By Matt Bonesteel
Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, March 30, 1999; Page D5

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., March 29 – The past four days have been long ones for Duke Athletic Director Joe Alleva. He began in Durham, N.C., flew to San Jose, when the Duke women's basketball team was playing in its Final Four, then he shuttled back and forth between there and St. Petersburg, where the men's Final Four was taking place.

After watching the Blue Devils women lose in the championship game Sunday night, Alleva hopped a charter flight around midnight EST and headed back for Florida on his second overnight flight in a little more than 48 hours. He arrived here around 5:30 this morning. Alleva said before the men's championship game against Connecticut that he was going on about 2 1/2 hours of sleep, but he didn't seem to mind.

"This has been totally all worth it," Alleva said from his seat at Tropicana Field, which was a stone's throw away from screen star Kevin Costner. "I wouldn't miss the women's tournament for anything in the world. But I'm going on adrenaline right now."

Alleva might have felt tired, but you wouldn't have known it by looking at him. He was quite tan (shuttling between California and Florida will do that) and is lacking bags under his eyes.

Asked whether he would have the strength to celebrate, Alleva said it "depended on the result of the game."

Suddenly, his wife Annie interjected: "We're celebrating no matter what."

"I guess we're celebrating no matter what," Alleva then said. "One way or another we'll celebrate. This team is too special not to."

Devils Bedeviled
As good a running team as Duke was this season, it seemed that Blue Devils were beaten at their own game in the second half of tonight's game.

Connecticut, an excellent running team in its own right, stepped up its transition speed in the second half to regain the lead. With point guard Khalid El-Amin leading the attack after being limited late in the first half and early in the second by foul trouble, the Huskies often had the Blue Devils running backwards after a basket or a Connecticut rebound.

Albert Mouring hit a driving shot with 16 minutes 9 seconds left to cut Duke's lead to three. After a free throw by Shane Battier, Kevin Freeman hit a layup to cut the lead to two with 15:27 remaining. After a series of ties, Richard Hamilton nailed a baseline jumper to give Connecticut a two-point lead the Huskies did not relinquish.

"I don't think they underestimated [our transition game], but there's a difference between knowing how quick we are and actually experiencing how quick we are," Freeman said. "When we go from defense to offense so quick, it's hard to celebrate your score and relax against us because we'll push it down your throat."

Duke center Elton Brand said that his team wasn't ready for such quickness on transition from the Huskies. He often found himself guarding El-Amin at the top of the key, simply because the point guard had caught up with Brand as he ran down the court.

"We saw that on film and knew that they would [get the ball up the court fast]," Brand said. "But it was very difficult for us to even get back and play those guys. It was definitely a key to the game."

Jarvis Offers a Tip
Former George Washington and current St. John's coach Mike Jarvis gave some good advice to a group of kids while hosting a clinic at the NCAA Hoop City, which is described in the NCAA tournament fan guide as "an interactive basketball celebration" held at the Tampa Convention Center.

"If you're going to get autographs, make sure you save them," Jarvis said. "Because one day my son got Michael Jordan's autograph but lost it, not realizing he was going to be the greatest player to ever play the game."

Connecticut Celebrates
Students streamed from Connecticut's home court and dorms in Storrs tonight, dancing around a giant university-sponsored bonfire to celebrate the Huskies' victory, according to the Associated Press.

Thousands had packed Gampel Pavilion to watch the championship game, blending into a single scream as the final buzzer sounded and loudspeakers blared, "We Are The Champions."

"My dream has finally come true. This makes up for all the heartache Duke has caused us so many times," said Ellen Truax of Sharon, a recent Connecticut graduate who jumped up and down with joy.

Fireworks exploded as a caravan of honking cars snaked through the campus.

Bed frames, couches, chairs and clothing fed a second, smaller bonfire outside the freshman dorms known as "The Jungle."

Senior Justin Rice hugged his cousin, freshman Steve Kakowski.

"Finally! Finally!" Rice said. "It was the best game I've seen. Ricky Moore had the game of his life."

Sgt. Frank Colonese of the U-Conn. police said there were no arrests before midnight, and the only injury was a twisted ankle.

"Everything looks fine so far," he said.