Not many foresaw it, but the way Mike Krzyzewski’s career ended Saturday was the way it was always supposed to end — the only acceptable alternate to the storybook finish he was carving out.
If Duke couldn’t win a title in Coach K’s final game, the only other fitting ending was for him to lose to North Carolina. And the basketball gods delivered big time with Duke-UNC in the Final Four, a national semifinal that was more than improbable.
As it turned out, UNC’s first win over K this season was the lift it needed to chart this path. Had Duke just taken care of the Tar Heels as 11.5-point favorites in Krzyzewki’s final game at Cameron Indoor, North Carolina maybe doesn’t make it this far. Instead, Duke lit the fuse to a bomb that blew up in its own hand. This time as 4.5-point favorites, the Blue Devils were upset by the Tar Heels to send Coach K home for good.
