ATLANTA — Chris Duhon may be hurting, but he's doing just fine. So are the Duke Blue Devils.
Dragging himself off the floor time and time again, Duhon steered Duke into an all-too-familiar position — one win from the Final Four — with a 72-62 victory over Illinois in the Atlanta Regional semifinals Friday night.
Duhon attempted only one shot, but it didn't matter for Duke (30-5). The 6-foot-1 point guard dished out eight assists and kept sneaking inside for rebounds, winding up with a game-high 10. He also spent part of the night guarding Illinois' top scorer, Deron Williams, who managed just seven points on 3-of-13 shooting.
Not bad for a guy who was playing with sore ribs, a heavy wrapping visible under his jersey. Duhon was hurt in the ACC championship game — when the Blue Devils looked vulnerable after a stunning collapse against Maryland.
Not so fast.
Top-seeded Duke pulled away from Illinois (29-6) in the second half and headed on to the regional final to meet No. 7 Xavier, which knocked off Texas 79-71 in the first game of the evening. The winner of that game gets a trip to the Final Four in San Antonio.
Luol Deng led the Blue Devils with 18 points, while J.J. Redick added 17 and Shelden Williams 14. But it was Duhon, the senior leader, who set the tone.
He dove out of bounds once to make a save, managing to call timeout before slamming to the floor. On two other occasions, he was knocked to the court by Illinois players.
Every time, Duhon pulled himself up and kept on going.