March 15, 2002

GAME: No. 8 Notre Dame (22-10) vs. No. 1 Duke (30-3).
REGIONAL: South, Second Round.
TIME: Saturday, 1:10 p.m. or 3:36 p.m EST.
SITE: The BI-LO Center, Greenville, S.C.

Coach Mike Brey has Notre Dame in the second round of the NCAA tournament for the second straight year. Now he faces his mentor, Mike Krzyzewski, as the Irish take on top-seeded Duke.

Notre Dame got 20 points apiece from Matt Carroll and Ryan Humphrey, and 19 from David Graves to defeat ninth-seeded Charlotte 82-63 on Thursday night and win back-to-back NCAA openers for the first time in 23 years.

The last time Notre Dame accomplished the feat was in 1978 and 1979 under coach Digger Phelps.

“It’s huge for us, not just to go to the tournament, but win the first round,” Brey said. “It’s great. These guys have worked hard and they deserve it.”

A win Saturday over the Blue Devils, who routed Winthrop 84-37 on Thursday night, would put the Irish in the round of 16 for the first time since 1987.

Brey was Krzyzewski’s assistant for eight seasons.

Last year, Krzyzewski defeated former assistant and Missouri coach Quin Snyder in the second round. He doesn’t relish going against another coach he considers a part of his family.

“I hate it,” Krzyzewski said. “It’s not even like or dislike. I hate it. I would think Mike doesn’t look forward to it, either.”

Duke’s 47-point blowout Thursday improved its record as a top seed to 28-4, including victories the past five years over Radford, Florida A&M, Lamar, Monmouth and Winthrop by an average of nearly 39 points.

“You want to set the tone for the rest of the tournament,” Duke center Carlos Boozer said.

The 6-foot-9, 280-pound Boozer had hit 76 of 91 shots during a 10-game span coming in, and went 8-of-11 from the floor against Winthrop for 19 points.

Point guard Jason Williams also scored 19, and Mike Dunleavy added 18 as the defending national champions won their seventh straight NCAA tournament game by double digits and gave Krzyzewski his seventh 30-win season.

The Blue Devils, who beat Arizona in last season’s championship game, have made it to the Final Four nine times since the 1985-86 season.

Duke is trying to become the first team to win consecutive national championships since Krzyzewski’s 1991 and ’92 squads.

PROBABLE STARTERS: Notre Dame – F Ryan Humphrey (19.1 ppg, 10.8 rpg), F David Graves (14.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg), C Harold Swanagan (7.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg), G Matt Carroll (13.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg), G Chris Thomas (16.0 ppg, 7.5 apg). Duke – F Dunleavy (17.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg), F Dahntay Jones (11.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg), C Boozer (18.4 ppg, 8.7 rpg), G Chris Duhon (8.9 ppg, 6.2 apg), G Williams (21.6 ppg, 5.4 apg).

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Notre Dame – At-large bid, Big East. Duke – Automatic bid, Atlantic Coast Conference champion.

ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: Notre Dame – 27-29, 26 years. Duke – 74-22, 26 years.