Kansas beat Duke 85-81 in overtime on Sunday night to advance to the Final Four out of the Midwest region.
At the end of regulation, though, Duke came incredibly close to securing coach Mike Krzyzewski his 13th trip to the Final Four when Grayson Allen launched a 10-foot shot at the rim as the clock expired.
With the game tied at 72-72, the senior guard dribbled into the paint and released a floater that danced around the rim and hit the backboard before eventually spinning out—torturing Duke fans everywhere.
Close throughout the entire contest, the game featured 18 lead changes and 11 ties. Allen's near-miss was set up when Kansas' Svi Mykhailiuk hit a dramatic three to tie the game at 72.
In overtime, the Jayhawks outscored the Blue Devils 13-9 and secured the victory. Malik Newman led Kansas with a career-high 32 points—including all 13 of his team's overtime tally. Trevon Duval led Duke with 20. Kansas' offense was buoyed by 13 made threes, nearly double Duke's seven makes from long-distance.
After the game, Mike Krzyzewski commented on the close-call during the final play of regulation, explaining, "It’s the same thing we did to take the lead. I didn’t want to call timeout because that play was working. And we went to the free-throw line a few times. And it also gave Marvin a chance, if they didn’t double team him, to get the ball inside. I’m okay with it. I mean, it almost went in." He added, "I wanted either Grayson to get it or if we could post Marvin, but they double- and triple-teamed him so much. And it’s in and out. So that’s one of the tough things. I thought our guys did a good job with it."
