Mike Krzyzewski reacts to Duke-UNC postponement

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said that postponing Wednesday's matchup between the Blue Devils and North Carolina was the right decision.
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said that postponing Wednesday's matchup between the Blue Devils and North Carolina was the right decision.

The most historic rivalry in college basketball took an unprecedented turn Wednesday when the Duke-North Carolina game was postponed due to a snow and ice storm left more than six inches of wintry precipitation throughout the Triangle.

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski reacted to the game's cancelation for the first time Thursday morning in an excerpt of his weekly radio show on Sirius XM College Sports Nation that was released.

Although no time for next Thursday's matchup between Duke and North Carolina has been announced, Krzyzewski said that the contest will take place in its usual 9 p.m. slot.

The Duke head coach also added that as much as his team wanted to take on the Tar Heels in a highly-anticipated rivalry matchup, moving the game back a week was the right call.

"You're ready to play that game," Krzyzewski said. "You want to play the game—they do too—but it was the right decision."

The Blue Devils were slated to leave at 6 p.m. to make the eight-mile trip to the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, but adverse conditions on the roads prevented the team bus from even arriving at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The remnants of Winter Storm Pax still have the Triangle at a standstill Thursday, with an addition 1-3 inches of snow expected to fall.

"We just don't have the equipment necessary to handle something like this. And there's still problems today, and that's why the game was not pushed to today," Krzyzewski said. "It was the smart thing to do. Their fans were not able to get to the game. We couldn't even get a bus here. The main route we had to take there was a parking lot. The other thing you worry about is just your own players traveling to get here, to get back. It's a good decision."

With the game's postponement, Duke now has the task of playing four games in eight days next week. The Blue Devils will host Maryland for the final ACC matchup between the two foes Saturday before heading to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech Tuesday night. After Duke squares off in its rescheduled game with the Tar Heels, undefeated and top-ranked Syracuse will invade Cameron Indoor Stadium less than 48 hours later for a 7 p.m. game Feb. 22.

Although Krzyzewski admits that the prospect of next week's schedule is daunting, he said it was the only real scheduling possibility.

"It's what you have to do. There was no other place to put the game," Krzyzewski said. "We actually, after the Syracuse game, played Virginia Tech at home on the following Tuesday and we get a break—it's our time to have a weekend off. Carolina during that time plays three games in six days so we couldn't do it there."

The cancelation of Wednesday's game left some fans clamoring for a double-header between Duke and North Carolina on the last two days of the regular season. Krzyzewski quickly put that rumor to rest.

"We always play the last game of the regular season and flip flop home and away. So you're not going to play Saturday night the last game here and Sunday in Chapel Hill. Roy Williams and I, Bubba Cunningham their AD and our AD Kevin White felt it would be good. TV felt it would be good and the ACC ultimately makes that decision."


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