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CHARLOTTE — Chalk one up for the guards.

Kyrie Irving finished what Nolan Smith started, and top-seeded Duke held off eighth seed Michigan 73-71 in an NCAA tournament game Sunday at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Smith scored 24 points and Irving's only field goal was the biggest of the game, and now Duke (32-4) is off to Anaheim, Calif., for a Sweet 16 game in the West Regional. (Final stats)

It almost didn't happen. Michigan's 1-3-1 zone defense almost stopped the Blue Devils cold.

Most of a 15-point lead evaporated under the heat of the zone, and Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski made a bold move to reach his 900th victory.

He turned the game over to his guards. Four of them.

Krzyzewski sent shooters Andre Dawkins and Seth Curry in with Smith and Irving — a four-guard lineup with Kyle Singler and Ryan Kelly alternating as the lone big man.

"We have confidence in all of them," Krzyzewski said. "... Thank goodness we had them, because (Michigan) did a really good job against us, but they would've done a better job if we were real big. They can slice you up."

Early in the second half, Smith sliced up Michigan after the Wolverines cut Duke's lead to 39-37.

Coming out of a tantrum of a timeout — "It was ... not an X's and O's timeout," Krzyzewski said — the ACC's player of the year scored the next 10 points, pushing the lead to 12.

Smith started with a 3-pointer and finished with a drive for a 3-point play. In between, he was the only player on the court who mattered.

"Nolan made a lot of plays today," Duke senior Kyle Singler deadpanned. "... There was a stretch of time when we were playing the way Michigan wanted us to play. Nolan did a great job of pushing us through that."

The lead got to 15, and was still double-digits with 6:08 left.

But the Michigan zone changed things. Duke's offense struggled, and Krzyzewski went to the four-guard lineup.

"Michigan has a very unique lineup style," Singler said. "They play a lot of guards, and it was tough for us to match up with them. But we have the pieces to make things work."

The final piece was Irving, who made a soft floater off the backboard with 32 seconds left after Michigan cut the lead to one. Irving, playing his second game after returning from a serious toe injury, shot 9-for-10 from the foul line.

"Kyrie made the game-winning shot, basically," Singler said. "It was a great play. Everyone expected him to take it."

Michigan's Darius Morris tried a floater of his own with 2 seconds left. He missed, and Smith grabbed the rebound.

And when the final horn sounded, the ball was in the hands of a Duke guard.

Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com