Longtime Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski returned to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Tuesday night. (Lance King/Getty Images)
For the first time since his retirement last year, Mike Krzyzewski returned to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Tuesday night.
Krzyzewski and his wife Mickie were on hand to watch Duke narrowly defeat Notre Dame 68-64 Tuesday night at Coach K Court in Durham, North Carolina. He was there to honor his former assistant and longtime Notre Dame coach Mike Brey, who is retiring from the Fighting Irish at the end of the season.
“It’s something special for me. I’ve been here in so many fights and games with him right next to me,” said Duke coach Jon Scheyer, another former Krzyzewski assistant, after defeating WFMY’s Brian Hall. “I don’t know how he felt sitting over there instead of on the bench. It just means a lot, his support. He’s been amazing all year, through this whole process. I just wanted to make sure we win while he’s here.”
Krzyzewski retired last spring after 42 seasons as Duke. At this stretch he reached 13 Final Fours and won five national titles.
While his homecoming was undoubtedly a special moment, it was almost spoiled.
After trailing eight times at half-time, Notre Dame’s Dane Goodwin lost 19 points in the second half to get the Fighting Irish back in the game. JJ Starling reduced the game to just a single possession with less than 90 seconds left after a clutch 3-pointer. However, three free throws from Duke and a 3-point response from Mark Mitchell ruined Notre Dame’s comeback and sealed Duke’s four-point win.
Goodwin led Notre Dame off the bench by 25 points after shooting 11 of 13 from the field. Ven-Allen Lubin added 10 points and was the only other player to be in double figures.
Duke center Kyle Filipowski lost 22 points with six rebounds after shooting 9 of 16 from the field. He was the only Duke player to be in double figures as Jeremy Roach and Dariq Whitehead were only seeded on nine points. The win was historic for Scheyer as well, as he became the first men’s ACC coach to win his first 13 home games of his career. Hubert Davis of North Carolina held the previous record at 12.
Duke, after dropping two straight to Miami and Virginia, is now 18-8 on the season. The Blue Devils travel to Syracuse on Saturday. Notre Dame, on the other hand, has lost 11 of its last 13 games and is ahead of only Georgia Tech and Louisville in the ACC standings.