CHARLOTTE - Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski met with the media after his team defeated North Carolina, 60-48, in the Quarterfinals of the 49th Annual ACC Tournament.
Here is what Coach K had to say about the victory.
Opening remarks
"That was a heck of a basketball game. This is a tournament game. North Carolina was superb. I think immense credit has to be given to them for their preparation for this game. It was a well-conceived, well-drilled game plan. I thought we played really well in a game we had not played in before. I thought out defense was excellent and that is why we won. At the end of the game, to be put in that type of game pressure allowed our kids to respond. Matt had his team ready to play. I thought it was one of the finer games played in the 30 games we have played this season. Both teams played so hard, so well, so clean. It was a classic game. We feel very fortunate to win and go on. I'm proud of my guys making big plays to put us in that position."
On what he was thinking when he saw UNC using a slow down tactic
"We anticipated they were going to do something - four corners or open middle option. We tried to prepare for that. We put in a couple of things to counteract that. I thought when we went up 26-14 we had a chance to change the way the game was going to be played. That was the only time in the game we didn't take good shots. And we fouled twice ninety feet from the basket. All of a sudden it is a six-point game at the half. If you make it a 16-18 point game you have forced them to change the way they played."
Andrew Jones is in his sixth year covering football and basketball for Inside Carolina. He is also in his fourth year as a copy editor and staff writer for the Wilmington Star-News and hosts a nightly radio show on WAAV-AM980 in Wilmington. He has also written for ACCNews and once published The College Game and the former Total Sports. He can be reached via e-mail at: AJWAAV@aol.com.