Duke’s 86-56 win at Pittsburgh secured the top seed in the 2022 ACC Tournament. An ongoing show of admiration for coach Mike Krzyzewski continued on Tuesday in Pittsburgh. Jeff Capel III greeted his former coach and colleague with a hug and the Petersen Events Center big screen played a well-deserved tribute. “I love you,” Capel said on screen. “I appreciate you. I’m grateful for you and I wish you nothing but happiness and joy in stepping away from the game. I hope you and Mrs. K have an amazing, amazing time. Love you.” Capel also presented Krzyzewski a steel fist before the game. Steel is a reference to Pittsburgh and the fist represents the five key fundamentals Krzyzewski believes powers a winning team.(Caring, Communication, Collective Responsibility, Trust, and Pride)
The Blue Devil’s seventh straight win was as smooth as Saturday’s blowout in the Carrier Dome. Trevor Keels’ two three-pointers and Paolo Banchero’s dunk off a Jamarious Burton turnover advanced a 16-3 lead and a necessary timeout by Capel. Burton was four of his first five shots and his jumper at 5:25 made it a single-digit game of 27-18. Keels made his next three shots but the Panthers scored just one more point to close the half.
A 36-19 halftime lead increased in the second half. Wendell Moore Jr. assisted a Keels three-pointer and Keels followed his next shot with a runner in the lane in a defiant 47-29 score at 15:33. Duke punished the error-prone Pittsburgh team with 21 points from turnovers. Keels finished with 27 points shooting 10-15 overall and went 5-8 from three. Banchero had 21 points which was much needed for his confidence after he’d struggled offensively during the previous five games before visiting Syracuse.
Achieving a top seed is going to be precarious for Duke. Other ACC teams are having a down year, negatively impacting the Blue Devils’ strength of schedule. November wins against Kentucky and Gonzaga are notable but Duke may need some help with losses from other top-ranked teams during conference tournament play.
Duke closes the regular season at home against the North Carolina Tar Heels this Saturday. It’s the final time Krzyzewski will coach at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The February 5 game at the Dean Smith Center was an 87-67 win for the Blue Devils. Carolina’s previous loss against Pittsburgh puts them in a bind as a bubble team. An early loss in the ACC Tournament could prove costly to their season.
