Duke survives close game with Michigan State. Coach K advances past Tom Izzo to Sweet 16
Defensive play that had been lacking in No. 9 Duke’s late-season lull returned to propel the Blue Devils into the NCAA tournament Sweet 16 on Sunday.
Three key defensive plays in the final three minutes helped erase Michigan State’s two-point lead and the Blue Devils scored eight consecutive points and beat the Spartans 85-76 in a West Region game at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
The win, No. 1,200 in Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski’s career, sends the No. 2 seeded Blue Devils (30-6) to the regional semifinals to play No. 3 seed Texas Tech, which eliminated No. 11 seed Notre Dame, 59-53, Sunday night.
“I’m incredibly proud of my guys,” Krzyzewski said, turning to look where his players were sitting in the postgame news conference. “You guys were terrific, man. I’m really proud to be your coach. It had nothing to do with coaching in those last four to five minutes. It all had to do with heart and togetherness.”
Paolo Banchero scored 19 points to lead Duke, which shot 57.1% from the field. Mark Williams, Wendell Moore and Jeremy Roach each scored 15 points while Trevor Keels added 12 off the bench.
During a late timeout, with Michigan State in front, the Blue Devils pulled together when it mattered the most.
“I mean, it’s the NCAA tournament,” Banchero said. “The season’s on the line every single game. So I mean, that’s really all that needs to be said.”
Michigan State (23-13) hit 11 of 22 3-pointers but only shot 41.5% overall.
Still, Michigan State led 74-73 and had the ball as the clocked ticked toward two minutes remaining. A.J. Hoggard drove in the lane to attempt a layup but Williams blocked it and grabbed the rebound with 2:16 left.
“I just tried to do my best to protect the rim every time somebody drives at the block,” said Williams, the ACC’s defensive player of the year. “Then I just got the rebound and tried to stay inbounds. Obviously, I kicked it out, got another possession for us. I’m not thinking too much about like I want to get a block here. It’s more I want to win. If that’s the winning play, then I’ll do it. That’s all that really happened right there.”
With 2:05 to play, Banchero’s basket in the lane put Duke in front for good at 75-74.
Banchero blocked Joey Hauser’s shot with 1:44 to play and, after the Blue Devils secured the ball, Roach drilled a 3-pointer as the shot clock ran down with 1:14 left giving Duke a 78-74 lead.
“At the four-minute (timeout), I was thinking to myself, if I get an open three, I’m knocking it down,” Roach said. “It was kind of like 1:30 left or something like that. The shot clock was winding down, and I knew I had to make a play. So just making confident plays out there was the biggest thing.”
Moore’s steal from Max Christie with 1:01 left resulted in Moore hitting two free throws for an 80-74 Duke lead with 59 seconds to play.
Duke hit seven of eight free throws in the final minute to prevent a Michigan State comeback.
The Blue Devils showed plenty of grit in those final four minutes.
“We were like, man, we got four minutes,” Banchero said. “We can either lay down, or we can turn it up. That’s really all it was, man. Just fighting, like you said, having heart. And just trusting each other really.”
Duke led 39-35 at halftime and started the second half by scoring on 10 of its first 14 possessions to lead by as many as nine points. The Blue Devils did an excellent job of moving the ball or driving for easier shots as 20 of the first 22 points they scored after halftime were in the paint.
That allowed Duke to lead 61-54 with 10:43 to play.
But things went sour offensively for Duke and Michigan State took advantage. The Blue Devils hit only two field goals over the next five minutes. Duke still led 65-61 with 8:05 left.
But the Spartans scored nine points in a row, including four by Hoggard on a basket and two free throws that tied the game at 65.
Walker’s 3-pointer put Michigan State up 68-65 with 5:24 to play and two Marcus Bingham free throws gave the Spartans a 70-65 lead with 5:10 left.
“We’re five up with four or five minutes left,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “Like a championship team, they dug down and made some plays.”
Duke fought back, with Banchero scoring inside after a spin move and Roach hitting a layup leaving the Spartans up 70-69 with 4:17 to play.
In a back-and-forth first half, Duke benefited from a Michigan State cold streak to lead by as many as seven points on two occasions.
Michigan State led 16-13 before missing 11 consecutive shots to go scoreless for the next 6:02. Duke scored 10 points in a row, including baskets by Williams when he hit a rare fade-away jumper and added a slam dunk. Banchero added a mid-range jumper, Keels drove the lane to score and Moore sank two free throws giving Duke a 23-16 lead.
But the Spartans responded by making their next seven shots, including going 5-for-5 on 3-pointers. Brown hit three of them during that stretch, including a 3-pointer with 1:37 left in the half that tied the game at 33.
With the score tied at 35, Williams got free for a dunk putting Duke back in front. After Michigan State’s Julius Marble missed a jumper, Duke called timeout to set up a final play with 17 seconds left in the half.
Roach dribbled right and spotted Williams behind the defense. Williams caught a pass and his dunk gave Duke a 39-35 halftime lead.
This story was originally published March 20, 2022 at 7:37 PM.