When a matchup is set between two teams whose coaches are so familiar, even one who once worked for the other, there is often so much said about that facet of the game – too much, really. It’s not that there aren’t good stories to be told, especially when there’s a long history involved, but so many times we get lost in that angle – especially if it involves one coach who played or once worked for the other – it can be beat like a dead horse. We can almost forget about the game.
Thankfully, on Sunday, Duke and UCF gave us a game that will be really hard to forget, and one that can let the history between Mike Krzyzewski and Johnny Dawkins be a nice part of the story.
Duke closed the first half on a 12-2 run to take a 44-36 lead into the locker room, but that wouldn’t last long. UCF scored the first seven points of the second half, then the teams traded runs of seven straight before the game would stay close the rest of the way. Behind Aubrey Dawkins (32 points, 12-18 shooting), the son of the coach, it looked like the Knights just might take down the Blue Devils at times.
After staying within striking distance, UCF gained the lead at 72-70 with nearly three minutes left, and a minute later doubled that lead. The stage was set for the finish when B.J. Taylor (15 points) made two free throws to make it 76-73 UCF with 45 seconds left.
Zion Williamson drove and made a tough shot as Tacko Fall fouled him, which also put him out of the game as that was his fifth. Williamson, who finished with 32 points and 11 rebounds, missed the game-tying free throw, but R.J. Barrett was right there to stick it back for a 77-76 lead as yet another missed late-game box-out became a game-changer.
After UCF called timeout with 8.1 seconds left, Taylor drove on the right side and got a decent shot up with some contact on him, with a good no-foul call. The shot rimmed out, and two Knights flew in for a chance at the rebound. Dawkins got it and put up a stickback attempt that somehow rimmed out, and Duke managed to get the loose ball and run out the clock, hanging on for the win.
The handshake line and the TV interview immediately after the game said it all. Dawkins starred at Duke for Krzyzewski and was a long-time assistant before going to Stanford as head coach and now UCF, so they have decades of history together. They shared a long embrace, and Krzyzewski could later be seen talking for a while with a couple of other UCF players. In the postgame interview in front of all the media, he talked at length about this and how it left him with a bit of mixed feelings – joy that his team won, naturally, but having a tough time because Dawkins means so much to him. “I love Johnny. I’m going to start crying,” he said, adding later, “It’s a tough moment, and it will take me a little while to get through it, to be quite frank with you.”
Many coaches don’t enjoy playing against those they coached and/or were former assistants for exactly this reason. One team wins and the other loses, so either way, there will be some form of mixed feelings. This is often missed in stories about the teacher-student angle of so many stories. When a matchup like this comes with so much on the line and all the bright lights shining, that becomes overkill – all as the emotions involved in beating someone who means so much to you are magnified because of the stage.
Thankfully, we’ll remember this game for the drama at the end. We’ll remember the missed free throw that turned into a stickback, and the two near-misses in the final seconds. It was a game worthy of the stage, only enhanced by the history the coaches have together.
Side Dishes
There was plenty of other drama on the day, unlike Saturday, and it started early – albeit a bit unexpectedly. Tennessee ran out to a 44-19 lead and looked to be on their way to a romp over Iowa, but the Hawkeyes had other ideas in the second half. They climbed back in little by little, then a 10-0 run got them within 61-58 with 7:23 left and they tied it less than five minutes later. They had to come back again, though, as Tennessee would go up 71-67 with less than a minute to go and get a big stop that helped them tie the game at 71 and send it to overtime, where the Volunteers had a little more left to win 83-77.
There were blowouts, too, though not to the same degree as Saturday. In the Midwest region, North Carolina pulled away from Washington 81-59, while in the West, Texas Tech took care of Buffalo 78-58 behind a big game from Norense Odiase (14 points, 15 rebounds). North Carolina’s win did not come without an issue, though, as forward Garrison Brooks lost one tooth and broke another when he took an elbow from Washington forward Noah Dickerson less than eight minutes into the game. Brooks had five points, five rebounds and three assists in that short time.
There is some redemption for the Pac-12 after what can only be termed a bad regular season. Oregon blew a 12-point halftime lead against UC Irvine, but the Anteaters ran out of gas after scoring the first 14 points of the second half as Oregon won going away 73-54.
Completing a good day for the ACC, Virginia knocked off Oklahoma 63-51 in the South region and Virginia Tech held off Liberty in the East by a score of 67-58. The Hokies actually trailed by three at the half, but they slowed the Flames in the second half and got going offensively. These two night wins made it a 4-0 day for the ACC and give them five teams in the Sweet 16, which leads the way (the SEC has four and the Big Ten has three).
After heartbreak in the second round a year ago, Houston left nothing to chance against Ohio State in the Midwest region. The Cougars pulled away in the second half for a 74-59 win and their first trip to the Sweet 16 since they lost the national championship game to Georgetown in 1984. It’s also the first time a team in the American Athletic Conference has reached the Sweet 16 since the inaugural season of the conference, when Louisville got that far and UConn won the national championship.
Four second round NIT games were played on Sunday, with only one road team winning. Wichita State went to Clemson and took out the Tigers 63-55, while NC State edged Harvard 78-77, Texas needed overtime to get past Xavier 78-76, and TCU pulled away from Nebraska 88-72 behind 30 points and eight rebounds from Desmond Bane.
Sunday also saw a second round game in the CIT, where Presbyterian went to Robert Morris and beat the Colonials 77-70, aided by going 14-32 from long range.
Tulane has made a fine hire with their new head coach, as Ron Hunter is leaving Georgia State to take the job. Hunter led them to three Sun Belt titles, and the highlight came after they won in 2015, when they beat Baylor in the NCAA Tournament. Before that, his 17-year run at IUPUI included transitions from NAIA to Division II and ultimately Division I.
Also in the coaching ranks, Cal changed their mind and fired Wyking Jones after just two seasons at the helm. Considering how much the Golden Bears have struggled since they promoted him to succeed Cuonzo Martin – a 16-47 overall mark including 5-31 in Pac-12 play – the move is not entirely shocking save for the school saying he would get another year just days earlier. They lost their first 15 Pac-12 games of the year this season, and last year were blown out by Chaminade in the Maui Invitational.
Tonight’s Menu
The other three tournaments take center stage for a few days, starting tonight. Also, be sure to check out College Basketball Tonight, which will go live late tonight into Tuesday morning as we break down the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
- Just one second round NIT game is on tap tonight, however, as Colorado hosts Norfolk State (9 p.m.)
- Quarterfinal action is on the slate in the CBI, with Coastal Carolina visiting Wright State, Utah Valley visiting South Florida (7 p.m.), DePaul hosting Longwood (8 p.m.) and Loyola Marymount hosting Brown (10 p.m.)
- Two second round games in the CIT are also on tap, with UT Rio Grande Valley hosting Texas Southern (8 p.m.) and Southern Utah hosting CSU Bakersfield (8:30 p.m.)
