2022 NCAA Tournament: What Coach K and Duke basketball said after win vs. Michigan State

GREENVILLE — Trailing by five points with five minutes left in Sunday's NCAA Tournament second-round game, Duke was in serious danger of a second-round upset loss to end the career of the winningest coach in Division I basketball history.

But the Blue Devils said they never doubted that they would get to play another game under coach Mike Krzyzewski.

During the final five minutes, they outscored Michigan State 20-6 to pull away with an 86-75 win and advance to next week's Sweet 16.

"Honestly, in the conversation, losing didn't come up one time," Duke forward Wendell Moore said, before Krzyzewski interrupted him.

"You're not gonna talk about losing, unless you're gonna lose," Krzyzewski added.

GAME STORY: Duke comes back for Coach K's 1,200th win

DEFENSE: Blue Devils lock down Spartans late to pull away

The players who lifted Duke late — Moore, Jeremy Roach, Trevor Keels, Paolo Banchero and Mark Williams — knew the season would come down to their performance, Moore said.

Their unity and closeness helped them answer the call.

"We knew it was going to come down to us at some point," Moore said. "Once we got in the huddle, we just looked in each other's eyes, and we knew we weren't going to lose."

Plus, the Blue Devils knew they had time on their side.

"The game was far from over. There was probably about three or four minutes left. There was so much time left on the clock, I knew we had a chance," Moore said. "I knew once we got our foot in the door, there was no looking back from there."

Roach hit a backbreaking 3-pointer late in the shot clock for a 78-74 lead with 1:16 left.

It was another sequence that had been anticipated during a Blue Devils huddle.

"The [under-four minute media timeout], I was thinking to myself, if I get an open three, I'm knocking it down," Roach said. "The shot clock was winding down, and I knew I had to make a play."

But what stuck out to Krzyzewski from his 1,200th career win wasn't the big 3-pointers, lockdown defense or clutch free throws down the stretch.

That came later, with 16 seconds left and the game in hand.

After a foul call, Krzyzewski turned to his family sitting behind Duke's bench, clapping and extending his hands in appreciation for the support.

"Look, for me, one of the best moments for me was turning around and seeing all my grandkids right behind the bench, and they're crying, they're cheering," Krzyzewski said. "Wow, I mean, God bless how lucky -- I mean, it's so good. It's so good. So 1,200's great, but that scene was better."

This story has been updated.

Here's some of what else Moore, Roach and Krzyzewski told the media after the game.

On Jeremy Roach's late 3-pointer

Moore: "The clock was winding down. ... I was just looking at the matchups and thought Jeremy had a good matchup. I just kind of took it and gave it to him, and from there he made it happen."

Wendell Moore's free throw tunnel vision

Moore: "I didn't see anything but me and the bucket. That's my routine. I really have to close my eyes just so I can lock in. I just feel like it's really I'm the only one in there. No matter how much noise they were making, I honestly didn't hear one thing. Just stepped up to the line and knocked them down."

What doesn't matter to Coach K

Krzyzewski: "Really, I said it yesterday. I don't look at records against coaches. Tom Izzo is one of the great coaches, Hall of Fame coach, and a great friend. I'm not going to put that up on my wall, like a record."

What 1,200 wins means to Coach K

Krzyzewski: "Obviously, it's a lot of wins. But it's a lot of wins against quality competition, and that's what I'm most proud of. It's not just the number of wins, it's the competition that we've had in order to win. Today was a good example of it."

Coach K the brand ambassador

Krzyzewski: "I was wondering if we were going to stay young. I don't know, maybe the Gatorade — whatever it was, the Powerade, or whatever the hell we're repping here."

The "Road Crew" who were on the podium Sunday

Moore: "Us five guys are so close over this past year. Earlier this summer, coaches allowed us to take a trip down to Peach Jam and watch our respective teams play against each other. All five of us crammed up in the car, drove down there, twice actually. Ever since then, we just called ourselves the Road Crew."

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Trailing late to Michigan State, Duke players never feared losing