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But it wasn't easy until the second half.

That's when Duke outscored Southern Illinois 54-35 to cruise to an 83-58 victory in the semifinals of the 2K Sports Classic to benefit Coaches vs. Cancer at Madison Square Garden. Duke will face either No. 4 UCLA or Michigan Friday night at 7, with the consolation game at 5.

Both Knight and legendary former North Carolina coach Dean Smith, who is No. 2 on the career wins list, were in the building to watch. Knight, who retired last January with 902 victories, was an analyst for ESPN. Smith, who finished with 879 victories, was honored with the Joe Lapchick Character Award at halftime.

Krzyzewski, 61, is No. 6 on the all-time victory list with 807. The three men have combined to win eight NCAA championships.

"I love one of them [Knight] and I admire and really like the other guy [Smith] and you can pick and choose," Coach K said with a smile. "They would tell you they don't really give a darn who the hell is in the stands. You're focused on what you're doing. I was trying to figure out how we were going to score.

"In saying that, it was pretty cool that you have two of the greatest coaches of all time. That's my goal in life, to chase those two guys."

Knight coached Krzyzewski at Army and then gave him his first job as a graduate assistant at Indiana in 1975 when Krzyzewski was 26. After coming to Duke as the head coach in 1980, Krzyzewski and Smith battled for years in the ACC.

Against SIU, Duke (4-0) went to the foul line 47 times and made 40 free throws. SIU made 12 of 19 from the stripe.

"We had 15 more shot attempts, but they had 40 free throws," SIU coach Chris Lowery said. "You take those 40 free throws out, those are huge."

Gerald Henderson led all scorers with 20 points, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc for Duke. Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer added 13 points apiece and Brian Zoubek scored 10.

The 6-foot-8 Singler was lucky to escape without injury after being intentionally fouled when Tony Boyle pushed him into the stanchion with 6:40 left, causing Singler to land on his back.

Duke out-rebounded SIU, 42-38. Duke point guard and Syracuse native Greg Paulus played with a black brace on his right arm after suffering an injury prior to Sunday's victory over Rhode Island. He struggled with his shot and finished with 2 points.

"It was Henderson's turn to have a big game and we allowed him to get going," Lowery said. "Big monster dunks and wide open threes."

Carlton Fay paced the Salukis with 17 points and Kevin Dillard had 10 points and 7 assists.

The game offered a tremendous opportunity for the Salukis to post a dramatic upset on national television and in what Krzyzewski called the "mecca of basketball." Although Southern Illinois had been to the NCAA Tournament every season from 2002 to 2007, the program has lacked quality wins in November and December.

The Salukis lack a bonafide star, but an upset of three-time national champion Duke would have served notice to the NCAA selection committee and the TV networks that Lowery's team is a marquee name in college hoops.

SIU still has a ways to go in that regard.

"That's Duke, they are very good," Lowery said. "You can't discount their program [and] their tradition."

LEGENDS HONORED

Hall of Fame coaches Pat Summitt, Dean Smith and Lou Carnesecca were honored at halftime with the inaugural Joe Lapchick Character Awards. Summitt's award was accepted by Tennessee athletic director Joan Cronan. "He was such a special people person. He had time for everybody. He never thought he was too big for anybody,'' said Carnesecca, who was an assistant to Lapchick at St. John's for nine years before succeeding him there in 1965. "He knew how to teach. He knew how to get the best out of someone for that player and the team. I always thought 'class' when I thought of Joe Lapchick. 'Character' is right on the money as well." Lapchick was credited as one of the leaders in integrating the NBA. "He had tremendous strength in a quiet way. He had a great sense of justice," said his daughter, Barbara Lapchek. "In recent years as the stories of what my father did in the early years of the NBA started being told again, I wondered why I didn't have better memories of what he did. But I realized what he did to him was no big deal. He always did the right thing."