Were it not for a freak accident while playing, Scheyer never would have gotten into coaching in his mid-20s. That set him on a path to taking over for Mike Krzyzewski at age 34 and guiding this year’s Blue Devils to the Final Four.

And yet, so much has changed since Duke’s run to its last national title in 2015 or its most recent Final Four three years ago. Krzyzewski is gone, retired in 2022 after winning 1,202 games to set a men’s college basketball record along with winning five titles and reaching 13 Final Fours.

Duke and Houston, two of the nation’s most accomplished basketball programs, have only faced off once, in last year’s Sweet 16. The second meeting will come with even higher stakes Saturday night in the Final Four.