![]() Redick walked back the joke the next day, saying it was all in good fun.īottom line is, these are two great schools with two great basketball programs, each of which has the power to make the other's life much less pleasant at any given moment. Any opponent in such a high-stakes meeting is, by definition, an opponent demanding a team's full attention. A national semifinal being played on the floor of the Superdome is a massive enough moment in and of itself. The coaches and players are doing their best to play this straight. "There are others who just say, 'This is the biggest stage this rivalry has seen, but it doesn't automatically mean whoever wins has leverage over the loser forever.' Only time will tell." "There are some portions of both fan bases that are scared to death to see this game for fear of losing it," said Wes Durham, the longtime play-by-play announcer who also hosts an ACC-themed sports talk show. That it's happening in the 47th and final year of Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski's record-setting career, and that North Carolina could put an official end to that career, only adds to the tension. Tar Heels in the Final Four, the first time that's ever happened. On Saturday comes the 258th and most titanic meeting of them all - Blue Devils vs. The most important industry in the 11-mile stretch of real estate between North Carolina's two cathedrals of hoops, the Smith Center in Chapel Hill and Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, is basketball.įor decades, a win, or loss, in any given matchup between Duke and North Carolina has had the power to shape the next week, or month, or year, for the thousands of fans who wear different shades of blue, and bring two different worldviews to one of the most intense rivalries in sports. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.NEW ORLEANS - The name "Tobacco Road" misses the point. Every game between now and Selection Sunday is crucial as they try to get the No. It was the second straight road defeat for the Blue Devils, who entered the game as the fourth-placed team in the country. ![]() Wake Forest rallied to take the lead before turning away in the final minutes. Duke trailed by three points at halftime and took a six-point lead with less than 13 minutes to go. His symptoms and condition improved significantly, and coach Krzyzewski was sent home as early as Thursday morning.Įmotions were definitely running high throughout the game. ![]() Following the competition, they were examined on site and again at Duke University Hospital by Duke medical personnel for precautionary testing upon their return to Durham. But we expect a full recovery.ĭuke Athletics released a statement on Thursday morning saying the coach’s condition had improved after the game and he was allowed to return home:Ĭoach Krzyzewski felt lightheaded during and after Wednesday night’s Duke-Wake One game. I think the spirit of the game, obviously we weren’t playing as well as we should have and there was a huge emotional investment in the game. Associate head coach Steve Wojciechowski interviewed reporters and said the spirit of the game was the likely reason: The Herald-Sun’s Steve Wiseman reported that the 67-year-old coach was taken back to Duke University Hospital for a precautionary test. She skipped the post-game press conference while undergoing treatment and was eventually cleared. Longtime Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski suffered an affair during the second half of the Blue Devils’ defeat at Wake Forest on Wednesday night. Why Prefer a Story as Impossible as Path. Sports should also remind us why we love sports and why we love legends (some of them anyway) and, most of all, we love the Mark Adams and Mike Krzyzewski crossing on college basketball’s biggest stage. ![]() Number three seed Red Raiders (27–9) and number two seed Blue Devils (30–6) will combine for a match-up of nearly endless possibilities, which only makes sense in the context of this wild crescendo of a tournament. It’s just one team for the next, him.” There’s a dynasty he’s built. And he’s created a program that we all admire and respect. Both are among the most respected leaders in college basketball, and both coaching teams at the top of the game-but the path they’ve taken at this point couldn’t be more different.Īdams said of Krzyzewski, “He’s always been a mentor to me that I looked up to.” “He’s not only a great coach, but a great man. Forty-one years later, these two men, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and Mark Adams, now of Texas Tech, will face off at Sweet Sixteen in San Francisco on Thursday night.
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