Coach K’s 19 Most Memorable Victories (And 7 Forgettable Losses)

It’s hard to compress 47 years and 1,181 victories – and counting – into a handful of memorable moments. For Duke University basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, they’re all likely sentimental keepsakes for one reason or another – a milestone victory, saying goodbye to a graduating group of seniors, an upset win maybe.

Picking the most memorable is, of course, subjective and open to interpretation, and certainly ripe for discussion about which games were included and which weren’t. Argue away; that’s the beauty of sport.

Nonetheless, as Coach K stands on the precipice of his final season on the sidelines before retiring, we look back at 18 wins that were arguably among the greatest of his storied career.

And, uh, 7 losses that he would certainly like to have back.

 

MOST MEMORABLE VICTORIES...
 

FIRST COLLEGIATE VICTORY

On November 28, 1975, Mike Krzyzewski returned to his alma mater and the place where he played college basketball under another legend, Bob Knight, only this time as the head coach – the United States Military Academy at West Point. In his first game, Krzyzewski led the Cadets to a 56-29 victory over Lehigh for his first coaching W. Army went 11-14 that first season, a significant improvement over the 3-22 record from the previous year and the first indication of his coaching prowess.

FIRST WIN AT DUKE

After guiding Army for five years and a 73-59 record, including an NIT berth, Krzyzewski was hired on March 18, 1980 as the head coach at Duke University. On November 30 of that year, Coach K won his first game as a Blue Devil in his first game as coach, beating Stetson in a non-league contest at Cameron Indoor Stadium, 67-49. No. 1 was in the books.

FIRST WIN OVER NORTH CAROLINA

In Krzyzewski’s first season, he notched his first victory over North Carolina and venerable coach Dean Smith in the regular-season finale on Feb. 28, 1981. On Senior Night at Cameron Indoor, Gene Banks tied it in regulation and then won it on a putback in overtime as unranked Duke pulled the upset on the , No. 11 Tar Heels, 66-65.

AN OFF-THE-COURT VICTORY

This one doesn’t count for the record books. But it should. Krzyzewski’s first three seasons at Duke were subpar and all ended with a losing record in Atlantic Coast Conference play. But just prior to that third season, he brought in a 1982 recruiting class that laid the cornerstone for Duke basketball’s next four decades – Mark Alarie, Jay Bilas, David Henderson and the legendary Johnny Dawkins. The rest, as they say, is history.

1984 ACC TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS

Krzyzewski established himself in the ACC in 1984 when he guided the Blue Devils to a monumental victory in the conference tournament. Duke knocked off North Carolina in the semifinals in Greensboro – the same Tar Heel team that featured Michael Jordan and Sam Perkins that went 14-0 in regular-season play in a year in which no other team won more than nine league games.

1986 ACC CHAMPIONSHIP

Johnny Dawkins, Tommy Amaker, Mark Alarie, Jay Bilas, Danny Ferry and David Henderson formed the score of what became the first regular-season ACC championship in 20 years for Duke.

1986 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

The Duke program under Krzyzewski had arrived, announcing itself by reaching the NCAA Tournament title game in 1986. Though the Blue Devils lost to Louisville, Coach K’s juggernaut had begun.

1991 NATIONAL SEMIFINALS

The game that defined Mike Krzyzewski. The Blue Devils had been to the promised land before, losing in the finals to Louisville in 1986 and UNLV the year before in 1990. Well, not so much losing as being embarrassed by Vegas, 103-73. The Runnin’ Rebels brought a 45-game winning streak into the 1991 tournament and were thought to be invincible. Instead, Duke played the perfect game and stunned UNLV, 79-77.

1991 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

If Krzyzewski coached the perfect game in the ’91 semifinals, this might have been No. 2. Like the U.S. Olympic ice hockey team’s 1980 upset of the USSR, people forget that the historic win was a semifinal and that a championship still needed to be played. He had the team’s emotions in check, and Duke beat Kansas 72-65 for the first of Coach K’s five NCAA Tournament championships.

1992 REGIONAL SEMIFINAL

Known simply as ‘The Shot.’ In what is arguably the greatest game in college basketball history, Kentucky held a 103-102 lead with 2.1 seconds left but decided not to guard Grant Hill on the endline in favor of five defenders against the four other Duke players. Still wasn’t enough. Hill fired a 79-foot Hail Mary  to Christian Laettner, who caught the ball, dribbled once and hit a turnaround jumper near the foul line for the buzzer-beating victory.

1992 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Coach K won his sectional national title as Duke turned in an amazing second-half performance. Trailing Michigan’s Fab Five by a point at the break, the Blue Devils turned up the defensive pressure after halftime and rolled to a 71-51 victory over the Wolverines.

2001 MIRACLE MINUTE

The first of two Duke victories over Maryland that absolutely broke the Terrapins. On January 27, Maryland led the Blue Devils by 10 points with 54 seconds remaining. Duke then scored the last 10 points of regulation to tie it and send it into overtime, where the Devils won it, 98-96.

2001 NATIONAL SEMIFINALS

It almost looked like somebody got the on-screen graphics wrong at the NCAA Final Four: Maryland 39, Duke 17, 1st Half. What? The Blue Devils down by 22 points? But it was true as the Terrapins, led by Steve Blake, built a huge lead. But Duke came roaring back, cut the 22-point deficit in half to trail 49-38 at halftime, and took the lead for good with just under seven minutes to play en route to the victory.

2001 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Two nights after the comeback victory over Maryland in the semifinals, the Devils beat Arizona for the title, Krzyzewski’s third.

GOLD, GOLD, GOLD

After serving as an assistant coach for Team USA, including during the 1992 'Dream Team’ year when pro players were first allowed to participate in the Olympics, Krzyzewski was named the head coach for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. After having suffered a series of embarrassing losses prior to playing in China, Coach K helped restore the pride and reputation of American basketball. He led Team USA to the Gold Medal in 2008, again in 2012 in London and again in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.

2010 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Even Coach K would say that sometimes you have to be good AND lucky. Duke won its fourth national championship tournament in 2010 by surviving upstart Butler, 61-59 – literally surviving, as Gordon Heyward’s halfcourt three-point heave to win it hit the backboard, hit the front of the rim and bounced off.

RECORD-BREAKING WIN

Krzyzewski became Division I college basketball’s all-time winningest coach on November 15, 2011, winning his 903rd game in a victory over Michigan State. That broke the record held by his former coach and mentor, Bob Knight, at Army, Indiana and Texas Tech. The game was played at neutral Madison Square Garden in New York City – remember that nugget.

1,000th CAREER WIN

As fate would have it, on a cold Sunday in late January of 2015, inside the mecca of basketball, Krzyzewski made history. Just 60 miles south of where he started his career at Army, Coach K’s Blue Devils beat St. John’s, 77-68, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was his 1,000th career victory, the only Division I coach to reach that milestone. "To do it here, to win the 1,000th, you've got to be a lucky guy,” he said at the time. “I like my place Cameron, but this is a magical place."

2015 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Krzyzewski captured his fifth national crown – still tied for second most all-time behind John Wooden – when the Blue Devils beat Wisconsin, 68-63, in the title game.

 

7 FORGETTABLE LOSSES...

1983 ACC TOURNAMENT

It was 44 seasons ago, but Krzyzewski isn’t likely to forget this one. In what is still the greatest margin of defeat in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, Duke lost to Ralph Sampson and Virginia by 43 points.

1990 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

The precursor to the greatest victory of them all had to come from one of the worst defeats in program history. Duke was outclassed by UNLV, 103-73, in the NCAA National Championship Game in Denver. It wasn’t the worst-ever loss in Coach K’s career, but on a national stage is sure seemed like it – but only set the stage for the following year.

THE 1994-1995 LOST SEASON

Yes, it wasn’t just a forgettable game but a whole season of them. After getting off to a 9-3 start, Krzyzewski’s chronic back pain became too much. Following a loss to Clemson in the ACC opener, Krzysewski stepped aside to have surgery and recover. Assistant coach Pete Gaudet took over but he went 4-15 and Duke missed the NCAA Tournament. Afterward, Krzyzewski didn’t make himself many friends outside of Durham when he successfully petitioned the NCAA to have the 19 games he missed removed from his record.

1999 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Duke has lost national title games before, of course, but this one was considered an upset. UConn won its first national crown as the Huskies upset the Blue Devils, 77-74. Ironically, adding insult to injury, the Duke women also lost in the national championship game in ‘99, falling to Purdue.

2007 NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST-ROUND LOSS

The first of three stunning first-round losses. Duke had entered the ’07 tourney having made the Sweet 16 in nine consecutive seasons, but Virginia Commonwealth University’s Eric Maynor hit a game-winning jumper with 1.8 seconds remaining for the surprising win.

2012 NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST-ROUND LOSS

This one was the shocker. The final score said it all – No. 15 Lehigh 75, No. 2 Duke 70. It was only the sixth time a 15-seed had beaten a No. 2 in NCAA Tournament history. Worse, it happened in Greensboro, Duke’s home away from home.

2014 NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST-ROUND LOSS

For the second time in three years – and in the state of North Carolina again, no less – the Blue Devils and Krzyzewski lost in the first round as No. 14 Mercer pulled the 78-71 upset over Duke.