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Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski's career ends as UNC and Kansas head to the season finale
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Updated April 3, 2022 at 11:42 AM ET
Long-serving Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski gave a calm final press conference to end a 47 year career, following his team's 81-77 loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Final Four.
"First of all, congratulations to North Carolina, " Krzyzewski said. "It was a game that the winner was going to be joyous and the loser was going to be in agony. And that's the type of game we expected. We would have liked to have been on the other side of it, but I'm proud of what our guys have done."
He added: "It's not about me, especially right now. I'm just concerned about these guys. I mean, [they were] already crying on the court, and I mean, that's the only thing I can think about."
In the other game of the night, the Kansas Jayhawks beat the Villanova Wildcats 81-65 to set up the final championship game for the 2022 men's NCAA basketball tournament.
Kansas vs. Villanova
The Jayhawks, entering Saturday's game against Villanova as the No. 1 seed, dodged a repeat of their 2018 semifinals loss to Villanova. The team last won a national championship in 2008.
Kansas' top scorers, David McCormack and Ochai Agbaji, led the way in the absence of Villanova's second-leading scorer and strong defender Justin Moore, who tore his Achilles tendon in the regional final win over Houston last week.
Duke vs. UNC
UNC star Caleb Love made a key 3-pointer and three late free throws to inspire his team to victory.
Before the game, the two teams had played each other 257 times throughout their history, but had never faced off in the NCAA tournament before.
Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski had been looking for redemption and a neat epilogue to his legacy. He retires the winningest coach in Division I men's basketball history.
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