Charlotte, N.C. ? The celebration was muted, emotions kept in check. Never mind that Mike Krzyzewski had just passed Dean Smith for the most wins in NCAA Tournament history with a victory that moved Duke into the round of 16.

The tears will come only when this unlikely team plays its final game.

The top-seeded Blue Devils assured themselves of at least one more game with a 63-55 victory over Mississippi State in the second round of the Austin Regional on Sunday.

“Coaches don’t win games, players do,” Krzyzewski said. “Look, I love this group of kids, it’s as good a group as I’ve ever coached … and whenever they have played their last game, that is when I will truly be emotional.”

Daniel Ewing scored 22 points, and Shelden Williams took care of defense to get Coach K his record 66th tournament victory, moving him ahead of Smith at the top of the list. It took a reminder from J.J. Redick for the Blue Devils (27-5) to get the milestone victory.

“It means a lot to me and to us as a team,” Redick said. “You know, he wouldn’t talk about it, but I made sure all the guys on this team knew about it. I mentioned it to the team before we went out on the court. I said, ‘We need to win it for him.”‘

The victory sent Duke into the regional semifinals for the eighth consecutive year, the longest current streak in the nation. The Blue Devils will play fifth-seeded Michigan State.

But it wasn’t an easy trip.

Duke was embarrassed after squeaking out a 57-46 victory over 16th-seeded Delaware State in the first round, and the Blue Devils had their hands full with ninth-seeded Mississippi State (23-11). Duke shot just 38 percent and had 16 turnovers.

Duke's Daniel Ewing turns upcourt against Mississippi State. Ewing scored 22, and the Blue Devils won, 63-55, Sunday in Charlotte, N.C.

Williams scored on a three-point play to give Duke the lead for good at 53-50 with 4:19 to go, then blocked Lawrence Roberts’ shot at the other end. Redick scored on a fadeaway, and after a Mississippi State miss, Ewing pushed in a Redick miss to make it 57-53.

“It seems like every big play that had to be made down the stretch, they made,” said Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury. “That’s why they are so successful.”

Roberts led the Bulldogs with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Michigan St. 72, Vermont 61

Worcester, Mass. — Maurice Ager scored 19 points, and Paul Davis had 11 points and 14 rebounds to send Michigan State to the regional semifinals.

Largely ignored during the Big Ten season while Illinois took over the rankings, Michigan State (24-6) found itself the sentimental second choice again in Worcester when the 13th-seeded Catamounts (25-7) beat Syracuse — the first NCAA victory in Vermont history.

The crowd was heavily tilted toward Vermont, and outgoing coach Tom Brennan’s sense of humor won over many of the rest. But star Taylor Coppenrath went into a shooting slump — making five of 23 shots for 16 points. T.J. Sorrentine scored 26 points, but made just six of 15 shots from three-point range.