Mike Krzyzewski returns to first Duke game since retirement as Blue Devils narrowly beat Notre Dame

For the first time since he retired last year, Mike Krzyzewski returned to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Tuesday.

Krzyzewski and his wife, Mickie, were on hand to watch as Duke narrowly beat Notre Dame 68-64 at “Coach K Court” in Durham, North Carolina. He was on hand to honor his former assistant and longtime Notre Dame coach, Mike Brey, who is stepping away from the Fighting Irish at the end of the season.

Krzyzewski retired last spring after 42 seasons running Duke. He reached 13 Final Fours and won five national titles.

While his homecoming was undoubtedly a special moment, it was almost spoiled. After the Irish trailed by eight at halftime, Notre Dame’s Dane Goodwin dropped 19 points in the second half to get his team right back in the game. J.J. Starling cut the game to a single possession with less than 90 seconds left after a clutch 3-pointer, too. Yet three Duke free throws and a 3-pointer in return from Mark Mitchell ruined Notre Dame’s comeback and sealed the four-point win for Duke.

Goodwin led Notre Dame with 25 points off the bench after shooting 11-of-13 from the field. Ven-Allen Lubin added 10 points and was the only other player to hit double digits.

Duke Center Kyle Filipowski dropped 22 points with six rebounds after shooting 9-of-16 from the field. He was the only Duke player to hit double figures, as Jeremy Roach and Dariq Whitehead were held to just nine points. The win was a historic one for Scheyer, too, as he became the first men’s ACC coach to win his first 13 career home games. North Carolina’s Hubert Davis held the previous record at 12.

Duke, after dropping two straight to Miami and Virginia, is now 18-8 on the season. The Blue Devils next travel to Syracuse on Saturday.

Notre Dame has lost 11 of its past 13 games and is ahead of only Georgia Tech and Louisville in the ACC standings.