Duke is off to an unsteady start under Jon Scheyer, but that didn’t stop Duke’s head coach from setting a new benchmark for first-year head coaches to reach.
And he did so with former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski in attendance for the first time since he retired.
Per ESPN Stats & Info, Duke entered Tuesday’s game against Notre Dame 12-0 at home under Scheyer, which put him in a tie for the best home record to begin a coaching career in ACC history with Hubert Davis, who set the mark last year at North Carolina.
Duke (18-8, 9-6 in ACC) defeated Notre Dame (10-16, 2-13 in ACC) 68-64 on Tuesday night, withstanding a late rally to secure a 13th consecutive home win under Scheyer to begin the season.
Notre Dame trimmed a late eight-point deficit to one when J.J. Starling made a layup that made it 63-62.
That’s when Duke forward Mark Mitchell delivered a dagger three-pointer with 10 seconds left to put the Blue Devils up four. Krzyzewski’s demure reaction showed he’s still in prime coaching form.
Duke began the season ranked seventh in the Associate Press poll but never rose above its preseason rank and dropped out of the AP top 25 on Jan. 16. The team lost its two previous games prior to Tuesday’s win over Notre Dame.
The Blue Devils are still a safe bet to reach the NCAA men’s basketball tournament next month but may have a difficult path once there. Per ESPN’s Bracketology, Duke projects as a No. 9 seed. If that holds, it would be the program’s lowest seed entering an NCAA tournament since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
The team’s previous low was as an eighth seed in the 1996 tournament. That season marked Krzyzewski’s return to the court after lower back surgery and ensuing complications forced him to miss the majority of the 1994-95 season.
Coach K came home on Tuesday night, in time to see Scheyer accomplish an ACC-first. It’s been smooth sailing for Duke’s first-year head coach at home, but the road that lies ahead in March appears rocky.
