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GREENSBORO -- Mike Krzyzewski called his first timeout with seven minutes left in the first half of the second half of Duke's season. It was time for a prayer meeting.

The old-time religion preached by Krzyzewski is all fire and brimstone on the second Friday in March, a day his fellow preachers might know as Bad Friday, the day they have to face the old man.

He's 63 now, and he needs no one to tell him that. He's won eight of the last 11 ACC tournament championships, and needs no one to tell him that, either. Irascible, unflinching and stuck in his ways, Krzyzewski is no one to be messed with these days.

Please.

The prayer meeting he had in the ashen faces of his players was a brief and final burst from a man who was about to change before our very eyes. At least for a day.

Duke defeated Virginia 57-46 on the second Friday in March because Krzyzewski took his foot off the throat of the game, took a deep breath and chilled. In still another impressive show of coaching prescience, he sat down and let Virginia defeat itself.

But first he had to threaten his team with its life. "They deserve us alerting them to a situation they will regret later," he said.

He didn't think his team had shown up with a sense of urgency. So he created one. And then Duke moved on.

A funny thing happened after that timeout, though. The heavens didn't open, and Duke didn't go on a tear and Virginia didn't go away. At least not willingly. At least not until later.

Krzyzewski had tried to force the tempo throughout the first half, pressing the Virginians to create offense in hopes of breaking the Cavaliers early. By the seven-minute mark, that had not happened. In fact, the opposite was beginning to take effect.

"We were just going to wear our team out," he said.

It was at that moment in time when Krzyzewski saw the opportunity to reset the game and the season. His team had cut down the nets after the regular-season win over Carolina, a first for the Blue Devils. He said he allowed it so the older players could experience something that would last "forever."

Forever ended with seven minutes left in the first half on the second day of the ACC tournament on the second Friday in March. Krzyzewski ripped the nets from around the necks of his players, lit into them during the 30-second timeout while they stood there looking exhausted, at least one of them already bleeding. Then he started in on referee Jamie Luckie.

"I guess it's OK to travel!" he screamed at the official, who then walked into the Duke huddle and gestured angrily. When the Duke assistants asked where the inbounds play would be, Luckie ignored them. In the 32nd game of the season, with no guarantees about tomorrow, Krzyzewski finally had his team right where he wanted it, forewarned and convinced it was Duke against the cruel world. Now let's play some basketball.

And still, Duke walked into today's semifinals, not ran. With 6:24 to play in the game and the Blue Devils still only ahead 46-44, Krzyzewski finally had Virginia right where he wanted it. The tiring Cavaliers didn't make another shot.

"The situation created the sense of urgency," he said. And the larger picture created a sense of calm with Krzyzewski.

"We knew this was going to be a tough game for us," he said. "We're already in the tournament. Winning the ACC is big, obviously. We've won eight of the last 11 years. But still, you're looking ahead to the next week, wondering what's going to happen. Somehow you have to create a sense of urgency for this moment."

This is the second season for Duke, one the Blue Devils prepare for all year. So many times over the years we've seen Krzyzewski reset his team in March to prepare it for a long run toward April. This is time of year when he's preaching to the choir.

He delivered his Bad Friday sermon and moved on. He got his team's attention, warning them they'd better listen or they'd regret it later. He removed himself from the equation, let his players play and waited for Virginia to collapse.

And then the heavens opened. Right on cue.

Contact Ed Hardin at 373-7069 or ed.hardin@news-record.com