SAN FRANCISCO. With 4.8 seconds left, when Texas Tech finally submitted, Mike Krzyszewski turned to the Duke fans behind his bench and punched his right fist in the air. It wasn’t exactly a swing mower, but who cares. At the age of 75, after facing retirement for the second straight game, the Duke legend has lived to hit another day.
He scored a stunning, defensive-changing gem of victory, postponing his retirement by at least another two days. The most exciting storyline of this NCAA tournament continues.
This month alone, K.’s coaching endgame changed form and content several times. At the start of the month, this was a burden on his young team, who seemed capable of crushing them under their weight after they lost to North Carolina late on March 5. Then, after many clutches to escape Michigan State in the second round of that tournament, an element of freedom was granted – the Blue Devils at least avoided a truly disappointing finale.
Wendell Moore Jr. and Duke will face Arkansas during a trip to New Orleans.
Kyle Terada / USA TODAY Sports
Now they’ve moved on to something really exciting, thrilling, something that’s become the exciting March Madness storyline. They are nearing the end of a storybook that eluded them during Krzyzewski’s last game at the Cameron Indoor Stadium. They are 40 minutes away from the fabulous Final Four, approaching a moment that could have been predicted in theory a few months ago, but now it is taking shape.
“Boy,” said Krzyzewski, and it sounded genuinely ticklish. “My guys are really doing a great job.”
In fact, the old coach is also doing quite well. Duke 78, Texas Tech 73 is Coach K’s 100th NCAA Tournament win – by far the biggest in history – and one of his best efforts. It was a combination of strategy, preparation and passion.
One line in Duke’s Texas Tech intelligence report read: “12 defenders if needed.”
“And it was necessary,” Krzhizhevsky later said.
Duke’s Defensive 12 is a 2-3 zone that the avowed personal player rarely uses — according to Synergy Stats, the Blue Devils have used the zone for 4% of all their defensive possessions this season. And they didn’t really practice for this game; Krzyzewski said he and his staff “just mentioned it” in a team pass hours before the warning against the Red Raiders. It was about it.
It was essentially a “Break Glass in an Emergency” contingency plan for this game.
Well, it was an emergency. Duke’s tournament life and coach K’s epic career hung in the balance, losing to the ferocious and fearless Red Raiders 46–44 with 14 minutes left. The Duke team, which had been suffering from defensive lapses in recent weeks, needed to find a way to place stops and soften the physical punches that Tech was throwing a little. It was then that Krzyzewski shook off the dust and implemented his “protection 12”, which reduced the number of high-contact screens.
“They didn’t allow physical activity because they exhausted us,” Krzyszewski said. “So the zone gave us the opportunity to dance around the ring a little bit rather than sit in the corner.”
With a few body shots spared, the Blue Devils have enough left to finish the thriller that brings the retiring 75-year-old’s Last Dance into a game against New Orleans. His team had an amazing shooting streak with all eight of their last field goals hitting the bottom of the net as they hit 71% in the second half. This is a ridiculous number compared to the best defensive team in the country. It’s so ridiculous that in the last seven seasons no one has shot so well against the Red Raiders.
It was a triumph that showcased Krzyzewski’s three gifts: his adaptability, player empowerment, and unparalleled player recruitment.
Entering the crisis zone in the win-or-go-home game requires some stones, but also a willingness to resign yourself to the situation and consider an alternative approach. This is the coach who belatedly accepted all-in-one recruiting and then used it to fuel the last of his five NCAA championships in 2015. This team also struggled defensively and also used the zone in the tournament to survive and advance. .
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The player empowerment part appeared with 2:54 left, and Texas Tech began figuring out Duke’s zone a second time. Paolo Banchero hit an overhead 3-pointer to take a 69–68 lead, and Krzyzewski called a timeout. According to the head coach, a caucus of sorts followed.
By this point, it was a high-level chess match between Krzyzhevsky and Technician coach Mark Adams with the 12 Defenses creating enough stoppages for the Devils to take the lead, then Technician countered cuts and runs through the inside, then Duke countered again by cutting his zone and forcing the Red Raiders to fire on the perimeter. They are bound by scoring four of their next five possessions.
At this point, according to Krzyszewski, his team asked him to return to the individual approach. When asked who asked for the switch, K replied: “It was like a Catholic boys’ choir. It was the choir. They all said it. They all said it, and they said it with enthusiasm.”
Thursday’s victory over Texas Tech showed what made Coach K so successful in his career.
Kyle Terada / USA TODAY Sports
This may be true, but from the side of the court it looked like Krzhizhevsky’s decision after consulting with his staff. Needless to say, that’s why he took time out to start with to re-evaluate his defense when the zone starts leaking. Perhaps he offered the players an option, and they confirmed it.
However, Krzyzewski is the man who popularized and may have invented the collection of players every time free throws are made. He has always advocated player communication and leadership, and if his guys did suggest changing defenses, then this is another chapter in this part of his legacy.
This return to the human was marked by Duke’s signature gesture for decades, the slap on the floor at the start of defensive possession. This happened with 1:08 left, and it wasn’t just the players in the game who did it. Like everyone on the bench, starting with the boss himself.
“What the hell, why not?” Krzhizhevsky said. “Our guys really wanted this, because it’s like crossing a bridge to brotherhood. Now they can say they did it.”
The third element is that Coach K has been acquiring the most talented players so often over the decades. He made it Thursday night, especially freshman Banchero and sophomores Jeremy Roach and Mark Williams. Each of them was incredible at different points in the last stages of the game.
Banchero, who should be the first overall pick in the NBA draft this summer, had a brilliant 22 points and four assists against Teka’s barbed wire. The 6-foot-10, 250-pounder handled the ball skillfully and boldly and hit a couple of big threes. He found the Zone, that sports nirvana where everything rises and talent takes over without hesitation.
“I have never been in a basketball game like this,” Banchero said. “When you’re there, you don’t even think. You just play to win and you play really hard.”
Given his 75-year perspective, Krzyszewski’s description was better: “Paolo did a couple of things tonight that he’s never done in his life, and he did it instinctively. He just really wanted to win and it was so beautiful to see. …I like it when great players just leave. They just walk away, and moment and necessity take them to where a great player would like to be, and that’s where he was. I feel – I’m just so happy that I was with him at that moment, because it’s his. It’s his, but it’s benefited all of us.”
Roach had his moment, as he did in the second round against Michigan State. Completing the bulk of his two years at Duke, Roach has risen to game-changing playmaker in the final stages of the last two games. He followed up with a 15-point performance against the Tigers and another against the Texas Tech, hitting three big baskets in the last four minutes, none of them easy.
“Jeremy Roach’s determination was incredible,” Krzyzewski said. “His drive to resist that defense was so strong, so determined.”
And Williams continued his sophomore, providing a huge interior presence at both ends of the hall. The 7-footer had 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, and there was no brighter game than his vicious dunk after a Bunchero pitch with less than six minutes left in the game.
All in all, Duke has what it takes to deliver Krzyzewski his 13th Final Four – he already holds the record for the most games played by a man, and that will put him way ahead of his peers. There are 40 minutes of Arkansas between him and New Orleans, so it won’t be easy. (Sharp backs inflicted a bitter defeat on Coach K in the 1994 national championship game.)
But this emotionally charged journey through the last stages of the legend’s career is no longer a burden and no longer fraught with disappointment. Duke fought it all with sublime basketball and the joy on Mike Krzewski’s face is clear. They have come a long way since March 5th and may still have some way to go.
More on March Madness:
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• Musselman’s biggest victory came in the right setting
• NCAA guarantees refereeing mistakes are doomed to repeat