DURHAM, N.C. — Mike Krzyzewski hustled off the court, just as he has done so many times during three-plus decades at Duke.
The Hall of Fame coach tried to turn this one into just another victory, and it didn’t work.
This time, Coach K caught his college coach on the career wins list. Krzyzewski tied Bob Knight atop the Division I men’s victories list with his 902nd victory in No. 6 Duke’s 96-55 rout of Presbyterian on Saturday.
“Whenever an individual coaching honor occurs, it’s because of your players and your assistants and the infrastructure you build,” Krzyzewski said. “You’re just the recipient of a lot of good things, then, because you’re the head of it. Good players and unselfish kids win a lot of ballgames.”
Ryan Kelly scored 17 points for the Blue Devils (2-0), who shot 61 percent and used a huge first-half run to deliver another milestone victory to their coach.
Coach K improved to 902-284 during his 37th season as a college coach at Army and Duke. He can pass Knight — his coach and mentor — on Tuesday night against Michigan State at Madison Square Garden.
Krzyzewski continued his steady climb up the wins list by matching Knight — for whom he ran the point at Army in the 1960s. The Cameron Crazies chanted “902” as the final seconds ticked away, then chanted his name after the horn.
“We want to win for Coach, but we want to win every game,” Kelly said.
