A 'devil' of a challenge

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Yes, Duke is the defending national champion. Yes, Jason Williams is the best player in the country. Yes, Mike Krzyzewski is one of the best coaches in the nation. \nBut no, the Hoosiers are not going to back down.\nTonight at 7:30 p.m. IU gets it shot at America's premier college basketball program in the Blue Devils in the South Regional semi-finals at Rupp Arena in Lexington. The Hoosiers are double-digit underdogs and most people probably don't even have them that close. \nBut that stuff is all on the peripheral for IU. The Hoosiers are here to win and they expect a tough fight tonight.\n"It's going to be a challenge for us, a challenge we welcome," Mike Davis said. "I'll be very disappointed if we don't come out (tonight) and fight like crazy."\nSeveral things must go right for the fifth-seeded Hoosiers (22-11) tonight, and even more things probably need to go wrong for No. 1 and top-seeded Duke (31-3). But before getting caught up in being in awe of its opponent, IU is more interested in playing its own game.\n"We have a lot of respect for Duke, but we're not going to come in scared and let them have a victory," Tom Coverdale said. "Every team we've faced this year we've fought until the end and it's going to be no different (tonight)."\nAfter a light workout Wednesday afternoon at Rupp Arena, the Hoosiers said they are not terrified of the Blue Devils, who survived a scare in the second round before getting past Notre Dame, 84-77. \nSome have called that game Duke's stroke with immortality, but the Blue Devils know they can be beaten, especially since they are going to see everybody's best shot each time out. \nBy now, Duke is used to it.\n"What I try to do is make sure that they see that I'm having fun. We're ready to play," Krzyzewski said. "I don't think we feel any pressure whatsoever. It just shows that we need everyone playing well."\nThe Blue Devils have won eight straight games in the NCAA Tournament, and they have done so with incredible talent at every position. Williams averages 21.5 points per game, Carlos Boozer adds 18.2 points per game and Mike Dunleavy puts in 17.3 points per game. Dahntay Jones scores 11.4 per game.\nAnd Chris Duhon, who is usually busy running the point, finds time to score nine points per game while grabbing three rebounds and handing out five assists.\nWith so much balance, it's hard to find a place to start against Duke. Davis and Coverdale said the Hoosiers have to play good defense as a team, especially on Duhon and Williams.\n"They're one of the best backcourts in the nation because they can do so many different things for their team," Coverdale said. "They both shoot the ball really well and they're both quick and they can drive past you. We know we can't stop (Williams) with one guy. We have to play great team defense."\nAfter a 22-point effort Saturday against UNC-Wilmington that got IU to this point, Jared Jeffries feels more confident than he has since he sprained his ankle against Louisville Feb. 9. Jeffries had 20 of his points after halftime and several big buckets down the stretch Saturday in Sacramento.\nThe Blue Devils have a similar player in Dunleavy, but Jeffries will need to dominate in the post to open the perimeter for Coverdale, Dane Fife and Kyle Hornsby.\n"No one can guard Jared one-on-one and they're going to have to double off on him and that will give our outside players some open shots," Coverdale said.\nDavis said he might put the 6-foot-4 Fife on the 6-foot-9 Dunleavy to limit his scoring. Dunleavy does play away from the basket most of the time. That might create more opportunities for the Hoosiers to take care of rebounding against a smaller Duke team.\nWith Jarrad Odle and Jeff Newton, the Hoosiers are a bit longer and more physical.\n"Rebounding is a very big thing for us," Dunleavy said. "In some ways that's an advantage with our quickness. We create a lot of turnovers. At the same time we do get out-rebounded."\nThe Blue Devils won't be surprised to see a close game tonight. They saw one just five days ago against the Fighting Irish and they say they have learned from it.\n"Going into it, we didn't think we were invincible," Dunleavy said of last weekend. "We have learned a lot. It was a little bit of a wakeup call."\nCoverdale said Wednesday that the Hoosiers have to be careful that they don't 'psyche themselves out' against the Blue Devils. With so much against them, what do the Hoosiers have to lose?\n"I think if you psych yourself out at this point you wouldn't be in the Sweet 16. If you have that type of attitude you tend to overlook teams you're supposed to beat," Coverdale said. "Our main goal is to get to Atlanta and the Final Four and we still have as good a chance as anybody"