Zion Williamson unlikely to play in Duke finale vs. North Carolina, Mike Krzyzewski says

Despite doing "some basketball stuff," Zion Williamson is unlikely to play in Duke's regular-season finale against rival North Carolina, Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski said Tuesday. 

"I don't think he'll be ready for Saturday," Coach K told reporters after No. 4 Duke's harrowing win over Wake Forest. 

Krzyzewski does, however, expect his star freshman back for postseason play.

"I have to be careful not to push this. I'd be surprised if he's not ready by the ACC tournament," Krzyzewski said. 

Williamson suffered his knee injury in a bizarre play that saw his sneaker give out in the first game against North Carolina, which has climbed to No. 3 in the Coaches Poll. 

Duke is 3-1 since Williamson's injury, though it was lucky to escape Wake Forest on Tuesday night in the Blue Devils' home finale. The Demon Deacons had not won at Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1997 — Tim Duncan's award-winning senior season — but had a shot in the final seconds following a Duke in-bound blunder. After a rebound, Wake's Chaundee Brown put the ball back up, but it rimmed out as time expired. 

“When they got the last shot, we were just wishing for it to fall out,” Duke's Tre Jones said. “They’d been getting a lot of rolls, so I feel like we had to get one as well.”

Duke concludes the regular season in Chapel Hill against its longtime rival on Saturday.