Jeremy Roach helped seal it for Duke with a 3-pointer after Paolo Banchero hit the go-ahead bucket. There is a time and a place.
Mike Krzyzewski turned around and saw his family behind the Duke bench cheering and crying. It was not the easiest win of his career, but it was another one.
It looked a bit dicey for a while in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday night, when Krzyzewski faced one of his close friends in the profession in Tom Izzo. The arena is usually used for minor league hockey.
But it did not. Not here. Not in the first weekend of the tournament.
The second-seeded Duke held on for an 85-76 win over the No. 7 Michigan State. There is a Sweet 16. More than any other Division I coach in history, 1,200 wins. The scene behind him was more important than any of that.
Krzyzewski said that he turned around and saw his grandkids crying and they were cheering. God bless, how lucky. It is so good. It is so good. 1,200 is great.
That scene was better.
It might have been in the second round of the tournament, but Krzyzewski compared it to a Final Four game. It had the intensity of those games and the name programs that come along with them. It was a close-out so impressive to Krzyzewski that he became emotional during the postgame news conference, telling his players that they were terrific. I am really proud to be your coach.
It came complete with a Jeremy Roach chestbump of Krzyzewski toward the end, with Krzyzewski later joking that he didn't have a chest tobump.
Krzyzewski said he was proud of the fact that they had been there for four or five years and had been knocked on the door five times.
Many Duke teams are young. The team earlier in the season struggled in tough situations. Didn't close out. Didn't come back.
Duke was down 70-65 after Marcus Bingham Jr.'s free throw. It is where Izzo wanted his team to be at this point. To be playing fast. To be in a situation where the game could be won.
Duke took over. Eliminated the five-point deficit in less than two minutes. Paolo Banchero's layup gave the lead for good and he finished with a game-high 19 points.
We had four minutes, or we could either lay down or turn it up. That was all it was. Just fighting. Having a heart.
It erased a strong game from Michigan State's seniors, including Brown, who had 18 points, 4-of-8 from 3-point range. The Spartans were within touching distance of possibly ending Krzyzewski's career when Brown and Bingham Jr. kept them in the game. It was a missed chance at another historic win for Izzo. His players as well.
He and Krzyzewski talked before the game about how much they appreciated each other. After the game, in a hall inside the arena, they reminisced for a bit before going their separate ways.
Izzo said that he didn't know what he was going to do, and that he would probably beat himself up for a week.
And it slipped away.
Four players scored at least 15 points for Duke. Krzyzewski has had four 15-point scorers in his NCAA tournament career.
Krzyzewski got one more win. There is one more weekend. Even though it was the fifth time he has knocked Michigan State out of the NCAA tournament, the most a coach has knocked out a single opposing team in tournament history, Krzyzewski downplayed the significance of beating Izzo.
The Duke players were able to celebrate. It gave Krzyzewski the chance to add one more milestone in his final season.
The 1,200 wins is substantial, according to Krzyzewski. That is what I am proudest of. The competition we have had in order to win is not just the number of wins.
Today was a good example.
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