As the NCAA Tournament chronicle remains on pause until next spring, the Duke basketball rewind button sure comes in handy for entertainment purposes.
If only…those two words have been circling around my head like Dale Earnhardt lately. What could have been and what should have been are two internal tormentors that I have never really given much time or worry. Recent happenings on Planet Earth have forced me to reconsider that position.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the sports world as we know it has come to a grinding halt. And while that’s the absolute right and necessary call, it still comes at a horrible time (as if there’s a right time for a virus outbreak) for us Duke basketball diehards.
This has always and will always be my favorite month of the year, and it’s not just because of March Madness. Well, it’s not only because of March Madness; baseball is around the corner, NFL free agency is in full swing, and the warmth of spring has finally blessed us with a kiss.
However, we hoop nuts have come to know that the sun really makes its first appearance of the year for the NCAA Tournament. It calls out of work just like we do on Thursday and Friday, and you can bet it already had a bracket filled out.
To please the sun and to please all the sudden house-hostages (I’ve never seen my wife’s face in March as I thought she took a vacation this month every year), I’m going to help us over this hill. What follows will be my personal “Chef’s Choice” of the five tournament wins that you, a self-respecting Duke basketball fan, should take this opportunity to peruse.
To be clear, these are TOURNAMENT games. I’m not including any from the regular season; that’s another list for another time (might be a foreshadow, I honestly don’t know). Sorry, Tre Jones, Wendell Moore, Austin Rivers, Chris Duhon, and Jeff Capel, while your Carolina daggers bring me pure joy, I’m not including them on this list.
With all this in mind, let’s get to the list by starting with the honorable mentions!
HONORABLE MENTIONS
2001 at Maryland (The Miracle Minute, Duke wins, 98-96 in OT)…OK, I lied a little. I had to bring up this one regular-season game, one of Mike Krzyzewski‘s comeback masterpieces. Nate James sends it to overtime, and Duke basketball great Shane Battier ices the win with a block at the end. It belongs here simply because of the look and sweat (more to come on both of those things).
2019 at Louisville (Duke wins, 71-69)…You got me, I lied again, for I have a thing for comeback stories. One more regular-season clash as Zion Williamson and the gang staged a jaw-dropping win after being down by 23 (had it the whole time) with 9:58 to play.
ALSO READ: The five sweetest comeback wins under Coach K
2010 Regional Final vs. Baylor (Duke wins 78-71)…Now, for the tourney, this was about the most bruising game in Duke basketball history. I personally had to get pieces of it relayed to me live by my father while I was at Air Force Basic Training over the phone. In that same sense, Duke faced a brutal Baylor Bears defense that left pieces of them all over the floor (metaphorically). Lance Thomas got an offensive board off a missed free throw (sound familiar?) and kicked it to Nolan Smith to tie the game with 3:33 left.
1991 National Championship vs. Kansas (Duke wins, 72-65)…The game itself was never really in doubt. Watch this one just for the legendary Grant Hill dunk and subsequent Billy Packer freak-out. It’s also worth a view because it’s the first Duke basketball title and also the first time eventual UNC coach Roy Williams got a taste of Coach K’s wrath.
1992 National Championship vs. Michigan (Duke wins 71-51)…Just like the above game, this one wasn’t much of a thriller, but its significance is in the fact that it’s Banner No. 2 in Durham. Christian Laettner was ice-cold in the first half, and Michigan took advantage, leading by one at the half. Bobby Hurley was the walking epitome of guts in that game and sank triple after triple right in Jalen Rose‘s face, eventually sparking Laettner and the rest of the boys to a Fab Five-crushing victory.
2001 National Championship vs. Arizona (Duke wins 82-72)…Yours truly loves patterns, and right on queue, another one more significant for the banner than the game. It was closer than the score indicates, but the Blue Devils got a HUGE lift from Mike Dunleavy Jr., whose 21 points helped the Duke basketball program earn its third title.
All right, folks, now for the main event!
5. 2015 National Championship Game vs. Wisconsin
The last of the five banners, Duke basketball won a classic title game against still-underrated Wisconsin. The Badgers had just knocked off previously undefeated Kentucky and were led by All-American big man Frank “The Tank” Kaminsky.
After going neck and neck in the first half, Wisconsin opened up a nine-point lead in the second half. Duke clawed their way back, and eventually the most mature freshman class to ever grace Durham got Coach K back to the promised lands.
This game was amazing on so many levels as we got to see the interesting mix of Quinn Cook‘s senior leadership and the stupendous talent of the rookies. Grayson Allen made his introduction to the College Basketball World, diving after loose balls and hitting contested layups.
ALSO READ: Duke’s all-decade team for 2010 thru 2019
The orchestra of hustle and execution was brought to a crescendo by conductor Tyus Jones, who hit two clutch triples with time winding down to bury the Badgers and cement himself as a Duke basketball legend. I genuinely felt bad for Wisconsin, though, as the Badgers fans I watched the game with were extremely pleasant and congratulatory.
Alas, destiny takes no prisoners, and neither does Tyus Jones.
4. 2001 National Semifinal vs. Maryland
“Sweat, Gary, Sweat.” You can’t say the Cameron Crazies aren’t wordsmiths. Sweat, Maryland coach Gary Williams did, and if we’re being honest with ourselves, we perspired a bit as well.
The Final Four in 2001 opened with an ultra-tough Maryland team facing off against our equally tough Blue Devils. You readers should know, if you’re not already aware, the Maryland teams of the early 2000s were the last you ever wanted to face. Juan Dixon and Steve Blake were “about that action” as the kids would say, and the 2001 squad ran about 12 deep.
The Terrapins came out absolutely on fire, and I don’t use that term lightly. They couldn’t miss if they wanted to, and their defense from the one-spot through the five was alarming. Maryland opened up a 39-17 lead, but Duke, led by my personal favorite Blue Devil, Shane Battier, hung tough and closed the gap to 49-38 by halftime.
Battier continued leading the furious comeback effort, and with some defense (seriously watch Shane Battier play defense) and some All-World bench contribution by Nate James, the Blue Devils started pulling away.
Jason Williams knocked down a three with 6:48 to play, giving the Blue Devils the lead, and the surgical removal of Maryland’s heart began. Chris Duhon had a scary collision with Steve Blake that stunned everyone late, but that stun paled in comparison to the overall shock and awe felt by Maryland nation (I think Gary Williams sweat through 4 shirts that game).
3. 2010 National Championship vs. Butler
Gordon Hayward…too close, buddy, too close. This is another one the Air Force stole from me as I was forced to watch the replay. But once I did, I was on the edge of my seat pretty much start to finish.
Butler entered that game dubbed the “Real Life Hoosiers.” And I get it. As annoying as it was to hear that narrative and listen to the “Hoosiers” theme music get played cutting to commercials, the Bulldogs truly were a remarkable story.
Brad Stevens, who some consider a darkhorse candidate to replace Coach K one day, got his superstar Gordon Hayward to lead a scrappy squad to the title game. Once there, they showed exactly what got them there. To this day, I have yet to see perimeter defense played the way the Bulldogs did it.
ALSO READ: Top five candidates to succeed Coach K
The relentless motors and lighting-quick hands of Hayward, Shelvin Mack, and Ronald Nored led to a close game where neither team led by more than six.
Duke basketball legend Kyle Singler was absolutely clutch with a team-high 19 points and a solid 3-for-6 from the perimeter. Brian Zoubek also chose the perfect time to have his best game of the season and provided the crucial shot alteration and rebound with 3.6 seconds left.
The ending defines this game, though, as Hayward took Zoubek’s intentionally missed free throw to halfcourt for a prayer that went off the backboard and touched every part of the rim before bouncing out with no time left. Butler deserved to win that game, but Duke was smiled upon by the basketball gods that day en route to the program’s fourth banner.
2. 1992 Regional Final vs. Kentucky, The Shot
Just like every other Duke basketball fan, I can’t believe this isn’t No. 1, but you could consider this No. 1A. However, I don’t believe in ties, and this may be the best game in college basketball history, but I don’t think it’s the most important one to Duke.
With that being said, this one checks all the boxes. An absolute barn burner as big, bad defending champ Blue Devils came strolling into the Regional Final having conquered nearly everything in their path that season. Kentucky had legendary status as a program but was more a scrappy little team that could play with its four “Unforgettables.”
The core of homegrown Kentucky favorites Richie Farmer, John Pelphrey, Deron Feldhaus, and non-Kentuckian but equally beloved Sean Woods was clicking at the right time for head coach Rick Pitino. The Wildcats also featured future NBA stalwart Jamal Mashburn and proved from the opening tip that they belonged on the floor that night.
The game was tight throughout, and Duke took a five-point lead into the locker room at halftime. Fouls and tempers heated up throughout the second half as several questionable calls occurred. Kentucky freshman Aminu Timberlake fell to the ground going for a rebound, and Duke basketball senior Christian Laettner stepped on his chest.
While the technical was rightly charged, pretty much everyone in the solar system we occupy thought that Laettner should have been tossed right then and there. We Duke fans have seen that game enough times to know that just a few possessions before, Timberlake gave an all-out push to Laettner, sending him face-first into the basket stanchion.
While this almost broke Laettner’s neck, not a single whistle was heard in the gym. Given this information, a little love-step doesn’t seem so bad, even if it is still out of line.
What followed, though, was gold. Kentucky tied it up and sent the game to overtime. Duke had a 102-101 lead with 7.8 seconds left when Sean Woods hit a beautiful runner from the lane to give the Wildcats the lead.
You know the rest. K calls timeout. Kentucky doesn’t guard Grant Hill’s inbound pass or front Laettner, and Hill chucks it 79 feet to Laettner, who hits the most famous shot in basketball history to send Duke to the Final Four.
On a fun side note, before we move on to No. 1, Christian Laettner had a superhuman game. He scored 31 points on 10-for-10 shooting from the field and 9-for-9 from the foul line (that’s right, he didn’t miss a shot).
1. 1991 National Semifinal vs. UNLV
Let me explain here. This one’s about context, importance, and difficulty of the win itself. The Blue Devils showed the most heart and fight of any game I’ve ever had the privilege of watching them play.
Their opponent for the 1991 Final Four battle that night was none other than the famed Runnin’ Rebels of UNLV. If you haven’t ever seen that team play, you’re selling yourself extremely short. They were an absolute machine, laying waste to everyone and everything in their path.
The Rebels were undefeated that season and in the midst of a 45-game winning streak dating back to the previous season. During the course of that streak, they dealt Duke the most soul-crushing defeat I’ve ever witnessed in the 1990 National Championship Game. Following the 103-73 dismantling, Duke basketball players were reportedly crying in the locker room, and many wondered if the program would ever recover and win a banner.
The 1991 revenge game against UNLV was the most important game in Duke basketball history, not to mention a classic. Duke hung tough, went into halftime only down two, and continued that solid play in the second half.
UNLV was led by an amazing core of Anderson Hunt, Greg Anthony (yeah, that’s Cole Anthony‘s dad, funny how history repeats itself), Larry Johnson (purple dude from Space Jam), and Stacey Augmon. They were cultural icons and in many ways just as responsible as Michigan’s “Fab Five” for bringing hip-hop culture and basketball together.
Both teams had heroic performances as Bobby Hurley showed the fire and stone-cold shooting that turned him into a Duke basketball legend. UNLV guards Anthony and Hunt were both banged up but provided gutty showings. Anthony fouled out with 3:51 remaining, giving the Rebels their first real dose of fear in two years.
Duke went on a 6-0 run and pulled ahead, 77-76, and after Larry Johnson hit a free throw to tie the game, Christian Laettner grabbed a Thomas Hill miss and got fouled with 12.7 seconds left. Laettner calmly knocked down the pair of freebies, and UNLV’s last-second heave missed, sending Duke to the title game and what would eventually become the program’s first NCAA Championship.
Without this game, the 1992 Kentucky game may have never happened. Duke would have either been too shell-shocked from two straight chokes to UNLV or too focused to let the scrappy 1992 Wildcats team hang around them. Either way, it marked the beginning of the Duke basketball dynasty and introduced Duke as the premier program in college basketball.
And just like the spring season that begins life on earth anew, the 1991 team sprang anew a lifelong obsession for this and so many other Duke basketball fans.
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