Duke might actually be a better team with Carlos Boozer sitting on the bench.
That statement would have sounded like heresy a few days ago, when Boozer's foot injury appeared to devastate Duke's shot at a third national title.
But reports from the front have proved differently.
Duke looks quicker. Faster. Deeper. Boozer is a nicer guy, who shoulders far less baggage than Derrick Coleman, but what has happened here seems otherwise like a mirror image of what happens to the Charlotte Hornets whenever Coleman develops another mysterious injury.
Namely, the Hornets win.
So does Duke.
The Blue Devils smashed North Carolina in the ACC tournament championship game Sunday, 79-53. It was a blowout that provided a clear view of two squads flying in opposite directions Duke arrowing toward the Final Four, North Carolina stumbling toward an early NCAA exit, if they don't right the baby-blue boat very soon.
Said Duke guard Jason Williams, who turned his ankle but should be able to play in No.1 seed Duke's first-round game Thursday against No.16 seed Monmouth in Greensboro: "When we had Carlos, everybody said depth was a problem for Duke. Now that we've lost him we've become a deeper team."
Duke, of course, would like to have Boozer back, as insurance for the day Mike Dunleavy (24 points, 13 rebounds) isn't hitting everything he shoots, and Shane Battier finally plays a bad game.
But the Blue Devils might just win the whole dance contest anyway. They certainly have a far better chance than North Carolina, which was woeful Sunday and has a 4-4 record over its past eight games.
The Tar Heels earned their No.2 seed in the South Regional with that 18-game win streak, but now they are floundering.
The simmering tension between Jason Capel and Joseph Forte is apparent when you watch the two on court. One day after outplaying first-team all-ACC center Alvin Jones of Georgia Tech, North Carolina center Brendan Haywood had extreme difficulty scoring on Duke's Reggie Love, or Casey Sanders, or anyone else. Julius Peppers has turned into an awkward defensive lineman again. Ronald Curry looks lost against a point guard of Williams' caliber. Matt Doherty was outcoached.
Forte's 4-for-15 shooting was emblematic of North Carolina's biggest problem it couldn't make a shot. The Tar Heels' 29.2 shooting percentage was the lowest in an ACC tournament final in 46 years.
Meanwhile, Duke was Duke. The Blue Devils have won four consecutive without Boozer, thrashing Carolina on successive Sundays.
The Blue Devils were gritty and glamorous. For every between-the-legs pass from Williams to Dunleavy for an uncontested three-pointer, there was tournament MVP Battier earning another floorburn with a dive for the ball, while Duke had a 26-point lead.
To say Duke is an intense team is an understatement. With the Blue Devils up by 23 with seven minutes left, not only was Mike Krzyzewski screaming at an official, but so was his wife, Mickie, seated several rows back.
The only real thing to be decided in the second half was whether North Carolina would reach 50 points. Duke had gotten its 50 in the first half; it took North Carolina nearly 38 minutes to get there.
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