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Blue Devils’ streak continues

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski moved to the top of the NCAA Tournament victories list on Sunday, passing Dean Smith. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski moved to the top of the NCAA Tournament victories list on Sunday, passing Dean Smith. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – With one of his most unlikely Duke teams, Mike Krzyzewski moved himself into the NCAA Tournament record books and the Blue Devils into the Sweet 16.

Daniel Ewing handled the offense and Shelden Williams took care of the defense to lead the top-seeded Blue Devils to a 63-55 win over Mississippi State in Charlotte, N.C., in the second round of the Austin Regional. The win was a record 66th tournament victory for Coach K, moving him ahead of Dean Smith at the top of the list.

It also sent Duke (27-5) into the regional semifinals for the eighth consecutive year, the longest current streak in the nation. The Blue Devils will play fifth-seeded Michigan State.

But it wasn’t an easy trip.

Duke was admittedly embarrassed after squeaking out a 57-46 win over 16th-seeded Delaware State in the first round, and the Blue Devils had their hands full with ninth-seeded Mississippi State (23-11).

They shot just 38 percent, had 16 turnovers and almost lost what should have been a pro-Duke crowd when the game was tied at 50 with under 5 minutes to play. Because rival North Carolina played in the first game, and Tar Heels fans snapped up almost 18,000 tickets in the Charlotte Coliseum, the crowd shifted to the Bulldogs late.

That’s when Williams and Ewing took over, helping the Blue Devils to their 16th consecutive win in this building.

Michigan State 72, Vermont 61: Michigan State is coming out from the shadows.

Maurice Ager scored 19 points and Paul Davis had 11 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Spartans (24-6) to a victory over the Catamounts (25-7) in Worcester, Mass.

Largely ignored during the Big Ten season while Illinois took over the top of the national rankings, Michigan State found itself the sentimental second choice again in Worcester when the 13th-seeded Catamounts beat Syracuse – the first NCAA Tournament win in Vermont history.

The crowd was heavily tilted toward Vermont, and outgoing coach Tom Brennan’s sense of humor won over many of the rest. But star Taylor Coppenrath made just 5 of 23 shots and Michigan State proved too fast in transition for the America East champs.