Duke survives scorching Spartans shooting to secure Mike Krzyzewski's 26th Sweet 16

Michigan State was game for the moment.

But Duke's talent was ultimately too much to overcome on Sunday in a high-profile NCAA men's tournament game that saw the Blue Devils secure an 85-76 victory to keep Mike Krzyzewski's coaching career alive.

Duke fought off a barrage of Michigan State 3-pointers and a late Spartans rally to secure Krzyzewski's 1,200th career victory, 26th Sweet 16 and one last win over his friend and rival Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo.

Duke held Michigan State at bay for much of the game. A second-half Spartans surge gave Michigan State a 70-65 edge with 5:10 remaining, raising the specter among Duke faithful that this might be it for Krzyzewski. The 42-year Blue Devils head coach is slated to retire at the conclusion of Duke's season.

Duke slammed door shut with big run in final minutes

Duke answered with a 20-6 run to finish the game and ensure that Krzyzewski would coach another day. Krzyzewski will finish his career 13-3 against Izzo.

"We were young for a while there," Krzyzewski told reporters postgame. "And I was wondering if we were gonna stay young. ... My guys were so tough in those last six minutes of the game. And in the last four or five minutes, the defense was incredible.”

Banchero paces Duke against MSU's 3-point barrage

Paolo Banchero, as he's done for much of the season, led the way for Duke with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists while shooting 8 of 14 from the field. The 6-foot-10 freshman forward regularly displayed the arsenal of talent that will make him a lottery pick in June's NBA draft. Michigan State had few answers when he worked his way into the post, whether Banchero found his way to the basket or spotted an open teammate with a pinpoint pass along the way.

The Spartans countered from behind the 3-point arc, where they connected on 11 of 22 attempts. They responded to a 10-0 first-half Duke run and their own 6:03 scoring drought run with seven straight made buckets, four of which were 3-pointers. A 23-16 Duke lead was whittled to 39-35 by halftime. A game that threatened to get out of hand was reined back in. It's a pattern that would repeat itself after halftime.

Duke scored the first five points of the second half to extend its lead to nine points. But whenever the Blue Devils threatened to pull away, the Spartans found a long-distance answer — whether it came from senior Gabe Brown (18 points, 4 of 6 from 3), senior Marcus Bingham Jr. (16 points, 2 of 3 from 3) or junior Tyson Walker off the bench (13 points, 2 of 3 from 3).

Michigan State ramps up pressure late

Eventually the shooting caught up with Duke, who gave up an 18-6 Michigan State run late in the second half that saw the Spartans take their 70-65 lead in the game's final minutes. Banchero and sophomore guard Jeremy Roach responded with a pair of layups to take the game into the final media timeout. After the chance to rest and regroup, the Blue Devils took over the game's final four minutes.

Aggressive defense and made free throws sealed the Duke victory. Two steals and a block by Duke in the final 2:18 led to transition buckets or free throws on the other end. Meanwhile, Wendell Moore Jr. and Trevor Keels combined to hit four free throws in the game's final 16 seconds to slam the door shut.

"Instead of cracking, like I think some teams would under that pressure, their little home court got 'em going a little bit." Izzo said of Duke, which was playing about a 3 1/2 hour drive from its Durham campus in Greenville, South Carolina. ... "And they made all those shots at the end. And that's impressive. And they deserve to be moving on."

Izzo called Roach and Moore Duke's two best players on the day. Roach finished with 15 points, three assists and a steal. Moore tallied 15 points, four assists and two steals while connecting on 9 of 10 free throws. Four of his made free throws arrived in the game's final minute.

“I didn’t see anything but me and the bucket," Moore said of this free throws. "I honestly didn’t hear one thing."

Izzo talks Coach K

While the win keeps Krzyzewski's career going for at least one more game it marks the end of his longtime rivalry with Izzo. The pair met briefly before the game on the court.

Izzo told reporters that the Hall of Fame coaching icons shared a moment after the game as well.

"We reminisced in the hall just now," Izzo said. "Before the game, there wasn’t a lot of reminiscing. It was, I think, a mutual appreciation. It was short and sweet. And that's the way it should be.

"But we didn’t talk about wife and kids, or his grandkids, or where he’s gonna start vacationing or anything. It was just, he's got another game to play, and I don't know what the hell I'm gonna do. Prolly be beating myself up for a week because, not many times do you get an opportunity to be right there on the threshold of something special. And it slipped away."