Coach Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils had a lot on their hands prior to the upcoming NCAA tournament, and based on their recent performances it appears that they just couldn’t handle the pressure.

Last weekend, the Blue Devils faced off against arch nemesis North Carolina. After defeating the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill earlier this season, Duke felt confident that they could earn the victory on their home floor. However, things just didn’t go according to plan.

Junior Danny Green lead North Carolina with 18 points to help the Tar Heels defeat the Blue Devils by a score of 76-68. Tar Heels’ superstar Tyler Hansbrough also added 16 points and 15 rebounds. Though the Blue Devils did manage to rally from a 14-point deficit, they ended up missing their final 11 shots.

"I still thought we were doing really good things. We just couldn't get that thing in the hole there," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We were still making winning plays -- plays that could win. Obviously, they didn't turn out to be winning plays."

The Blue Devils were looking to do whatever they could to prepare for the ACC tournament, but obviously things did not pan out as they had hoped. Coach Krzyzewski and his team did manage to secure a victory over Georgia Tech on Friday in their first game of the ACC tournament, but the victory was not enough to give the team the boost that they needed to capture the title. On Saturday, the Clemson Tigers upset the Blue Devils in the quarterfinals by a score of 78-74. Trevor Booker and Cliff Hammonds had 18 and 17 points respectively to help in bringing Clemson to their first title game appearance in 46 years.

The Blue Devils had won the previous 22 meetings with the Tigers, which only adds to the recent trend of disappointment that the team has been witnessing. The Tigers will get a shot at North Carolina on Sunday. Clemson has never won an ACC title, and the team is hoping to make its first NCAA tournament appearance in 10 years.

Duke managed to cut the lead to two with just 48 seconds left after a key three pointer by Greg Paulus, but it was not enough to give the Blue Devils the edge. Paulus finished with 17 points, DeMarcus Nelson added 14, and Jon Scheyer contributed 13. Coach Krzyzewski did all he could to get the crowd fired up, as was evident by the timeout he called late in the first half to stir up the fans. Unfortunately, the results were not what he had desired. Selection Sunday should provide for some very interesting surprises given the recent upsets that have occurred in the final week of the regular season.