Duke beats MSU for Coach K's 903rd win
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, left, and Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, right, talk before an NCAA college basketball game. (Nov. 15, 2011) Credit: AP
The coach whose name looks like an eye chart stuck a capital "K" on top of college basketball's all-time coaching wins chart Tuesday night in the first basketball game played at Madison Square Garden since its transformation began. Duke's 74-69 victory over Michigan State gave Mike Krzyzewski his 903rd career win, moving him past Bob Knight, the man who coached him at Army and was his mentor.
In a moving postgame moment, Krzyzewski was in tears as he embraced Knight at courtside.
"I thank the basketball gods for allowing 'Coach' to be here," Krzyzewski said, referring to the other "coach K" in his life. "It was really a good thing for us to be here together."
Asked what was said during his embrace with Knight, Krzyzewski said, "I told him, 'I love you and what you've done for me.' He said, 'Boy, you've done pretty good for a kid who couldn't shoot.' I think that means he loves me, too. That's how I'll take it."
Coach K's four NCAA titles are tied for second all-time with Kentucky's Adolph Rupp, one more than Knight won at Indiana but well behind the record 10 by UCLA's John Wooden. When it comes to NCAA Tournament wins, however, Krzyzewski is the runaway leader thanks to the expanded format, compiling 79 wins to lead Dean Smith of North Carolina, who ranks second with 65.
The landmark moment must have been too big for Cameron Indoor Stadium to handle. Krzyzewski always has had a special place in his heart for MSG, so, the potential record-breaker was scheduled for the Garden against another coaching icon, Tom Izzo of Michigan State.
Izzo wasn't exactly looking forward to being the foil or the spoiler, but he was very classy at the end of the game, hugging Krzyzewski. "I thanked Mike for what he's done for college basketball," Izzo said. "I was in a no-win situation. I was either going to be the guy who threw the pitch to Henry Aaron for the record-breaker, or I was going to be the guy who shot Bambi."
For a while, it looked like Bambi was in trouble. Duke was clinging to a 41-40 lead early in the second half and getting banged around by the physical Spartans, but the Blue Devils exploded on a 20-1 run that gave them their biggest lead of the game at 61-41.
"We had three layups we didn't make, and they made three three-pointers in a row," Izzo said.
Andre Dawkins, who led all scorers with 26 points and was 6 of 10 from behind the arc, ignited the 20-1 run with a three and was followed by Ryan Kelly (14 points) and Seth Curry (20).
"Andre had the best game of his career at Duke," Krzyzewski said. "Not just because of the points, but four steals and no turnovers. We made some adjustments at halftime, and for 15 minutes, we played beautiful basketball."
In the final five minutes, it was something else as Duke's mistakes allowed the Spartans to get within five points behind Keith Appling, who had 22 points. But in the end, Krzyzewski was by himself atop the pyramid.
"It's an emotional moment," he said, "because 'Coach' is here and my brother is here. To have this milestone at Madison Square Garden is really special. As a player at Army and as a coach, I've always considered this hallowed ground."
