Sweet 16 win thrust Jon Scheyer into an elite coaching club Coach K never cracked

The draw given to Duke by the NCAA Tournament selection committee was always going to give Jon Scheyer the opportunity to really prove his coaching chops.

In the Sweet 16 against Hall-of-Famer Rick Pitino, Scheyer got the better of the matchup in helping Duke beat St. John's 80-75 and advance to the Elite Eight for the third consecutive season. It's that fact that also brought Scheyer into some elite company.

Scheyer is just 38 years old, and he's having unprecedented success on the Duke bench. Yes, it's Duke and the infrastructure is there to have a consistent winner thanks to the groundwork laid by Mike Krzyzewski, but don't get it twisted: nobody believed the transition from Coach K to Scheyer would be as smooth as it has been.

The win over St. John's allowed Scheyer to accomplish something that Coach K didn't, and only two other coaches in college basketball history ever did.

Scheyer is now one of three coaches to advance to the Elite Eight three times before the age of 40, joining Bobby Knight and Dean Smith:

Jon Scheyer is on an all-time pace as the Duke head coach

It seems like a matter of when, not if, Scheyer will be the coach to break Duke's 11-year national championship drought. It might be just a few short weeks away, though another major roadblock will stand in their way in D.C. on Sunday.

If Scheyer wants to lead Duke back to the Final Four for a second consecutive season, he's going to have to beat another two-time national championship-winning coach.

Dan Hurley and UConn survived to take down Michigan State on Friday night, and the Huskies have been on an unbelievable tournament run the last four years, producing a 16-1 overall record and winning two national titles.

Scheyer continues to prove he deserves a seat at the table with the top coaches in college basketball. Beating Hurley and UConn on Sunday would solidify that.