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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Before this year's NCAA Tournament began, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said his team was playing "pretty well."

He never mentioned dominating. And he forgot to say they are pretty well-rounded.

For the second consecutive game, the Blue Devils put in a stout, if unflashy, performance and knocked out California 68-53 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Sunday in a second-round game of the South Region.

The win earned the Blue Devils (31-5) a trip to the regional semifinals in Houston on Friday against Purdue (29-5). The Boilermakers beat Texas A&M 63-61 in overtime Sunday to advance.

Duke, which beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff by 29 in the first round, slammed the door early on the Golden Bears (24-10) with a tight-fisted defensive performance late in the first half.

After Theo Robertson made a short jumper to pull Cal to within 20-17 with 8:48 to the break, Duke limited the Bears to seven points the remainder of the half.

"We played an outstanding defensive game tonight against a championship team," Krzyzewski said. "The kids played a beautiful defensive game."

Cal's Theo Robertson sat stunned in the Bears locker room afterward.

"They got us back on our heels early," he said. "There really was no turning point, it was a steady diet. They executed so well."

The Blue Devils' significant height advantage led to 22 in-the-paint points in the half.

After taking a 13-point 37-24 halftime lead, Duke saw it shrink to seven points at the start the second half. The Blue Devils made three of their first 11 shots, but they got back to their double-digit comfort zone when center Brian Zoubek connected on a tip-in and backed that up seconds later with a layup. He finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

The Blue Devils also served up a warning that not all three of their top scorers have to be on for them to win big.

Guard Nolan Smith, who averages 17.1 points a game, scored 20. Kyle Singler had 17, close to his 17.7 average. However, the team's leading scorer, guard Jon Scheyer (18.4 a game), was 1-of-11 from the field and had seven points.

"I think my jumper is already in Houston," Scheyer said. "It'll be there Friday."

Cal was led by former Duke player Jamal Boykin who had 13 points and 11 rebounds.

"It's unusual for us (to be shut down on offense) and so difficult to imagine it would happen to us," he said. "But that's the reality of the situation."

CALIFORNIA (24-11) — Boykin 5-14 3-3 13, Robertson 3-9 3-4 10, Gutierrez 2-6 3-4 7, Randle 5-12 0-0 12, Christopher 1-4 0-0 2, Knezevic 0-0 2-2 2, Zhang 0-0 0-0 0, Sanders-Frison 3-3 1-3 7. Totals 19-48 12-16 53.

DUKE (31-5) — Singler 6-12 4-6 17, Thomas 1-4 0-0 2, Zoubek 6-6 2-4 14, Smith 9-18 1-3 20, Scheyer 1-11 4-4 7, Ma.Plumlee 1-1 0-0 2, Dawkins 0-0 0-0 0, Mi.Plumlee 3-4 0-0 6, Kelly 0-1 0-0 0, Davidson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-57 11-17 68.

California 24 29 — 53
Duke 37 31 — 68

Percentages—California (FG .396, FT .750), Duke (FG .474, FT .647).

3-point goals—California 3-12 (Randle 2-6, Robertson 1-3, Gutierrez 0-1, Christopher 0-2), Duke 3-17 (Smith 1-2, Singler 1-6, Scheyer 1-8, Kelly 0-1).

Fouled out—Sanders-Frison.

Rebounds—California 33 (Boykin 11), Duke 34 (Zoubek 13).

Assists—California 6 (Gutierrez, Robertson 2), Duke 11 (Scheyer, Singler 3).

Blocked shots—California 1 (Boykin)), Duke 5 (Singler 2,).

Turnovers—California 11 (Gutierrez 3, Boykin 2, Sanders-Frison 2), Duke 5 (Scheyer, Thomas, Smith, Singler, Zoubek).

Steals—California 3 (Robertson, Randle, Knezevic), Duke 4 (Scheyer 3).

Total fouls—California 18, Duke 15.

A—12,547.

Officials—Michael R. Stuart, Mike Littlewood, Jeffery A. Clark.