DURHAM, N.C. — The “upstart” vs. the traditional power.
That’s one way to look at the matchup between the No. 5 seed Mississippi State women’s basketball team (27-6) and No. 4 seed Duke (22-10) at 11 a.m. today (ESPN2) at Cameron Indoor Stadium on the campus of Duke University.
This is the 22nd-straight year Duke has advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. On the flip side, MSU is back in the NCAAs for the first time since 2009-10, when it reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history.
Longevity and experience — all of the Bulldogs played in their first NCAA tournament game Friday — might not determine the outcome of today’s game, but the difference in the programs’ backgrounds creates an interesting story line for the matchup.
“There’s a lot of history and tradition here,” Duke senior center Elizabeth Williams said. “I think there’s a lot of pride in our name. … We’re expected to uphold standards on and off the court. I think that’s kind of why you love Duke basketball because we’re not just basketball players. We’re in the community, we’re in the classroom.”
Williams, a 6-foot-3 senior center, is Duke’s first four-time All-American, so she is a natural to talk about the program’s place with Connecticut, Notre Dame, Baylor, Tennessee, and Stanford as some of the pillars of women’s basketball.
Joining the elite
On the other hand, programs like South Carolina and MSU are gaining ground and climbing higher in the polls. South Carolina spent most of the regular season at No. 1 in the both major polls, while MSU has been ranked for 17 straight weeks in The Associated Press poll and for 16 straight weeks in the USA Today poll.
MSU senior center Martha Alwal, who likely will be matched up against Williams, said Duke is a program that has been one of the best in the nation for a long time.
“Duke is a really talented program,” Alwal said. “Year in and year out they are always in the NCAA tournament. I look at them as a Tennessee or a South Carolina. They are one of the powerhouse schools, so you have to respect them and their game. They are really good and they are really big. Defense is going to be key in stopping them.”
MSU sophomore guard Dominique Dillingham said the Bulldogs will have to get into the passing lanes, to deny the wings, to keep the ball away from the point guard, and “muck up” things against the Blue Devils.
Schaefer joked with Dillingham after that comment by “thanking” her for giving away the team’s game plan. But when you have played in so many big games and in so many NCAA tournaments, the Blue Devils have a roster with more postseason experience than the Bulldogs. They also have the mystique of the Duke name and the advantage of playing on their home court. With that comes the recognition that every opponent will try to hit the proverbial target that is on the back of every Blue Devil.
“I think we all came here expecting that,” Williams said. “Just the name Duke brings a lot of respect. We obviously have to work hard and know that nothing is going to be guaranteed. Regardless of who we play, they’re going to come as hard as they possibly can. For us, it’s just a matter of doing things we need to do to consistently get better.”
Senior forward Amber Henson said teams always are looking to beat Duke regardless of whether it wins 10 or 20 games. She said getting the best from every opponent is part of playing at Duke. She expects MSU to do the same today.
“Pretty much any game we’ve lost this year you see the teams celebrate like it was their Final Four or championship game,” Henson said. “That says a lot about what the players before us have built at Duke, what this program has become. We’re just going to have to uphold that standard, come ready to play every game.”
Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie, who played basketball at Northwestern, said she was recruited by Duke coming out of high school. She agreed with her players that it is a very special place because of its academics and its athletics.
“This day and age, when kids can be a social security number at huge schools, Duke provides so many great things,” McCallie said. “In terms of women’s basketball, I was attracted to being here because we’ve never won a national championship. That’s something that is obviously very motivating. You see the guys’ side (and) the four banners up. Obviously I learned a lot reading about (Duke men’s basketball) coach (Mike) K(rzyzewski) back in the day.” Krzyzewski is the all-time wins leader in Division I college basketball.
McCallie coached for eight years at Maine and led the Black Bears to six consecutive NCAA tournament appearances from 1993-94 to 1999-2000. She then went to Michigan State, where she had a losing season in her first year — like at Maine — then guided the program to six postseason appearances in a row. The Spartans went to the NCAA tournament the final five seasons, including a trip to the national title game (33-4 record) in 2004-05.
McCallie took over at Duke for Gail Goestenkors prior to the 2007-08 season and has helped keep the Blue Devils as one of the nation’s top programs. Duke has won at least 22 games each of McCallie’s eight years at the school. The Blue Devils have won three Atlantic Coast Conference championships (regular season and conference) and have reached the Elite Eight four times in that period.
McCallie said Michigan State was a “great place,” but that she wanted the “very best” when she decided to take the job at Duke. She feels the program has made some “great progress.” Duke lost to Baylor, UConn, Stanford, and Notre Dame in the Elite Eight from 2010-13.
Last season, Duke lost to DePaul 74-65 in the second round of the NCAA tournament at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Williams had 12 points to lead five Blue Devils in double figures.
On Friday, Duke needed a 3-pointer by redshirt freshman Rebecca Greenwell to beat No. 13 seed Albany 54-52. Greenwell (20 points) was the only Duke player in double figures. She also became the third Blue Devil freshman to score 20 points in her first NCAA tournament game.
Greenwell’s trey and a near triple-double by Williams (nine points, 12 rebounds, nine blocked shots) helped Duke overcome 27 turnovers.
McCallie said the Blue Devils wouldn’t have been able to win a game like that earlier in the season.
“People like to take every Duke team and put it up on a pedestal,” McCallie said. “But the reality is we start literally two real freshmen. … For what they’ve done with the schedule we had, given the injuries and the situations that have occurred, it’s been remarkable.”
MSU coach Vic Schaefer feels the same way about his team’s success this season. With a school-record 27 victories, including 11 in the SEC, and record single-game and overall attendance figures, Schaefer doesn’t feel MSU needs a win today to “validate” anything it has accomplished this season. He said Friday he wanted his team to leave it all on the line and to give it its best shot if it had an opportunity to play Duke at home.
“These kids have far and exceeded probably anyone’s expectations, maybe other than myself and my staff,” Schaefer said. “I think our kids have really had a tremendous, tremendous year. We end every game with two freshmen, two sophomores, and a senior on the floor most nights, so we are still very, very young.
“A team like Duke (is) well coached and has tremendous players. They are hard to deal with. I think I have played against them three times in this building, and they are always really good at home. It will take our best effort probably of the year to beat them.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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