Duke Basketball Coach Is First to Get 1,000 Wins

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski became the first NCAA Division I men’s coach to reach 1,000 career wins on Sunday when the Blue Devils defeated St. John’s 77-68 at Madison Square Garden.

Duke surged to an early lead before falling behind by as many as 10 points with 10:51 remaining in the game, but the Blue Devils rallied, closing out the game on a 28-9 run. The Blue Devils finished behind 22 points from Tyus Jones and 17 from star forward Jahlil Okafor. Sir’Dominic Pointer poured in 21 points and nine rebounds for the Red Storm.

Krzyzewski credited the shift in the game to the play of Marshall Plumlee.

“It was tough to get involved with 1,000,” Krzyzewski said. “I was just trying to survive this game.”

“Outside of Cameron, this is the best, because it’s revered,” he said of reaching the milestone in Madison Square Garden. “This is the palace. This is the best place. For a long time today I didn’t think it would end up with a win.”

Had St. John’s held on to the lead down the stretch, one play late in the first half might have made a history-altering difference.

With seconds remaining in the first half, St. John’s guard D’Angelo Harrisoncaught a pass from Rysheed Jordan and made a three-point attempt after the shot clock expired.

As several commentators noted, the made shot was ruled good and officials did not review the replay despite it taking place after the shot clock expired.

Rule 11, Section 2, Article 1, Subsection E of the NCAA rule book states that replay equipment may be used:

The shot ended up not mattering, and Krzyzewski reached 1,000 victories on the same court where he surpassed his mentor, former Indiana coach Bobby Knight, in the career wins column.

Duke will play Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., on Wednesday.