Coach K's last ride continues as Duke closes out Spartans

Published Mar. 20, 2022 7:49 p.m. ET

Associated Press

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Duke survived some tense moments in the closing minutes against Michigan State and extended Mike Krzyzewski’s final NCAA Tournament run, beating Tom Izzo’s Spartans 85-76 on Sunday in the Hall of Fame coaches' bittersweet final tussle.

Star freshman Paolo Banchero scored 19 points and muscled in the go-ahead drive through contact with 2:05 left, putting the Blue Devils (30-6) ahead to stay in the record-extending 1,200th win of Krzyzewski’s career. Duke reached the Sweet 16 for the 26th time under Coach K, who announced last summer that his 42nd season with the Blue Devils would be his last.

Those coaching milestones came against his longtime friend and frequent rival. The 75-year-old Krzyzewski — who has five NCAA titles and a record-tying 12 Final Four appearances — improved to 13-3 against the 67-year-old Izzo, who won the 2000 national championship and has reached eight Final Fours.

Krzyzewski will continue his push for a career-capping championship when the second-seeded Blue Devils head to San Francisco to play Notre Dame or Texas Tech next week in the West Region semifinals.

The Blue Devils shot 61% after halftime and 57% for the game, and they needed every bit of that production to survive against the seventh-seeded Spartans (23-13) in a riveting fight to the final minute.

Michigan State had a five-point lead with five minutes left, but Banchero made the big play his coach needed and Jeremy Roach followed by drilling a 3-pointer late in the shot clock for a four-point edge.

“That was a great game, and they knocked us back. So proud of my guys, and for a young group, they showed incredible guts,” Krzyzewski said on the CBS telecast.

Gabe Brown scored 18 points to lead Michigan State, while Tyson Walker scored all 13 of his points after halftime.

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