CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – The last time Mike Krzyzewski and Steve Fisher met in the NCAA Tournament, they were coaching two of the most memorable teams in college basketball history in a national title game.
They’re facing off again more than two decades later, when Krzyzewski and the top-seeded Blue Devils (30-4) face Fisher and the eighth-seeded Aztecs (27-8) in Sunday’s round of 32 in the South Regional.
Krzyzewski says the coaches became friends before that 1992 final, which featured Duke greats Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill against the “Fab Five” freshmen on Fisher’s Michigan squad.
The nearly 23-year gap will be the longest between tournament meetings for head coaches in NCAA history, according to STATS.
Fisher says his biggest excitement about the matchup is the chance to reach the Sweet 16.