Men’s N.C.A.A. Tournament: Houston Advances to Round of 16

Some of the N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament’s best moments are birthed from classic David and Goliath matchups. The Goliaths, those powerhouse programs that make deep tournament runs seem routine, meet the Davids, the upstart challengers that many college basketball fans know nothing about until March.

This matchup between the No. 2 seed Duke and the No. 7 seed Michigan State instead offered a classic Goliath versus Goliath: One college basketball juggernaut against another. Two revered coaches, the Blue Devils’ Mike Krzyzewski, and the Spartans’ Tom Izzo, facing each other one final time. And in a game befitting the careers of two coaches who have been among the faces of their sport for decades, Duke outlasted Michigan State, 85-76, in the round of 32, extending its season and the career of the man nicknamed Coach K for at least one more game.

For now, Krzyzewski’s farewell tour remains intact. On its way to the tournament, Duke clinched the Atlantic Coast Conference’s regular-season title, but then lost to rival North Carolina in Krzyzewski’s final home game. It lost again to Virginia Tech in the A.C.C. tournament final in Brooklyn before dominating Cal State Fullerton in the first round and holding off Michigan State on Sunday night.

With six minutes left, the game was tied at 65. Michigan State’s Marcus Bingham Jr., who had been so good all evening, nailed a 3-point jumper amid a 9-0 Spartans run, which led to a 5-point lead. But Duke, making plays on both ends of the floor, with a pair of blocks and a steal on defense, regained the lead for good with less than three minutes left.

For 40 minutes, the two teams swung at each other. Michigan State, with its stifling defense, cut off the Blue Devils’ driving lanes, forcing jump shots, and Duke happily obliged.

The Blue Devils countered the Spartans’ early lead by getting their best players going. Paolo Banchero, Duke’s all-American freshman forward, had 13 points by halftime. Banchero attacked the Spartans’ interior defense with his towering 6-foot-10 frame and finished with 19 points.

But the Spartans matched Duke’s intensity by proving as fiery on the court as their veteran coach, whose wide-legged stance on the sideline could not be missed. Gabe Brown, Michigan State’s senior forward, had 14 points in the first half, including three baskets from beyond the arc.

After relinquishing an early lead and allowing Banchero and center Mark Williams to get shots in the post, Michigan State matched the Blue Devils’ 3-point shooting. The teams swapped 3-pointers on five straight possessions to end the first half.

In the second half, Duke players muscled their way to the glass to score inside. But Michigan State kept climbing back, not letting the Blue Devils get comfortable until the final free throws to put the game away.

And Duke, the team with the coach with the most wins in Division I basketball history and Final Four potential, was the Goliath that would not fall.

A remade Houston team is making another run.

One year after reaching the Final Four of the N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament, Houston is making another run….