GREENVILLE, S.C. — Defensive play that had been lacking in No. 9 Duke’s late-season lull returned to propel the Blue Devils into the NCAA tournament Sweet 16 on Sunday.
Three key defensive plays in the final three minutes helped erase Michigan State’s two-point lead and the Blue Devils scored eight consecutive points and beat the Spartans 85-76 in a West Region game at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
The win, No. 1,200 in Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski’s career, sends the No. 2 seeded Blue Devils (30-6) to the regional semifinals to play either Texas Tech or Notre Dame.
“It had nothing to do with coaching those last four or five minutes,” Krzyzewski said. “It was all about heart.”
Paolo Banchero scored 19 points to lead Duke, which shot 57.1% from the field. Mark Williams, Wendell Moore and Jeremy Roach each scored 15 points while Trevor Keels added 10 off the bench.
“It’s the NCAA tournament,” Banchero said. “Season is on the line every single game. In that timeout, we said we’ve got four minutes. We can either lay down or turn it up”
Michigan State (23-13) hit 11 of 22 3-pointers but only shot 41.5% overall.
Still, Michigan State led 74-73 and had the ball as the clocked ticked toward two minutes remaining. A.J. Hoggard drove in the lane to attempt a layup but Williams blocked it and grabbed the rebound with 2:16 left.
With 2:05 to play, Banchero’s basket in the lane put Duke in front for good at 75-74.
Banchero blocked Joey Houser’s shot with 1:44 to play and, after the Blue Devils secured the ball, Roach drilled a 3-pointer with 1:14 left giving Duke a 78-74 lead.
Moore’s steal from Max Christie with 1:01 left resulted in Moore hitting two free throws for an 80-74 Duke lead with 59 seconds to play.
Duke hit seven of eight free throws in the final minute to prevent a Michigan State comeback.
Duke led 39-35 at halftime and started the second half by scoring on 10 of its first 14 possessions to lead by as many as nine points. The Blue Devils did an excellent job of moving the ball or driving for easier shots as 20 of the first 22 points they scored after halftime were in the paint.
That allowed Duke to lead 61-54 with 10:43 to play.
But things went sour offensively for Duke and Michigan State took advantage. The Blue Devils hit only two field goals over the next five minutes. Duke still led 65-61 with 8:05 left.
But the Spartans scored nine points in a row, including four by Hoggard on a basket and two free throws that tied the game at 65.
Walker’s 3-pointer put Michigan State up 68-65 with 5:24 to play and two Marcus Bingham free throws gave the Spartans a 70-65 lead with 5:10 left.
Duke fought back, with Banchero scoring inside after a spin move and Roach hitting a layup leaving the Spartans up 70-69 with 4:17 to play.
In a back-and-forth first half, Duke benefited from a Michigan State cold streak to lead by as many as seven points on two occasions.
Michigan State led 16-13 before missing 11 consecutive shots to go scoreless for the next 6:02. Duke scored 10 points in a row, including baskets by Williams when he hit a rare fade-away jumper and added a slam dunk. Banchero added a mid-range jumper, Keels drove the lane to score and Moore sank two free throws giving Duke a 23-16 lead.
But the Spartans responded by making their next seven shots, including going 5-for-5 on 3-pointers. Brown hit three of them during that stretch, including a 3-pointer with 1:37 left in the half that tied the game at 33.
With the score tied at 35, Williams got free for a dunk putting Duke back in front. After Michigan State’s Julius Marble missed a jumper, Duke called timeout to set up a final play with 17 seconds left in the half.
Roach dribbled right and spotted Williams behind the defense. Williams caught a pass and his dunk gave Duke a 39-35 halftime lead.
