March Rewind: Coach K's NCAA Debut, Kyrie's Return

March 18 also includes record tying win for Krzyzewski

What's March without Duke Tournament basketball? With this year's ACC and NCAA Tournaments cancelled, we'll go back in time to look at the top Blue Devils postseason games from each date in March and early April. Special thanks to SportsReference.com for boxscores and the Duke Library for the newspaper archive.

Coach K made his NCAA Tournament debut in Pullman, Washington in 1984, facing the Washington Huskies, a team with a clear home-state advantage. Future NBA star Detlef Schempf hit 11-of-14 from the field for 30 points, leading Washington to a 80-78 win over Duke. Schrempf scored 21 in the second half as Duke wiped out an eight-point halftime lead. Johnny Dawkins scored 22 and Mark Alarie 20.

Duke advanced to the 1989 Sweet 16, its fourth straight, with a 70-63 win over West Virginia in Greensboro. West Virginia led the 2-seed Blue Devils as late as 8:20 remaining in the second half and trailed by just one with five minutes left. Duke held off the Mountaineers, however, led by 20 from Danny Ferry, 14 from Christian Laettner, who hit 6-of-7 from the field, and 10 from Robert Brickey.

Duke began its quest to three-peat with a 105-70 win over Southern Illinois in Chicago in 1993. Bobby Hurley scored 25 points to go with seven assists. Chris Collins had 16 off the bench, including hitting 3-of-4 on three-pointers. Cherokee Parks, Grant Hill and Marty Clark also had double figures as the Blue Devils rolled to a 26-point halftime lead and never looked back.

Duke opened the 1994 NCAA Tournament with an 82-70 win over Texas Southern in St. Petersburg. The 2-seeded Blue Devils were led by 20 from Chris Collins, who hit 5-of-8 from three. Antonio Lang scored 18, and Cherokee Parks and Grant Hill each had 11.

The top seed in the South region got off to a strong start in Raleigh when Duke pounded Alabama State, 96-61. Shavlik Randolph scored 20 off the bench, while starters Daniel Ewing, JJ Redick, Luol Deng and Shelden Williams all scored in double figures.

Mike Krzyzewski tied Dean Smith for all-time NCAA Tournament wins with a closer than expected 57-46 opening round win over 16-seed Delaware State in Charlotte in 2005. Delaware State used an 11-0 run to take an early lead, but Duke tightened up on defense to start the second half, holding the Hornets scoreless for 7:48 and without a basket for more than 10 minutes. JJ Redick suffered through his worst game of the year, scoring 6 points and going just 1-of-6 from the field.

Duke reached the 2006 Sweet 16 with a 74-61 win over George Washington in Greensboro. The top-seeded Blue Devils were led by 20 from JJ Redick. Shelden Williams and Josh McRoberts were forces inside. Williams scored 17 points with 14 rebounds, while McRoberts had 14 points and 13 boards.

Kyrie Irving returned to the floor for top-seeded Duke’s first-round win over Hampton, 87-45 in Charlotte. Out since Dec. 4 with a toe injury, the top-rated freshman played 20 minutes, scoring 14 points. Duke’s top two scorers came off the bench in Irving and Andre Dawkins, who had 13.