Duke holds off Michigan for Coach K’s 900th win
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Duke is no stranger to this situation: Facing an underdog with uncanny touch from 3-point range, one that’s racing downcourt in the closing seconds, scrambling for one last shot at some NCAA Tournament magic.
This time, it was Michigan’s turn to miss.
Nolan Smith scored 24 points and the top-seeded Blue Devils held their breath as the Wolverines’ last shot clanged off the iron, sealing a 73-71 win Sunday that marked the 900th victory of coach Mike Krzyzewski’s Hall of Fame career.
“The 900, it means that we’re advancing,” Krzyzewski said. “That’s the main thing.”
Kyle Singler added 13 points for the Blue Devils (32-4), who shot 51 percent, never trailed in the second half, and advanced to the round of 16 for the 12th time in 14 years.
Next stop: Anaheim, Calif., for the West regional semifinals Thursday night.
Parts of this game felt awfully familiar for Duke, which capped its run to the national championship last year with a dramatic 2-point victory over Butler that wasn’t settled until Gordon Hayward’s half-court heave ricocheted off the glass and the iron at the buzzer.
“We told our kids it would be like playing Butler in the national championship — a very similar, tough-minded, really, really good basketball team,” Krzyzewski said. “I’m proud of our effort and obvious ecstatic that we’re moving on.”
One key difference: The eighth-seeded Wolverines (21-14) gave themselves a much cleaner look on their final shot.
Michigan, which trailed by 15 with 10:51 to play, clawed within 1 point twice in the final 90 seconds before Smith missed a free throw with 8.7 seconds left to give the Wolverines one last chance.
Darius Morris zipped downcourt and put up a runner in the lane with two seconds left, but the shot bounced off the back iron and the rebound went to Smith at the buzzer.
Morris finished with 16 points to lead Michigan, which made seven 3-pointers — the most allowed by Duke in a month. Kyrie Irving and Ryan Kelly scored 11 points apiece for the Blue Devils, who won their eighth straight game in the NCAA Tournament.
Michigan coach John Beilein frustrated Duke by mixing his defenses, and Tim Hardaway Jr. reeled off 7 consecutive points down the stretch, capped by a 3-pointer that made it 70-69 with 1:27 remaining.
“That’s all we needed to do was make a shot,” Beilein said. “This has been (a) pretty common thread with us this year, that we’ve been able to get back because we play pretty sound defense and we can hit a couple 3s back to back and change a game.”
Hardaway scored 15 points, Evan Smotrycz had 13, Novak scored 12 and Jordan Morgan finished with 10 for the Wolverines, who don’t have a senior on the roster. They were denied their first trip to the round of 16 since 1994.
“It’s a group that never gave up the whole year,” Novak said of a team that came back from a 1-6 start to Big Ten play to finish “an inch away from the Sweet Sixteen (and) defeating the defending national champion.”