Mike Krzyzewski’s Midas touch hasn’t worn off after all these years.
The Duke men’s basketball coach inspired his team to a 71-69 comeback win over Louisville on Tuesday night at KFC Yum! Center, stunning the college basketball world with a rally for the ages. After falling behind by nine points at halftime, Duke’s deficit grew to 23 points with 9:13 left in the second half.
The Blue Devils then proceeded to outscore the Cardinals 35-10 over the remainder of the game to secure the largest second-half comeback win of Coach K’s 39-year career at Duke.
Afterward, superstar forward Zion Williamson revealed to ESPN how Coach K boosted his team’s morale with a consistent message.
"He said he don't coach losers, only coach winners."
Zion shared how Coach K got his team to rally back from a 23-point deficit. pic.twitter.com/EtCtEzJTET
— ESPN (@espn) February 13, 2019
Coach K told reporters after the game he didn’t necessarily believe the optimistic words he conveyed to his players during the second half.
“I did think we could play better,” he said, per The Associated Press. “I was positive, but I don’t know, belief. … At that point, I may have been telling them a lie.”
The win improved No. 2 Duke’s record to 22-2. No. 16 Louisville slipped to 17-8.
