Coach Mike Krzyzewski said it when Duke won the ACC Tournament.
After the Blue Devils beat Texas 74-69 on Saturday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Krzyzewski said it again.
He loves this Duke team. He is particularly fond of the junior class of Gerald Henderson, Jon Scheyer, Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek, because of the expectations heaped on them and the pressures they have been forced to endure throughout their careers.
He wants them to savor every moment, and he is glad that he can share their successes with them.
"I've been a part of a bunch of championships -- ACC, Final Fours, the national championship," Krzyzewski said. "But to do it with this group feels great. I wanted it so much for this team. I mean, I'm so happy. I am really happy. I can't tell you how happy I am. And I'm happy because I'm sharing it with these guys."
The Blue Devils, 30-6 and the No. 2 seed in the East Region, will face No. 3 seed Villanova on Thursday night at the TD Bankworth Center in Boston. The winner will face the winner of the Pitt-Xavier game on Saturday for a trip to the Final Four.
Duke will go to Boston on a five-game winning streak and has won 10 of 11 since Krzyzewski shuffled his lineup and moved freshman Elliot Williams into the starting lineup.
The win against Texas was similar to Duke's 66-65 win against Boston College in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, only with more at stake … and against a more-talented opponent.
Duke let comfortable leads disappear in both games, and then made the plays it needed to make in the final two minutes to win.
Against Boston College, it took two key defensive stops on BC's final two possessions and a game-winning basket by Henderson.
Against Texas, it took stops on Texas' final three possessions and a series of spectacular individual plays at both ends of the court. Duke had watched a 64-54 lead with seven minutes left disappear completely, but then scored the last five points of the game after it was tied 69-69 going into the final minute.
And they did it without Kyle Singler, their leading scorer and rebounder, who fouled out with 1:07 left.
Nolan Smith hit two free throws to give Duke the lead for good at 71-69 with 47 seconds left, after Zoubek kept alive a miss by Henderson. Henderson then hit one of two free throws with 30.8 seconds left for a 72-69 lead after Texas' Damion James missed a 3-pointer from the corner that would have given Texas the lead.
Scheyer then made perhaps the biggest play of the game. He ran down a loose ball in the corner after Texas' A.J. Abrams missed a runner in the lane, and hurled it downcourt as he was about to go out of bounds. Williams ran it down and was fouled.
He missed both free throws with 11.5 seconds left, but Dave McClure tipped the rebound out, Henderson came up with the ball, and then Henderson made two free throws after getting fouled with 7.2 seconds left to put the game out of reach at 74-69.
"You know, everybody on the court did something really well after Kyle fouled out," Krzyzewski said.
Krzyzewski said he believes that this team now has "backbone."
"Our junior class has been the backbone of this team," he said. "You develop backbone. You're not born with backbone. You develop it. And you develop it by playing tough competition. They did that for the last two years, and they did it again this year. They've become a really good basketball team, and it's because they've stuck with it.
"I've seen them grow. I've seen them grow up and stick to the work. That's why these last two weekends have been so gratifying to me, because it's a culmination of a lot of work and commitment."
■ John Delong can be reached at jdelong@wsjournal.com.
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