Coach K on Duke's 1-Point Win vs. UCF: 'RJ and Zion Willed Us. We Were Lucky'
No. 1 Duke barely escaped Round 2 of the NCAA men's basketball tournament with a 77-76 win over No. 9 UCF, and head coach Mike Krzyzewski was emotional talking about the win after the game:
"They were deserving of winning," the coach said of the Knights. "We hung in there, we made a couple of big plays here, and RJ [Barrett] and Zion [Williamson], they willed us. And we were lucky."
Williamson finished with 32 points, including a layup to cut the team's deficit to one with 14 seconds remaining. While he missed the free throw that came after Tacko Fall fouled him on the layup, Barrett got the rebound and scored the go-ahead basket with 11 seconds remaining.
Meanwhile, there was even more at stake in this matchup, as UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins once played and starred for Duke. His son, Aubrey, was a big reason this game was close; he scored 32 points of his own.
Krzyzewski also discussed that connection after the game.
"I feel bad for Johnny," he said. "I'm emotional about it because I love him, and his son was magnificent."
Duke was fortunate to survive, but the two teams combined for arguably the best game in the tournament so far.
