Mike Krzyzewski's quest for 1 last national title with Duke is a tough road that runs through Gonzaga

Mike Krzyzewski has wrapped his farewell tour.

Now it's time for business. The longtime Duke head coach will look to cap his career with a sixth national title as the No. 2 seed in the West region of the NCAA men's tournament. Each of Duke's upcoming games would be Krzyzewski's last with a loss.

The good news for Duke is its No. 2 seed. After finishing the regular season with a home loss to North Carolina before bowing out to Virginia Tech in the ACC championship game, the Blue Devils very well could have entered tournament play as a No. 3 seed.

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The bad news for Blue Devils is that their seed won't do them many favors. They enter tournament play sharing a region with No. 1 overall seed and betting favorite to win it all Gonzaga. Just getting to a potential regional final against the Bulldogs won't come easy. Here's a look at Duke's potential path to the Final Four and beyond, assuming that higher seeds advance in each round.

First round: No. 2 Duke vs. No. 15 CS Fullerton in Greenville, SC

This is standard No. 2/No. 15 fodder. Only nine No. 15 seeds have ever won an NCAA tournament game. Don't expect the Titans to make it an even 10. Fullerton won its conference tournament as the No. 2 seed in the Big West. It opened as a 17.5 underdog on Sunday. Coach K is not going out like this.

Second round: No. 2 Duke vs. No. 7 Michigan State in Greenville, SC

This is where things get interesting. Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo famously started his career with a 1-11 record in head-to-head matchups against Krzyzewski. The Spartans have won two of three games in the series since, including an upset of the top-seeded Blue Devils in the 2019 East regional final to put an end to Zion Williamson's college career.

Michigan State also won the most recent matchup in the series, a 2020 regular-season win at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The teams play each other more often than not during the regular season, but didn't square off this season.

This isn't vintage Michigan State. The 22-12 Spartans finished in seventh place in a tough Big Ten and bowed out in the conference tournament semifinals. The No. 7 seed seems about right for a team that ranked No. 98 in offensive efficiency and No. 136 in defensive efficiency. But the history and familiarity here make for a compelling second-round matchup.

Sweet 16: No. 2 Duke vs. No. 3 Texas Tech in San Francisco

This is where things get truly tough for Duke. If the Blue Devils advance to the tournament's second weekend, they face a potential Sweet 16 matchup against a Texas Tech team that has claimed victories this season over No. 1 seeds Kansas and Baylor. The Red Raiders are their usual juggernaut selves on defense and rank No. 2 in the nation in defensive efficiency.

They finished third in the Big 12 behind Kansas and Baylor, and advanced to the Big 12 championship game, where they fell to the Jayhawks on Saturday. This is a team that could send Coach K packing earlier than expected.

Elite 8: No. 2 Duke vs. No. 1 Gonzaga in San Francisco

If the Blue Devils make it this far, they'll face a Gonzaga team that started the season No. 1 overall and enters tournament play as the No. 1 overall seed. The Bulldogs have never won an NCAA championship and face their best chance yet to do so.

Freshman Chet Holmgren projects as a top 3 NBA draft pick as a 7-foot center who runs the floor, blocks 3.6 shots per game and shoots 41.2% from 3-point distance. He's arguably the most talented player in the field on a team that ranks in the top five in offensive and defensive efficiency. Gonzaga is the overall No. 1 seed for a reason. A win here for Duke would truly be an upset.

If Duke wins and chalk holds from there, it would face a Final four matchup against Baylor and a championship game against either Arizona or Kansas. All of those opponents would be likely favorites in a matchup with the Blue Devils.

A sixth national title isn't out of the question for Krzyzewski. But if he gets it, his Blue Devils are going to have to earn it.