Coach K’s final March Madness run added another historic milestone as Duke’s win over Arkansas helped Krzyzewski reach his record 13th Final Four.
Mike Krzyzewski’s final NCAA Tournament run with Duke has been a truly historic one. A win over Texas Tech in the Sweet 16 helped Krzyzewski become the first coach to ever win 100 NCAA Tournament games and tonight’s 78-69 win over Arkansas secured another spot in the record books for Coach K.
The dominating performance from the Blue Devils ensures that they will reach their 13th Final Four under Krzyzewski, allowing him to break a tie with John Wooden for the most Final Four appearances from a coach in the history of the NCAA Tournament. The accomplishment is truly remarkable since Wooden stacked up most of his appearances in a dynastic run with UCLA while Krzyzewski has continued to reload his Duke program to make 13 Final Four trips in a span of 36 years.
College basketball media reacts to Coach K’s latest milestone
Coach K has one thing on his mind: Final 4 pic.twitter.com/bOudanPq8J
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 27, 2022
BLUE DEVILS ARE HEADING TO NOLA! 😈
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 27, 2022
(2) Duke storms past (4) Arkansas, 78-69, and are dancing to the #MFinalFour! #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/aieYZO8GNc
Two legends 🤝
— ESPN (@espn) March 27, 2022
Coach K now has the MOST Final Four appearances by a HC in men's NCAA tournament history! pic.twitter.com/iwarKHPxUM
THE LAST RIDE CONTINUES.@DukeMBB is going to the FINAL FOUR ⚡ pic.twitter.com/k4rKzQ8VbE
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 27, 2022
In the Final Four, Duke will face either
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 27, 2022
A) Saint Peter’s, setting up the greatest symbolic representation of David vs. Goliath in sports history, or
B) North Carolina for the first time in NCAAT history—with K’s retirement in the balance.
How is this our universe. Phenomenal.
Coach K. Two more wins and it’s the ultimate storybook ending.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 27, 2022
A national title to end his career.
For the 13th time, Duke is headed to the Final Four under Coach K, breaking the tie he held with John Wooden for the most all-time. #MarchMadness
— Patrick Schmidt (@PatrickASchmidt) March 27, 2022
A Duke-UNC or Duke-Saint Peter’s Final Four game. Each incredible in its own way.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) March 27, 2022
Weirdly, this is only Duke’s third Final Four appearance since *2005*.
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) March 27, 2022
But in their two previous FF appearances, they won the national title.
Mike Krzyzewski of @DukeMBB is the first head coach to reach the Final Four in 5 different decades (1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s).
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) March 27, 2022
What awaits Duke in the Final Four?
The Blue Devils’ season will end, one way or another, in New Orleans. First up will be a Final Four matchup against the winner of the East Region, which will put a ton of pressure on Duke regardless of the result.
One scenario would see Duke take on Saint Peter’s, which would create a true David vs. Goliath moment for the Peacocks’ Cinderella story, raising a ton of pressure on the Blue Devils to avoid falling short of the title game. The other would bring a third meeting with North Carolina, who ruined Krzyzewski’s final home game with a win on March 5, and the first-ever NCAA Tournament meeting between college basketball’s two most bitter rivals.
That storyline is certainly worth monitoring for Duke, whose players struggled to meet the moment in Coach K’s final home game and ACC Tournament game. Time will tell if those experiences help in a pressure-packed Final Four game but the fact that Krzyzewski is back in his final year is truly remarkable.
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