Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Coach K Says Big East, ACC Should Get 14-16 Teams in NCAA Tournament
NEW YORK – Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski says the Big East and ACC should get 14-16 of the 65 teams in the NCAA Tournament.
“They’ll probably get seven or eight. We should get seven or eight from our league,” Coach K said after the No. 9 Blue Devils beat St. John’s 76-69 at Madison Square Garden.
“That’s why I think both our leagues should get a lot of teams in because we’ve really carried the banner for college basketball this year, both leagues. That’s all you hear people talking about.”
Duke (21-5, 7-4 ACC) was coming off back-to-back losses to Boston College and North Carolina. The Blue Devils have five league games left, three on the road (Maryland, Virginia Tech and North Carolina) and two at home (Wake Forest and Florida State.)
“Our conference will have seven and maybe eight NCAA teams,” Krzyzewski said. “I thought this year’s conference was the toughest I’ve seen in a while.”
Asked which was tougher, the Big East or the ACC, he said:Â “It’s similar. I think our two conferences are similar…It’s just like the Big East, you beat the heck out of each other.
“These two leagues are crazy good. There’s so many good players.”
Told that UConn coach Jim Calhounfavored cutting the Big East schedule to 16 from 18 games, Coach K thought that was a good idea for the ACC.
“I think his comments should be sent to our administrators in the ACC because this summer they’ll plan on moving from 16 to 18 and a lot of people think that’s a smart thing and I agree with Jim,” he said.
Coach K added that he thought Monday’s Pitt-UConn game, won by the Panthers, 76-68, was “an amazing basketball game.”
“There’s just some really good basketball in these two leagues right now.”
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
NEW YORK – Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski says the Big East and ACC should get 14-16 of the 65 teams in the NCAA Tournament.
“They’ll probably get seven or eight. We should get seven or eight from our league,” Coach K said after the No. 9 Blue Devils beat St. John’s 76-69 at Madison Square Garden.
“That’s why I think both our leagues should get a lot of teams in because we’ve really carried the banner for college basketball this year, both leagues. That’s all you hear people talking about.”
Duke (21-5, 7-4 ACC) was coming off back-to-back losses to Boston College and North Carolina. The Blue Devils have five league games left, three on the road (Maryland, Virginia Tech and North Carolina) and two at home (Wake Forest and Florida State.)
“Our conference will have seven and maybe eight NCAA teams,” Krzyzewski said. “I thought this year’s conference was the toughest I’ve seen in a while.”
Asked which was tougher, the Big East or the ACC, he said:Â “It’s similar. I think our two conferences are similar…It’s just like the Big East, you beat the heck out of each other.
“These two leagues are crazy good. There’s so many good players.”
Told that UConn coach Jim Calhoun favored cutting the Big East schedule to 16 from 18 games, Coach K thought that was a good idea for the ACC.
“I think his comments should be sent to our administrators in the ACC because this summer they’ll plan on moving from 16 to 18 and a lot of people think that’s a smart thing and I agree with Jim,” he said.
Coach K added that he thought Monday’s Pitt-UConn game, won by the Panthers, 76-68, was “an amazing basketball game.”
“There’s just some really good basketball in these two leagues right now.”
