McCollum, the two-time player of the year in the Patriot League,
finished with 30 points as the Mountain Hawks became only the sixth
15th seed to eliminate a No. 2 in the history of the tournament. Norfolk
State also achieved that distinction by upsetting Missouri earlier in
the day.
"They had the best player on the court today," duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said of McCollum. "But all of their kids played well."
"They had the best player on the court today," duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said of McCollum. "But all of their kids played well."
The
Mountain Hawks trailed 30-28 at the half but used their backcourt
speed, nimble defense and McCollum's offensive acumen to take charge in
the second half. McCollum and point guard Mackey McKnight (11 points)
outplayed the more vaunted Blue Devil guard tandem ofAustin Rivers and Seth Curry. Rivers and Curry combined to shoot 3-for-14 from 3-point range, part of a 6-for-26 team effort.
"We wanted to get up on them and make them uncomfortable driving," McKnight said. "We tried to maintain the pressure consistently through the game."
McCollum's biggest basket came with 2:24 remaining after duke had cut a seven-point deficit to 56-54. The 6-3 junior buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key and the Blue Devils never came closer than three points down the stretch.
"They were very bold the entire game," Krzyzewski said. "There was some game pressure on them, we came back. But they seemed always to have the answer."
Duke (27-7) had been 12-0 in NCAA tournament games played in Greensboro and began its 1992 and 2001 national championship runs here. But the Blue Devils limped into this year's competition, losing two of their final three games and struggling to win three others. They also played without 6-10 Ryan Kelly, who was sidelined with a sprained foot.
"The last three ball games we've kind of just been mucking it out," said coach Mike Krzyzewski. "We have not shot the ball well for about three weeks.
"We're not a juggernaut and we've known that throughout the season. We didn't lose this game because of our defense; we lost because of our lack of precision on the offensive end."
Lehigh (27-7) was rolling after upsetting Bucknell on the Bisons' court in the Patriot League finals and were riding an eight-game winning streak. Road losses during the regular season to Michigan State, Iowa State and St. John's by an average of fewer than eight points had the Mountain Hawks prepped for the big stage.
"We were in some tough environments early in the season and I think that gave us all confidence," McCollum said. "It showed us we could play with anybody in the country."
Gabe Knutson hit all five of his shots and finished with 17 points and eight rebounds for Lehigh, which converted 25 of 37 free throws. Rivers had 19 points for duke as didMason Plumlee, who sent 9-for-9 from the field and grabbed 12 rebounds.
"We knew they were a good team," Plumlee said. "We had plenty of preparation, we took care of that end of it. It just didn't translate to the game."
Lehigh won for the first time in five NCAA appearances, the last coming in a 90-74 loss to Kansas in 2010. Bucknell has the only two other Patriot League wins in the tournament. This was Duke's third loss its opening game since the field expanded to 64/68 teams. The Blue Devils fell to Virginia Commonwealth and a sixth seed in 2007 and to Eastern Michigan in 1996 as an eighth seed
"We wanted to get up on them and make them uncomfortable driving," McKnight said. "We tried to maintain the pressure consistently through the game."
McCollum's biggest basket came with 2:24 remaining after duke had cut a seven-point deficit to 56-54. The 6-3 junior buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key and the Blue Devils never came closer than three points down the stretch.
"They were very bold the entire game," Krzyzewski said. "There was some game pressure on them, we came back. But they seemed always to have the answer."
Duke (27-7) had been 12-0 in NCAA tournament games played in Greensboro and began its 1992 and 2001 national championship runs here. But the Blue Devils limped into this year's competition, losing two of their final three games and struggling to win three others. They also played without 6-10 Ryan Kelly, who was sidelined with a sprained foot.
"The last three ball games we've kind of just been mucking it out," said coach Mike Krzyzewski. "We have not shot the ball well for about three weeks.
"We're not a juggernaut and we've known that throughout the season. We didn't lose this game because of our defense; we lost because of our lack of precision on the offensive end."
Lehigh (27-7) was rolling after upsetting Bucknell on the Bisons' court in the Patriot League finals and were riding an eight-game winning streak. Road losses during the regular season to Michigan State, Iowa State and St. John's by an average of fewer than eight points had the Mountain Hawks prepped for the big stage.
"We were in some tough environments early in the season and I think that gave us all confidence," McCollum said. "It showed us we could play with anybody in the country."
Gabe Knutson hit all five of his shots and finished with 17 points and eight rebounds for Lehigh, which converted 25 of 37 free throws. Rivers had 19 points for duke as didMason Plumlee, who sent 9-for-9 from the field and grabbed 12 rebounds.
"We knew they were a good team," Plumlee said. "We had plenty of preparation, we took care of that end of it. It just didn't translate to the game."
Lehigh won for the first time in five NCAA appearances, the last coming in a 90-74 loss to Kansas in 2010. Bucknell has the only two other Patriot League wins in the tournament. This was Duke's third loss its opening game since the field expanded to 64/68 teams. The Blue Devils fell to Virginia Commonwealth and a sixth seed in 2007 and to Eastern Michigan in 1996 as an eighth seed
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