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Look: Former Blue Devil Jay Williams calls out rival North Carolina

20200517_134556by:Justin Rudolph•03/26/22
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WICHITA, KS - FEBRUARY 28: of the Wichita State Shockers of the Northern Iowa Panthers during the first half on February 28, 2015 at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***

Former Duke Blue Devil Jay Williams has a message for North Carolina Tar Heels basketball. Williams did not even wait till the final horn of Dukes’ Elite Eight victory over Arkansas before calling out his school’s arch-rival.

The No. 2-seed Blue Devils controlled the game from beginning to end, basically cruising to a 78-69 win. And with that win, Duke and Krzyzewski have been on a historic run in the head coach’s farewell season. Krzyzewski has officially punched a ticket to his 13th Final Four. And now, what’s next for Duke is to wait on the winner of Sunday’s Elite Eight match-up between North Carolina and Saint Peters; which Williams put the spotlight on their rival with this post.

Williams started off the evening on edge delivering a friendly warning for those bold enough to mess with him during Saturday night’s game. And as the night closes, Williams is continuing his roll and throwing down the gauntlet at the Tar Heels.

Mike Krzyzewski breaks record with Final Four berth

Krzyzewski was previously in a tie with Hall of Fame coach John Wooden, who also had 12 Final Four berths — and now, Krzyzewski officially has the most Final Four appearances of any college basketball coach, as his 13 is more than that of Bill Self, Jay Wright and John Calipari combined (12).

“They outplayed us at some point in the second half,” Krzyzewski said after the game, describing Arkansas’ comeback effort against Duke. “They got it (the deficit) to five. But after the timeout, we were a different team. Going zone helped us. But we scored two straight times, so that was big.”

Duke’s historic victory started in emphatic fashion, as the Blue Devils seemed to make just about every shot they took in the first half, and they never slowed down, delivering Krzyzewski a huge victory. Duke finished the game shooting 54.7 percent from the field, and after failing to make a three-point shot until the final minutes of the first half, the Blue Devils recovered, finishing the game shooting 40 percent from three.

“I’m so happy,” Krzyzewski said after Duke’s win. “We crossed the bridge. There’s nothing like being a regional champ and going to the Final Four, and playing on that Saturday with three other champions. It’s an amazing day.”