Coach K makes impressive history in multiple ways with win over Michigan State
Coach K has already accomplished a near endless amount of milestones in his legendary college basketball coaching career. On Sunday night in the Round of 32 matchup in the NCAA Tournament, his No. 2 seed Duke Blue Devils put on a masterful performance against the No. 7 seed Michigan State Spartans. The Blue Devils’ roster full of future NBA Draft picks played like it and pulled out the 85-76 victory in what was one of the best college basketball games of the 2021-2022 season. With the hard fought victory, Coach K checked off a couple more impressive coaching milestones.
Duke now has 30 wins for the 2021-2022 college basketball season, which gives Coach K a 30-win season in five different decades: 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s. The legendary college basketball coach also made some NCAA Tournament history.
He earned his 99th career NCAA Tournament win and in advancing to the Sweet 16, it will be his 26th time making it there. Both marks are the best in NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament history. Check out the graphic.
The Duke and Michigan State game today was an absolute classic. The Blue Devils had five players score in double digits in the win: Wendell Moore, Jr., Paolo Banchero, Mark Williams, Jeremy Roach, and Trevor Keels. Much of Duke’s roster is bound very soon for NBA riches. The game was much closer than the final score indicates and both teams traded blows all game long in the heavyweight fight.
As good as Sunday’s game was, college basketball fans could get treated to yet another amazing matchup if Duke and Gonzaga win their Sweet 16 matchup.
A highly anticipated matchup that could happen in the Elite Eight for Coach K and the Blue Devils would be against the No. 1 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs. Gonzaga has been playing like one of the best teams in America for much of the 2021-2022 college basketball season. The Zags survived a fierce battle with Memphis in the Round of 32, 82-78.
Ticket prices for a Duke-Gonzaga matchup in the Elite Eight would be sky high. There’s no question about that. It would be a rematch of the Duke-Gonzaga game on Nov. 26. The Blue Devils won that game, 84-81 and it was one of the best college basketball games of the 2021-2022 season.
First, the Blue Devils will have to worry about the No. 3 seed Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Sweet 16. The game is the semifinal matchup of the West Region.
Coach K career accolades
Coach K has won five national championships at Duke, including two years where he won back-to-back national crowns.
In winning back-to-back NCAA titles in 1991 and 1992, Krzyzewski became only the second coach to do so since John Wooden (Billy Donovan is the other).
The legendary basketball coach established an incredible level of dominance at Duke basketball during his 42 seasons there.
Coach K, a member of the Naismith Hall-of-Fame, has won the most number of games in college basketball history. As the head coach of Team USA basketball, he won six gold medals during his time with them.
Coach K has enough accolades to fill up a few pages, but here are a few from his Duke coaching career: 15 ACC tournament championships (most in league history), 12 Final Four appearances (tied for most in NCAA history), 12 National Coach of the Year honors, 36 NCAA tournament bids (most by one coach), and 126 weeks ranked No. 1 in AP poll (most by a coach in poll history).