SAN FRANCISCO — With 4.8 seconds left and Texas Tech finally subdued, Mike Krzyzewski turned to the Duke fans behind his bench and threw a right fist in the air. It wasn’t exactly a haymaker swing, but who cares. At 75, after staring career-ending elimination in the face for the second successive game, the Duke legend had lived to punch another day.
He’d coached a floor-slapping, defense-changing gem of a victory, delaying his retirement for at least two more days. The most captivating storyline of this NCAA tournament keeps going.
K’s coaching endgame has changed shape and tenor several times this month alone. It was a burden for his young team at the beginning of the month, one that appeared capable of crushing them beneath its weight after flopping late on March 5 against North Carolina. Then, after making an array of clutch plays to escape Michigan State in the second round of this tournament, there was an element of freedom granted—the Blue Devils had at least avoided a truly disappointing ending.
