighton out of the NCAA tournament

PHILADELPHIA –  Doug McDermott scuffled for open looks and usually missed when he did get them.

He won't get another chance this season to make up for it with Creighton. Now, the question looms for McDermott if he'll play for the Bluejays again

Rasheed Sulaimon scored 21 points, Seth Curry had 17 and the No. 2 seed Blue Devils beat seventh-seeded Creighton 66-50 on Sunday night to advance to the NCAA round of 16 for the fourth time in five years.

A year after they lost their NCAA tournament opener, the Blue Devils (29-5) return to the regional semifinals for the 27th time. They'll play No. 3 seed Michigan State (27-8) on Friday in Indianapolis.

Creighton (28-8) went cold and never made a serious run in the second half. McDermott scored 21 points but made only four baskets.

McDermott, an All-American forward, has to decide if he'll return for his senior season or declare for the NBA draft.

"We discussed it six weeks ago and decided to wait until the season was over," his coach, and father, Greg McDermott said. "We'll let this all sink in and when the time is right, we'll sit down. He'll do what's best for Doug. He's earned that right."

McDermott missed 11 of 16 from the field and made only 1 of 4 3-pointers. He made all 12 free throws to keep his final scoring total from shambles.

"They did a great job on me, really physical, switched on every screen making it frustrating," McDermott said. "I missed a lot of shots I usually make, so that was unfortunate.

With McDermott slumping, the Bluejays were knocked out in the third round by an ACC team for the second straight season. They played their final game under the Missouri Valley Conference banner and move on next season to the Big East.

"They're a big reason Creighton moved to the Big East," Greg McDermott said of his team.

The Blue Devils will have to silence the whistle to keep the run alive. Mason Plumlee, Josh Hairston and Ryan Kelly battled foul trouble all game long that could have doomed the Blue Devils. Throw in 39 percent shooting, and the Blue Devils are far from playing their best in March.

While other high-seeded teams like Gonzaga and Georgetown made early exits, the Blue Devils are moving on to Indy.

"It was just so difficult," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "It was the best defense we played all year."

Florida Gulf Coast beat San Diego State 81-71 in the opener in Philadelphia that had the crowd of more than 20,000 buzzing after the upset win.

Duke's victory could not match it in excitement or intensity.

Foul trouble hounded the Blue Devils from the opening tip. Plumlee hit the bench after he was whistled for his fourth foul early in the second half.

Hairston picked up his fourth foul at the 15:21 mark, allowing Ethan Wragge to convert a three-point play that inched the Bluejays closer.

Curry came right back with a 3-pointer and followed with a layup to make it 39-30. Plumlee and Kelly, each with four fouls, returned to the game as Krzyzewski clearly wanted his best players in there to try and put away Creighton.

"Seth got a couple of big ones for us," Krzyzewski said.

The usually sure-shooting Bluejays never found their groove.

Gregory Echenique had no chance on a wayward alley-oop lob that knocked off the backboard, and he fumbled the ball the next time down. Amile Jefferson scored off the second turnover for an 11-point lead. Hundreds of Duke fans stood in appreciation, and the program's 2,000th career win was in the bag.

Hairston was called for his fifth foul at the midway point of the second half, leaving the Blue Devils without a key frontcourt reserve. Plumlee fouled out with just under 3 minutes left.

But the Bluejays clanged brick after brick. The missed 17 of 19 3-pointers and shot only 30 percent from the field. McDermott, their All-American, was 4 of 16 and 12 of 12 from the free throw line.

McDermott gamely did his best to keep the Bluejays afloat by getting to the line. He hit two with 7:29 left to cut it to nine but went more than 18 minutes without a field goal. Without his 3-point shooting keeping Duke's defense honest — Krzyzewski called him one of the best offensive players he's seen in the last decade — the Bluejays were sunk.

"It was a tough way to go out," McDermott said. "It's hard letting the seniors down tonight. It doesn't take away from the last two years."

Curry's second 3-pointer pushed it back to 11 and Sulaimon followed with another 3 to wrap it up.

Plumlee finished with 10 points and the Blue Devils made 21 of 28 free throws.

The Bluejays missed 12 of their first 15 shots, then missed 10 of 13 to open the second half. They lost in the third round to North Carolina last year and talked all season about wanting to get back to this point. They would go no farther. The Bluejays haven't advanced to a regional semifinal since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

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