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A14 sports
Saturday 26 March 2022
Sweet 16: Coach K says 'It's not the coaching.' But it is

By JIM LITKE of experience. The Wild-
AP Sports Columnist cats missed seven of their
Duke keeps winning games first eight shots as Houston
in the NCAA Tournament sprinted to a 14-4 advan-
and Mike Krzyzewski keeps tage and led the rest of the
telling anyone who will lis- way, riding 21 points from
ten, "It's not the coaching." Jamal Shead and 19 from
There's some evidence to Kyler Edwards to a 72-60
suggest he's right. win.
For one thing, Duke relies "I knew we were going to
almost entirely on fresh- make them uncomfort-
men and sophomores, able, that's what we do,"
which means his core Cougars coach Kelvin
group of players have only Sampson said. "Our team,
had so much time to soak we're a tough bunch. ...
up Coach K's decades of They're not afraid of any-
gathered wisdom. For an- body."
other, Krzyzewski switched Houston lost four starters
to a zone defense in the from last season and then
second half of Thursday lost Marcus Sasser, the lone
night's Sweet 16 game returner and leading scorer
against a rugged Texas who broke his left foot be-
Tech team, but when the fore Christmas. And then
Blue Devils needed big Taze Moore, one of the
stops down the stretch his transfers Sampson relied
players lobbied — success- on, got hit with his third per-
fully — to go back to man- sonal foul against Arizona
to-man. with 9:22 left and wound
Finally, and most impor- up playing only 17 minutes
tant, perhaps, those same overall.
kids who are supposed "Tonight, you know, he was
to be feeling the pressure Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski celebrates after his team defeated Texas Tech in a college in the witness protection
of his impending retire- basketball game in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament in San Francisco, Thursday, program," Sampson said. "I
ment shot 71% from the March 24, 2022. couldn't find him. Nowhere.
floor after halftime, hitting Associated Press We put him in there, we
eight straight field goals had to take him right back
to end the game. There's bit when Coach K threw ting 13th trip to the Final fenders and shooters with out."
no coaching manual that the switch against the Red Four with a 78-73 victory. short memories — nota- That won't do against sec-
covers that. Raiders. Then he listened Paolo Banchero led sec- bly JD Notae, who missed ond-seeded Villanova,
But don't be fooled. to his players when they ond-seeded Duke with 22 20 shots and still scored 21 where coach Jay Wright
On the same night two No. pleaded to switch back, points, Mark Williams scored points — and has the Ra- has been quietly fashioning
1 seeds were toppled, the which is even riskier, and 16 and Roach, handed zorbacks convinced it's a mini-dynasty of his own.
reason Krzyzewski won the more to the point, it proved his starting spot back just them against the world. The Wildcats don't play
100th NCAA Tournament that at age 75, the old Blue ahead of the tournament, "We've been disrespected the "no-respect" card be-
game of his career and Devil is still willing to learn added 15. the whole year, so it's just cause they win too much
remains squarely on track new tricks. Bryson Williams led No. 3 another thing for us," Jaylin — two national champi-
toward a sixth national "Whenever they can own seed Texas Tech with 21. Williams said. "We saw ev- onships since 2016 — and
championship is ... coach- something, they're going to Duke will play Arkansas on erything they were saying, they put together another
ing. No one does it better. do it better than if we just Saturday with a trip to the we felt like they were danc- workmanlike performance
He's been recruiting kids run it," Krzyzewski said after- Final Four on the line. That's ing before the game. ... to send No. 11 seed Michi-
who ooze with NBA-caliber ward. "When they said that, after the fourth-seeded Ra- "We had a chip on our gan packing with a 63-55
talent for four decades I felt they're going to own zorbacks, who bear some shoulder," he added a mo- victory. Jermaine Samuels,
now — which is a special- it. They'll make it work, and resemblance to the "40 ment later. "Every game we a freshman during that last
ty all its own — and then that's probably more im- Minutes of Hell" Arkansas do." title run in 2018 — capped
teaching them the differ- portant than strategy dur- teams that tore up the tour- Whatever the Zags had off against Michigan, no
ence between showing up ing that time. So that's the nament in the mid-1990s, on their shoulders felt like less — led Villanova with 22
and showing off when the way I looked at it." tore up top overall seed a 40-pound weight. Enter- points, and drew the unen-
game is on the line. Duke Three key defensive stops Gonzaga en route to a 74- ing as the top-scoring team viable assignment of bat-
had played zone defense that followed and two late 68 win. in the nation (87.8 points tling 7-foot-1 Hunter Dick-
roughly 5% of the time dur- baskets by Jeremy Roach Much like those teams, per game), Gonzaga shot inson on both ends of the
ing the regular season, moved Krzyzewski within coach Eric Musselman has 37.5% and went 5 of 21 floor. Dickinson led Michi-
which made it a risky gam- one win of his record-set- loaded up tenacious de- from 3-point range. NBA gan with 15 points and
prospect Chet Holmgren, 15 rebounds, but none of
LIKE US ON the Zags' skinny freshman them came easy.

center, was hounded all "I just wanted to stay mo-
night and spared himself a bile and move," Samuels
few minutes of hell by foul- said. "He's a phenomenal
ing out with 3:29 left. player, so he's going to get
Speaking of discomfort, great looks at the basket.
fifth-seeded Houston did a But that I have teammates
Facebook.com/arubatoday/ pretty good job of exploit- behind me gave me all the
ing top seed Arizona's lack confidence I needed."q