Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski did not return for the second half of the ninth-ranked Blue Devils’ game against Wake Forest because of illness on Tuesday in Durham, N.C.
The school confirmed that Krzyzewski, 75, was “not feeling well” and would miss the remainder of the game. Duke led 42-33 at halftime.
Associate head coach Jon Scheyer took over in Krzyzewski’s place for the second half. Scheyer is set to become Duke’s head coach next season after Krzyzewski retires.
The Blue Devils led the Demon Deacons by 19 points in the second half but needed a last-second dunk by Mark Williams to prevail 76-74. After the game, Scheyer reported that Krzyzewski was feeling better.
“He needs some rest, but he’s in a much better place, especially since we got that win,” Scheyer said.
As for Krzyzewski’s condition earlier in the evening, Scheyer said, “Clearly Coach wasn’t himself, wasn’t right. I told the team he needs to focus on taking care of himself and they needed to step up and take care of the second half and do what we need to do. It became all about our game plan. Our guys were focused on getting the win for Coach and for our team.”
Krzyzewski is college basketball’s all-time leader with 1,192 victories. He has been to a dozen NCAA Final Fours and won five national championships in his career, which started during the 1975-76 season with Army.
Duke improved its record to 22-4 overall and 12-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, a half-game ahead of Notre Dame for first place in the league.
–Field Level Media
