From Amile Jefferson going down with an early foot injury to Grayson Allen setting a career-high in assists in the first half, Saturday's game was full of storylines for the Blue Devils.
So much so that some might have forgotten Saturday was Duke's first game this year without head coach Mike Krzyzewski, who had lower-back surgery to replace a fragment of a herniated disc Friday.
But as Boston College used an 11-0 run to slice the Blue Devils' double-digit lead to eight with 4:51 left in the game, it was interim head coach Jeff Capel calming Duke's young players down and calling the shots down the stretch.
"It was different. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t. But it was exciting because these are our guys," Capel said of coaching in place of Krzyzewski. "I’m never into me. I’m all about our guys and this moment and stepping up and doing whatever I can for our program. We’re in this position and we all have to step up, and I believe we all will step up."
One of the questions with Krzyzewski out was how the 69-year old would communicate with a team still getting used to having all of its rotation players healthy.
Before Saturday's game, Krzyzewski had a conference call to encourage them to keep fighting through adversity, advice that proved fruitful after Jefferson's injury.
"Coach didn’t want us to think about him too much, he wanted us to focus on the game," Tatum said. "It was great. Coach let us know what he wanted from us, what the gameplan was. He let us know that he’s always here, even though he’s not physically here with us. We felt his presence."
As was the case last year against Georgia Tech when Krzyzewski missed the game due to illness, the Blue Devils left his seat on the bench open.
It was another reminder that the 2016-17 team is still Krzyzewski's, and the team's wins and losses will be credited to him in the coming weeks.
"That’s out of respect. That’s his seat. He’s still here. It’s not like he’s not coming back, that’s his seat," Capel said. "That’s Coach’s seat and he’s the head coach of Duke basketball."
As Duke determines the severity of Jefferson's injury after further tests and prepares for road games against top-15 opponents in Florida State and Louisville next week, Krzyzewski will be recovering from his latest operation.
But he will also still be communicating with his fellow coaches and players as he works to return by the anticipated four-week mark.
"It means the world for our leader to fight through the battle that he’s fighting and to continue to keep us in the back of his mind," senior Matt Jones said.
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