Former Duke player describes Coach K's way of dumbing down March Madness bracket into micro tournaments

Looking astatine 68 teams successful a March Madness bracket tin beryllium beauteous overwhelming, particularly for those playing successful the tournament.

However, erstwhile Duke subordinate Jay Bilas said his legendary erstwhile caput coach, Mike Krzyzewski, had a superb mode of dumbing it down to instrumentality the unit disconnected the Blue Devils.

"I played for Coach K astatine Duke and successful 1986, my elder year, that was the 2nd twelvemonth of the 64-team bracket," Bilas told Fox News Digital successful a caller interview. "And helium broke the tourney down to fundamentally a four-team tourney the archetypal weekend. He talked astir the other broadside of our bracket, the 32 teams other our broadside and said, ‘Look astatine each those teams successful there,’ and started talking astir however bully immoderate of them were. And past helium goes, 'Who cares? Only 1 squad is coming retired of there. Only 1 squad comes retired of there. Whatever happens, fine. We'll play that 1 squad connected Monday nighttime for the championship.'

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Head manager Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils reacts successful the archetypal fractional of the crippled against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal astatine Caesars Superdome connected April 2, 2022 successful New Orleans, Louisiana.  (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

"And truthful helium gave america a bracket. It was a four-team bracket, and we were playing astatine Greensboro successful the archetypal and 2nd rounds. I deliberation helium called it the Greensboro Invitational and said, ‘This is each we got to interest about.’ And we're like, ‘Geez, we tin process that.’ He made it easier. And past the 2nd week, aforesaid thing. We played astatine the Meadowlands - Meadowlands Invitational. We played DePaul, and past David Robinson and Navy was connected the different broadside of that. So we lone had to woody with a four-team tournament. Then we get to the Final Four, four-team tournament. And it truly made it a batch easier."

Now, similar the remainder of us, Bilas watches the tourney arsenic a fan. And this year, helium volition beryllium enjoying it with immoderate ice-cold Garage Beer, founded by Travis and Jason Kelce.

Jay Bilas volition beryllium enjoying March Madness with Garage Beer. (Garage Beer)

"I similar beer, and I similar garages," Bilas joked, adding that the Kelce brothers are a cardinal crushed wherefore helium wanted to beryllium a spokesperson for the beverage this March Madness. "I astir apt shouldn't beryllium talking astir however overmuch I similar beer, but I similar brew and I similar Garage Beer. And there's thing amended than tourney time, and those 2 things spell unneurotic truly well. I effort to debar it erstwhile I'm connected the air, but I'm conscionable similar everybody other — erstwhile there's a bully crippled on, I similar to ace 1 open."

And contempt apt being respective Garage Beers heavy passim the tournament, determination is simply a bully accidental that Bilas, a self-proclaimed March Madness "nerd," volition beryllium capable to retrieve conscionable astir everything from this tournament.

However, due to the fact that of Coach K's bracket practice, that encyclopedia successful Bilas' encephalon doesn't person galore pages connected 1986.

"I tin speech to you astir games that happened astatine conscionable astir immoderate tourney and retrieve it. I don't retrieve what happened successful that 1986 tournament," Bilas said. "Because each I cared astir was what we did. I mean, it's truly benignant of remarkable. I don't truly retrieve thing other due to the fact that of the mode Coach K presented it to america and the mode we approached it. And I cognize a batch of teams bash that now, and I, astatine slightest speaking for me, I thought that was extraordinarily adjuvant to us."

Duke caput manager Mike Krzyzewski yells during the archetypal fractional of a assemblage hoops crippled against Cal State Fullerton successful the archetypal circular of the NCAA tourney connected Friday, March 18, 2022, successful Greenville, S.C.  (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

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The Blue Devils are the No. 1 wide effect this twelvemonth and are aiming for their archetypal rubric since 2015.

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