Duke beats Michigan State to advance to Sweet 16: Best tweets from NCAA basketball media
The Duke Blue Devils survived a spirited effort from Michigan State to advance to the Sweet 16 and help keep Mike Krzyzewski’s final season alive.
In an NCAA Tournament that hasn’t been fun for top seeds, Duke looked like they could have found themselves out of March Madness before the Sweet 16.
Trailing Michigan State 70-65 in the final minutes, the Blue Devils went on a tear, ending the game on a 20-6 run to knock off the Spartans 85-76 to survive and advance.
The turning sequence came with Duke leading 75-74 as Paolo Banchero blocked a Michigan State layup on the defensive end before Jeremy Roach hit a dagger three to extend the Blue Devils’ lead to four.
A strange lack of urgency from the Michigan State offense down the stretch helped seal the deal as Duke survived a war in Greenville to extend Mike Krzyzewski’s final season for at least a few more days.
College basketball media reacts to Duke’s dramatic win over Michigan State
ON TO THE SWEET SIXTEEN@DukeMBB advances in a thriller pic.twitter.com/vMxsMQf8Z2
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 20, 2022
The Coach K farewell tour continues into (at least) the Sweet 16.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) March 20, 2022
Players going over to hug Krzyzewski. It has felt, for much of the season, as if his farewell tour was a weight tethered to their shoulders. They played the end of this one like they weren’t going to let him go out that way.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) March 20, 2022
From un-clutch to clutch: that was a great few minutes from Duke.
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) March 20, 2022
See you in San Francisco.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 20, 2022
Duke will play there in the Sweet 16.
Coach K’s career isn’t over yet.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 20, 2022
Duke to the Sweet 16.
Between the plays out of timeouts and subs, Izzo was not good down the stretch.
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) March 20, 2022
"AND THE MUSIC IS STILL PLAYING FOR COACH K’S LAST DANCE.” 🎶@DukeMBB wills its way to victory vs. Michigan State#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/Wxv6g66K3R
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 20, 2022
SURVIVE AND ADVANCE
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 20, 2022
🐐K with his 99th career NCAA Tournament win and he's set to make his 26th Sweet 16.
Both marks are the best in Men's Tournament History. pic.twitter.com/sn65UHkU5H
DUKE'S NOT DONE YET! 🔥😤
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 20, 2022
(2) Duke outlasts (7) Michigan State 85-76 in a CLASSIC to advance to the #Sweet16! #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/HmrX4vsD20
COACH K AND DUKE ARE NOT DONE YET 🤩
— ESPN (@espn) March 20, 2022
Sweet 16 ✅ @DukeMBB pic.twitter.com/mAeLhYMAE8
Coach K improves to 4-2 all-time vs Tom Izzo in the NCAA Tournament pic.twitter.com/gh0sChZTNz
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 20, 2022
UNC fans after Duke escaped Michigan State 😅#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/F3j2Zwcthg
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 20, 2022
Who does Duke play next in NCAA Tournament?
The Blue Devils are now set to head out to San Francisco on Thursday night to try and claim the West Region crown along with a ticket to the Final Four. First up is a Sweet 16 matchup against the winner of the matchup between 3-seed Texas Tech and 11-seed Notre Dame, which is currently in progress in San Diego as of post time.
The Blue Devils dominated Notre Dame in their lone regular-season meeting so they would be a much more favorable draw than Texas Tech. Finding a way to deal with the Red Raiders’ tenacious defense would be a tremendous challenge for Krzyzewski’s young team to overcome but you can never count out a team coached by Coach K.
Next. Duke basketball: 50 best players to play for Coach K. dark
For more NCAA basketball news, analysis and highlights from March Madness, check out more from the FanSided college basketball section to stay on top of the latest action.