Zion: “Coach K Told us ‘Relax and Play Duke Basketball'”

Duke Blue Devils were successful in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The biggest favorite for winning the title defeated the North Dakota State Bisons with 85-62 and set up a clash against the University of Central Florida on Sunday.

Thought the result indicates that the job was easy for the No.1 seed, it wasn’t like that. Especially in the first half.

Duke was struggling, and they couldn’t find their usual rhythm. The Blue Devils couldn’t score for three and a half minutes early into the match and were looking very nervous.

Bisons used this situation to create a 12-5 lead and bring additional tension into the Colonial Life Arena. Something that nobody expected.

“We didn’t know what to expect, so we came out kind of slow,” said RJ Barrett after the game. “And they really took it at us.”

For a vast majority of Duke’s players this is the first appearance at the NCAA Tournament, so they probably experienced some kind of pressure for being in a position completely new to them.

As time passed, the Blue Devils caught up, but even when they took over the advantage, it still wasn’t good enough.

The guys were looking very nervous, and they didn’t have the usual routine while executing. After dropping the lead, NDSU once again came back and tied, but their push was denied, and the first half ended with 31-27 for the favorites.

Zion Williams told the journalists that coach K had a lot to say to them at the halftime break.

“‘We aren’t playing Duke basketball,'” was the message of the 72-year old.

Zion who scored 10 of his 25 points in the first half, admitted that his team played beneath all standards in that sequence of the game, and explained what Krzyzewski wanted from them in the locker room.

“He never thought we could be nervous. He told us to calm down, and just relax, and just play Duke basketball.”

It seems that his advice worked.

The Blue Devils were running around like crazy as soon as they came out from the tunnel. There was no way for the Bisons to stop them, and the true potential of these guys was seen over the next 20 minutes.

Duke started the show with 9 unanswered points and quickly pulled away to 40-27. They harassed the opponent on both ends of the floor, and along with that the support from the stands came, as the fans woke up and loosened after a struggling first half.

“Just our energy and effort on defense, that really started everything for us,” Barrett revealed what was the main factor of Duke’s high-flying performance after the break.

https://twitter.com/MusikFan4Life25/status/1109307700263948288

Barrett had a game-high 26 points, but his contribution was just more than plain scoring. The 6-7 freshman also had 14 rebounds and was the guy who used all advantages of NDSU’s double coverage on Zion.

Duke’s rampage reached the peak with 4:37 until the end of the match, then they had a 31-point advantage, 80-49.

Coach K then decided to give a chance for other players to feel the taste of the March Madness on the court. Bisons used that to reduce the enormous deficit and avoid a humiliating loss.

“In the second half, we played beautiful basketball,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said after the game and added that there is no time for celebrating as the guys already have another game this Sunday.

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski with some high praise for #NDSU: pic.twitter.com/4zn064N4xS

— Dom Izzo (@DomIzzoWDAY) March 23, 2019

The Blue Devils are facing the No.9 UCF, and a huge 7-6, 320-pound center Tacko Fall. The guy from Senegal is one of the best defenders in the college and the undisputed leader of the Knights.

He already issued several messages, saying that he won’t allow Zion to dunk over him.

We and all basketball lovers can’t wait to see this matchup.

Williams, one of the most hyped players in the history of the NCAA, is solely focused on his team’s results, and he doesn’t mind about individual achievements.

“That’s my main goal, to win the national championship,” Williamson said. “Individual awards, if you know me, I don’t really care about them.”

The game against UCF is scheduled for 5:15 PM EST, at the Colonial Life Arena.