Report: Duke asks to play in Chicago region of NCAA tournament, Mike Krzyzewski’s hometown

It’s not guaranteed, and it still has a lot of work to actually get there, but Duke has reportedly requested to land in the Midwest Regional of the NCAA tournament on Wednesday, according to both The Athletic's Seth Davis and ESPN's Wright Thompson.

That request, should it work out, would allow longtime Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski to coach some of his final games with the school in his hometown of Chicago.

Every school in the mix to earn the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament each season is asked by the selection committee which region they would like to play in. Generally, top teams are placed in the region closest to their campus.

For No. 4 Duke, that’d be the East Regional out of Philadelphia.

The committee, however, will grant the No. 1 overall seed its request. If a team doesn’t earn the top seed, the request is ignored.

The Blue Devils currently hold a 26-4 record heading into Saturday’s regular-season finale against North Carolina, which will mark Krzyzewski’s final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Krzyzewski, who first took over in 1980, announced last year that he will retire at the end of the season.

With nearly 1,200 wins and five national titles under his belt, he will go down as one of the best coaches the sport has ever seen.

Though a lot can change after the ACC tournament, the Blue Devils still have to play themselves into the top overall seed in order to ensure that Krzyzewski can return home to Chicago one final time. Most projections have Gonzaga leading as the top overall seed as of Wednesday night, and both ESPN and CBS Sports had Duke still as a No. 2 seed in their latest Bracketology projections.

So, at least as of right now, Duke will need quite a bit of help to get into the Chicago region.

If the Blue Devils can get there, however, it will only add to what has already been a remarkable sendoff for Krzyzewski.