Duke basketball faced down the end of Coach K's career -- and grew up when it mattered

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Mike Krzyzewski looked down the dais at the five players who'd refused to let his last dance come to an end, who engineered a frenetic comeback to advance to the Sweet 16 with an 85-76 win over Michigan State, and he choked back tears.

For nearly a year, he has known the finish line was in sight. He chose this path, a farewell tour on which he might relive some of his classic moments and, perhaps, pen one final chapter worthy of his epic 42-year career. The finality of Krzyzewski's run has hung like a cloud over everything Duke has done this season, each game, junior Wendell Moore Jr. said, another «last something» for Krzyzewski, but always with the knowledge that more «lasts» awaited.

Sunday was different though. When Marcus Bingham Jr. drained a pair of free throws to give Michigan State a five-point lead with 5:10 to play, the end wasn't simply a point on the horizon. It had arrived.

As Bingham lined up for his first free throw, Paolo Banchero was furious. Mark Williams was stunned. Trevor Keels hung his head. Moore clapped his hands, almost as if he was trying to wake his team from an unfathomable nightmare.

All season, Duke struggled to protect leads. On Sunday, the Blue Devils coughed up a nine-point cushion to Michigan State.

All season, Duke's players have shouldered the responsibility of scripting a fitting ending to their coach's legendary career, and too often — in the regular-season finale against North Carolina or the ACC tournament vs. Virginia Tech — it has seemed too heavy a burden. Now, that weight threatened to crush them entirely.

All season, the Blue Devils have worked to carve out their own space amid the overwhelming narrative of Krzyzewski's last dance. The NCAA tournament was