"We Were Not Very Good, and That's My Responsibility"--Coach K
Duke fell out of contention for an NCAA Tournament at large bid with a 91-73 loss to North Carolina on Saturday. The Blue Devils fell behind 26-6 and never recovered as the Tar Heels rolled to a win.
The loss dropped Duke to 11-11 on the year. The Blue Devils now need to win five games in five days in the ACC Tournament to make the NCAAs.
“Roy [Williams] had his team really prepared. It’s senior night and their fans were great, and I didn’t have my team prepared the way they did,” coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Coming off these two tough losses, I thought the things we did in practice were really good, but they didn’t come into fruition – they didn’t work out. That’s on me, because they really knocked us back. They really played at a high level of intensity, and their defense was outstanding and knocked us back. They were excellent and we were not very good, and that’s my responsibility.”
UNC played 14 guys, with 11 scoring and eight logging at least 10 minutes.
“The Tar Heels I think they broke a record for most bench points in the history of the Smith Center,” Coach K said. “They started their seniors. They have a well-rounded team, so they stay fresh. They keep coming at you with fresh bigs and fresh perimeter, and they’re all good. They’re all good players. Sometimes, one of them is a little bit better and he goes off. That’s a big thing for them, and they’ve developed that. It’s not luck – they’ve developed that.”
