GREENVILLE, S.C., March 14 (UPI) -- Carlos Boozer scored 18 of his 19 points in the first half Thursday night as top-seeded Duke got off to a rocket-like start and administered an 84-37 whipping of the Winthrop Eagles in the first round of the NCAA Tournament's South Region.
Duke (30-3) advanced to face Notre Dame on Saturday. The defending national champions held a 52-15 halftime lead and were able to liberally use their reserves throughout the second half.
Winthrop (19-12) was making its fourth NCAA appearance in as many years under coach Gregg Marshall.
But there were few happy moments on the court as Duke demonstrated its skills throughout. An 11-0 run featuring eight points from Boozer gave the Blue Devils a 27-7 lead with just over 12 minutes left in the opening half.
The 37 points were the fewest allowed by Duke in an NCAA Tournament contest.
Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski said his team did not overlook the Eagles.
"It's not even about beating Winthrop, it's about playing well," he said. "You don't play well until you have complete focus."
Krzyzewski's team did not have to focus much as Duke was dominant in winning its sixth straight first-round game. Jason Williams scored 19 points and Mike Dunleavy finished with 18.
Although Kansas received a scare from Holy Cross in St. Louis, this matchup was a typical 1-16 game. A No. 16 seed has never beaten a top seed and Krzyzewski's major concern became an unlucky injury.
"We had everyone healthy going into the tournament," he said. "Jason went out of bounds into the cameraman (so we went to the bench)."
The Blue Devils can look forward to a bigger challenge on Saturday when they face the Fighting Irish.
"They've got a good team," Duke guard Chris Duhon said. "They have some good shooters and a beast on the inside in Ryan Humphrey. We're just soaking up this win now."
Little-used Casey Sanders led the Blue Devils' bench players with six points and Andre Buckner added five. Duke held a 21-8 edge in bench points.
"I thought our whole bench did well," Krzyzewski said. "They had significant minutes."
Greg Lewis, the Big South Conference Player of the Year, scored 15 points to lead Winthrop. Pierre Wooten added eight but no other Eagle had more than two.
Duke shot 57 percent and limited the Eagles to 28 percent. Winthrop missed all 13 three-point attempts.
