Duke Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski is convinced his team have the quality to go all the way and win the NCAA Championship in his final season in charge.
Duke face Texas Tech in the Sweet 16 on Thursday and are 1/1 to win in the Money Line, while the Blue Devils are 13/1 to win the NCAAB Championship outright, with Krzyzewski having confirmed this year would be his last as Duke coach before the season began.
The 75-year-old has been in charge of the Blue Devils since 1980 and has led the team to five national titles, 12 Final Fours, 15 ACC Conference champions and 13 regular season titles.
'Coach K' recorded an historic win number 1,200 as Duke overcame Michigan State 85-76 in the second round, meaning he has more victories than any other Division I coach in history.
Duke trailed by five points with just over five minutes remaining, but they outscored the Spartans 20-6 in the closing stages to secure their place in the Sweet 16.
"The 1,200 wins is substantial," said Krzyzewski, via ESPN. "Obviously, it's a lot of wins, but it's a lot of wins against quality competition and that's what I'm most proud of.
"It's not just the number of wins; it's the competition we've had in order to win. Today was a good example of it."
This year, Duke have a young and fairly inexperienced team and the players are also dealing with the additional pressure of knowing this is Krzyzewski's last dance.
The legendary coach is well aware that his team will need to be at their very best to take the title this year but he is convinced they have the quality to come out on top.
"I'm proud of the fact that we've been there for four or five, for four decades, that we're at least knocking on the door and five times the door completely let us in," he added.
"I got guys who want to win and our goal is to win the whole thing all the time, even if we're young."
Win more with our US sports parlay bonus
We use cookies to deliver a better and more personalised service. For more information, see our Cookie Policy
