The Duke basketball team has a reputation of getting under people’s skin. But it appears the tables were turned Thursday night.
The No. 4 seed Blue Devils’ NCAA Tournament run came to an end in the Sweet 16 at the hands of No. 1 seed Oregon, which dominated in the second half to cruise to an 82-68 win.
Yet Duke apparently wasn’t pleased with the Ducks’ final three points. Rather than letting the shot clock expire and take a violation, Oregon’s Dillon Brooks launched a deep 3-pointer with about 10 seconds remaining — and drilled it.
Duke point guard Grayson Allen — himself not immune to controversy — was the first Blue Devil to indirectly show his displeasure with Brooks by refusing to shake his hand as the buzzer sounded.
But things got more interesting after that. In the postgame handshake line, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski stopped Brooks and appeared to say something in his ear. Here’s Brooks’ own account, via USA TODAY Sports: “He just told me that I’m too good of a player to be showing out at the end. And he’s right. I’ve got to respect Duke.”
Yet Coach K refused to corroborate that story, insisting in a postgame press conference he just congratulated Brooks and told him he’s a “terrific player.” There’s video of the interaction, so you be the judge:
Brooks certainly has nothing to apologize for, as he has a right to be fired up after his team-high 22 points helped vault the Ducks into the Elite Eight.
Click to see the 10 most-hated Duke Blue Devils ever >>
Thumbnail photo via Richard Mackson/USA TODAY Sports Images
