Mike Krzyzewski reveals multiple reasons he was concerned before Duke's loss to UNC

One of college basketball’s most storied rivalries had an added twist on Saturday night, as the game between Duke and UNC served as Mike Krzyzewski’s final game as Duke’s head coach inside Cameron Indoor Stadium. It was also the final regular season contest of his legendary coaching career. Entering the game against UNC, Krzyzewski had some concerns due to the unique nature of the past week.

When speaking to reporters after the game, Krzyzewski revealed some of those concerns, comparing the last week for Duke to “living in a penthouse.”

“I was worried about a few things going into the game,” Krzyzewski said after Duke’s loss to UNC. “One, them. Because they’re good. But also, we just played the three road games in six days and we won the regular season and that’s happened. When you win like that you don’t just win a game, you win the culmination of a number of games. So it’s an accomplishment.

“And then you have this game, which is like its own entity. And we were never able to move to that level, and that’s on me to do that. Then, the last few days have been really good. It’s been like a celebration of our program because I’m stopping coaching. It’s kind of like a celebration of me, which I don’t like that. But talked about a whole bunch of things and so basically we’re living in a penthouse the last few days with room service and everyone saying nice things.”

Krzyzewski on Duke’s loss to UNC: ‘Our ship was going to sink today no matter what’

Duke led by as many as nine points in the game, and held a 41-39 lead at halftime. But UNC came out firing on all cylinders in the second half, outscoring the Blue Devils 55-40 in the second half. Duke actually out-shot UNC, edging the Tar Heels from the field (49.3% to 48.5%). UNC made nine three-pointers compared to Duke’s seven, and the Tar Heels had a commanding edge at the free throw line. UNC got to the line 22 times, making 19. Duke got to the line just eight times, making six free throws.

Ultimately, UNC outplayed Duke on Saturday, and Krzyzewski thinks that because of that, Duke’s ship was going to sink either way. The Tar Heels were that good in Krzyzewski’s eyes.

“We didn’t play hungry today,” said Krzyzewski. “And again, I understand how this can happen. In Carolina, they could have helped us by not being so good. But they did, they were that good. And even if we were ready, we may not have beaten them today because they were that good. So for that, we need to move on. Really, X-and-O questions are not really relevant today because any X-and-O that we did, I hate to use a Navy term, but keep a ship afloat. It was our ship was going to sink today no matter what the X’s and O’s.”

Now, all attention shifts to the postseason. Duke is the ACC’s top seed, and UNC is third. The Blue Devils are a lock for the NCAA Tournament, and UNC might have punched its ticket with the upset inside Cameron Indoor.