Mike Krzyzewski‘s blunder caused Duke basketball to lose

Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski made a predictable blunder that hurt the Blue Devils.

Following the performances of DJ Steward, Jeremy Roach, Jordan Goldwire, and Joey Baker against Coppin State, it was predictable that Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski would make a change in his starting five.

The prediction came true as Steward and Roach found themselves on the floor to begin the game on Tuesday night against Michigan State, as Goldwire and Baker came off the bench.

Krzyzewski’s idea clearly did not go as he envisioned as his freshman point guard was lost defensively and committed three turnovers while fouling out in 26 minutes. Roach was only able to post six points against the veteran backcourt of the Spartans with two rebounds and two assists on 2-for-4 shooting from the field.

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While Roach’s performance was bad, it was still better than Steward, who went 0-for-7 from the field after his 24-point outburst on Saturday. The freshman shooting guard scored all six of his points at the foul line, missing all three of his attempts from 3-point range in 29 minutes of action.

The lineup change did not affect Baker, as he was unable to score as a starter or a reserve. But Goldwire thrived coming off the bench with 10 points and five rebounds on 4-for-7 shooting.

Why Mike Krzyzewski‘s decision hurt the Duke basketball team so bad

Coach K knew what he was up against on Tuesday.

There were no Cameron Crazies in Durham to give his young team energy. Michigan State was entering with two games already under its belt and Tom Izzo has a strong, veteran team.

With all those things factored in, it didn’t look great for the Blue Devils on paper, but starting the freshman Steward was the last straw for Duke.

Prior to the matchup with the Spartans, Steward was asked in his pregame press conference how coming off the bench against Coppin State affected him.

“I was just able to see where I could pick my spots and where I could help my team at, just being in the right spot at the right time. Coming off the bench, it pretty much slowed the game down for me once I got in the game,” Steward explained.

No further questions asked.

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After hearing that, Krzyzewski automatically should have kept his five-star shooting guard on the bench, not risking that he could be sped up in what was anticipated to be a high-level, high-energy game.

You want the game to slow down for freshmen, and you want them to find their rhythm and ease into the game.

If Mike Krzyzewski wanted to see how DJ Steward would fare as a starter, he had the perfect chance to experiment on Friday night against Bellarmine, not against No. 8 Michigan State, who you knew would be out for blood.

Will Steward remain in the starting lineup in the next game for the Blue Devils?

Tune into ACC Network Extra at 7:00 pm on Friday night to find out.