But in order for the night to be the celebration the Blue Devils were hoping for, Duke first needed to beat Davidson on the court named for its coach.
And it wasn't easy. Davidson led for much of the first half, by a point at the intermission and gave the Blue Devils all they could handle.
"They were a very determined team the entire game, and I think it knocked us back," Krzyzewski said afterward.
It wasn't until Duke turned in one of its trademark scoring bursts in the second half, that the Blue Devils were able to gain control and get an 82-69 victory. Before he spoke to the crowd of 9,314, Krzyzewski thanked his players for allowing there to be a ceremony.
"We beat a really good team today," he said. "That was a heck of a game."
The loss was the first of the year for Davidson.
"There are things we can identify that we need to work on," said Davidson coach Bob McKillop. "We can be pretty good if we work and eliminate mistakes and build on the strengths we do have."
Davidson controlled the opening tip and scored immediately, when JP Kuhlman fed De'Mon Brooks for a layup, giving the Wildcats the start they needed. Davidson led for much of the first half and took a 35-34 edge into halftime.
"I thought our offense was great," said Davidson guard Kuhlman. "I thought we were taking great shots, shots we make."
But Duke's 25-4 run early in the second half turned the tide for good to the Blue Devils. The Devils hounded Davidson with on-ball pressure and the Plumlee brothers, Miles and Mason, combined with fellow post player Ryan Kelly to challenge more Wildcat shots in the second half.
"We were aggressive, and I thought we were aggressive the whole game," said McKillop. "The difference was the aggression in the second half did not lead to the baskets it led to in the first half. I'm pleased with our effort, our aggression. We need to work on communication and certainly we need to do a better job stopping runs."
The Wildcats had trouble containing standout freshman point guard Austin Rivers, who, along with Seth Curry, scored a game-high 17.
Curry's presence caused a split loyalty for former Davidson star Stephen Curry, who sat behind Davidson's bench and wore a half Davidson, half Duke No. 30 jersey. Seth, just like Stephen does and their father Dell did, wears No. 30.
Chris Czerapowicz led Davidson with 15 points, while Cohen and Brooks scored 12 and Kuhlman finished with 10.
Davidson connected on all 14 of its free throws at Duke, and through Monday's 68-54 win over Presbyterian, the Wildcats are shooting 80.8 percent from the charity stripe.
Kuhlman and Nik Cochran scored 16 points apiece to lead the Wildcats against the Blue Hose Monday, while Brooks scored 15.
Davidson, now 3-1, returns to action Saturday at UNC Wilmington.
