CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Mike Krzyzewski knows better than anyone just how precious games are in the NCAA Tournament, so while he didn't dwell on his record-setting night, he paused to appreciate it.
"I'm glad we won, whatever number it was," Coach K said. "Each victory in the tournament is a treasured win, because it's a great tournament."
Shelden Williams had 14 points and 11 rebounds and top-seeded Duke held off 16th-seeded Delaware State 57-46 on Friday night in the Austin Regional, giving Krzyzewski his 65th career victory in the tournament.
In 21 NCAA Tournaments, he's 65-17, tying Dean Smith's total for the most career victories.
"He doesn't like to bring those things up," Blue Devils guard J.J. Redick said. "I actually knew. I try to keep up with all his wins and all his stats. I knew that was going on, but he hasn't talked about it. I'm happy for him."
This one certainly was expected, even though Duke (26-5) had to work much harder than North Carolina did earlier in the day at the Charlotte Coliseum. The Tar Heels, also a No. 1 seed, routed upstart Oakland 96-68 in the Syracuse Regional, but the Blue Devils struggled throughout with the Hornets (19-13) despite having guard Sean Dockery back for the first time in seven games after he recovered from a knee injury.
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champions had won 15 of their previous 17 games, including a run of three straight in the conference tournament. They befuddled Duke in the first half with a lineup of five guards, spreading the floor and letting the shot clock wind down before driving to the basket.
Delaware State led 14-12 midway through the opening 20 minutes, and a putback by Tracey Worley tied it at 23 with 5 minutes left.
"They won the regular season and their tournament with that system. They believe in it," Krzyzewski said. "They're quick, and they're good kids. They play together. It didn't seem to matter who shot the ball."
The Blue Devils took control with consecutive 3-pointers by Daniel Ewing and Lee Melchionni, then opened the second half with an 11-2 run to pull away. The Hornets missed 15 straight shots at one point until Worley swished a 3 to make it 49-35.
The margin eventually reached 20 before Delaware State mounted a final rally. Jahsha Bluntt made a jumper from beyond the arc, and after Worley added another basket, Troy Roundtree added a 3-pointer of his own to bring the Hornets to 55-43.
Later, Roundtree had a chance at a four-point play, knocking in a 3 as he was fouled by Williams, but he missed the free throw, and Duke hung on.
"I thought our kids put forth a great effort," Hornets coach Greg Jackson said. "There's no question we gave it our best shot. The kids showed a lot of patience and desire until the talent just took over."
Worley led Delaware State with 13 points, and Roundtree added 11.
"We feel like we gained some respect, but we still feel like we could have won the game," forward Terrance Hunter said. "Nobody gave us a chance."
For Krzyzewski, the outcome probably reminded him of a similar matchup in the 1986 tournament, when the top-seeded Blue Devils narrowly beat Mississippi Valley State 85-78. Johnny Dawkins, at the time an All-America guard for Duke, now sits beside Coach K on the bench as the associate head coach, and he told the players about that game earlier in the week.
"It tells you that what people think is usually wrong," Krzyzewski said. "It's what players think, it's what coaches think."
His team got the chance to live its own version. Backed by a a small but enthusiastic group of fans, Delaware State came out to win the game.
After falling behind by nine early, the Hornets tied it at 12 on a layup by Worley, and the rest of the half was close. Redick, the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, had an off night, finishing with a season-low seven points on 1-of-7 shooting.
That total was about 15 below his season average as Duke shot 41 percent from the field. It was enough -- barely.
"I didn't really get any looks and I forced a couple," Redick said. "But the most important thing in this tournament is advancing. Their guys played extremely hard and expected to win, so it was good for us to come out with a win."
