Mike Krzyzewski reacts to Duke’s ‘heartbreaking’ Elite Eight collapse vs. UConn

Ace Duke’s double-digit lead dwindled down the stretch of Sunday night’s 73-72 loss to UConn within the Elite Eight, former Blue Devils coach and program legend Mike Krzyzewski watched from afar realizing the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 total seed wanted to ship a knockout blow — or else.

Nursing a two-point lead with the ball and 10 seconds away from reaching the Final Four, Duke level guard Cayden Boozer tried a go excessive of two defenders close to midcourt as a substitute of dribbling out of a lure, main to Braylon Mullins‘ game-winner for the Huskies with 0.4 seconds to play.

An all-time collapse from certainly one of Duke’s finest groups.

“It was heartbreaking, I’m telling you,” Krzyzewski mentioned this week on the Pat McAfee Show. “It was a great, great basketball game, not a good one. It was a great game. I couldn’t fall asleep (last night). You’re thinking about all these individual kids and how you’re going to take care of them. Just such great empathy for our guys. … obviously, I’m a Duke guy, and I have concern for them because it’s a tough one to get over.”

Krzyzewski, 79, gained 5 nationwide championships and led Duke to 13 Final Four appearances throughout his illustrious tenure as coach. He retired after the 2021-22 season, however has stayed shut to this system since as a sounding board for coach Jon Scheyer, certainly one of his former All-American gamers.

The Blue Devils led the Huskies by 19 at one level earlier than falling sufferer to a well-executed defensive cease by UConn after Silas Demary deflected the go from Boozer within the closing seconds. Demary made a fast go to Alex Karabanwho tossed it again to Mullins for the open look from 33 ft.

Boozer blamed himself after the loss, acknowledging his ill-fated turnover main to Mullins’ heroics that doomed the March Madness favorites.

Scheyer mentioned he didn’t have words in the aftermath of the defeat.

“Jon’s primary concern is making sure he takes care of those young men,” Krzyzewski mentioned. “They had an impressive season, probably the greatest ever, and also you lose, it is brutal. It’s so abrupt. The pleasure to agony. He (wants) to for positive embrace collective accountability; you win and also you lose collectively, so nobody particular person participant bears the burden of that alone.

“I felt so bad for Cayden Boozer. The interviews afterwards … one is he was man enough to do the interviews, and he took individual responsibility for it. Hopefully, I’m sure, his teammates and coaches hugged him afterwards and said it wasn’t one play. We turned the ball over too much because of Connecticut’s defense. When you get live-ball turnovers, you have numerical superiority at the offensive end.”

Krzyzewski led the Blue Devils for 42 seasons and battled by means of his share of memorable losses over that stretch, together with setbacks to North Carolina in upset trend throughout his closing recreation at Cameron Indoor Stadium and within the 2022 Final Four.

However, Krzyzewski mentioned one of many best joys of his teaching profession was going by means of the highs and lows of victories and defeats with gamers and being a part of the motion. Perhaps Scheyer and his workers, coming off consecutive disappointing finishes within the NCAA Tournament, can use these unforgettable defeats as motivation within the coming seasons at certainly one of faculty basketball’s blueblood packages.