Reports: Duke makes special request for NCAA tournament

Duke is already thinking about where it’ll play its NCAA tournament games. The Blue Devils reportedly made a special request to honor coach Mike Krzyzewski on Wednesday.

Duke requested to compete in the Midwest Regional, which is hosted in Chicago, according to multiple reports. That’s Krzyzewski’s home town, and it would allow him to coach there in his final NCAA tournament.

Right now, the Blue Devils are likely to play in the East Regional in Philadelphia. As The Athletic and CBS Sports’ Seth Davis noted, higher seeds typically go to their closes regions, which is why Duke would likely play in the East Regional. But the school and declare a preference, which is why the program wants to compete in Chicago.

Davis also reiterated it doesn’t mean Duke will end up in the Midwest Regional.

Duke locked up at least a share of the ACC title Tuesday night with an emphatic 86-56 win over Pitt. It ends a 10-year conference championship drought — the longest of Krzyzewski’s tenure with the Blue Devils. The Blue Devils are now 26-4 overall and 16-3 in league action this season.

On3’s latest Bracketology has Duke as a No. 2 seed, while ESPN’s Joe Lunardi projects the Blue Devils to play in the South Region also as a No. 2 seed.

Ticket prices skyrocketing to all-time high for Coach K’s final home game at Duke

If someone is wanting to attend Saturday’s ACC matchup between Duke and North Carolina at Cameron Indoor Stadium and hasn’t yet purchased tickets, it’s certainly going to cost them.

In what’ll mark legendary Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game as the Blue Devils’ leader, Cameron Indoor Stadium will undoubtedly have an electric atmosphere on Saturday – and the ticket prices reflect that.

According to Front Office Sports, the current ticket price just to get inside Cameron Indoor Stadium for Duke vs. North Carolina is $3,690, while the average ticket price is $5,392. As Front Office Sports points out, the game is trending towards being the highest-selling game between the two teams in the history of StubHub.

Cameron Indoor Stadium – which holds 9,314 fans – is bound to have a sellout crowd on hand to send Coach K off the right way. Although Duke will still have both the ACC Tournament and NCAA Tournament to play, Saturday’s game vs. North Carolina will be the very last time that Krzyzewski stands on the sidelines at Cameron Indoor Stadium to coach a game.

Duke and North Carolina are scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN. The network’s College GameDay show will also be on the scene Saturday for their pregame and halftime shows to capture the special day for Coach K.