1990–91 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team

The 1990–91 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team was a Division I college basketball team that competed in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The team brought to Duke their first national championship when they defeated Kansas 72–65. Duke would win the championship again the following year, making Duke the first team since UCLA in 1973 to win back-to-back titles.

1990–91 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball
NCAA tournament National Champions
ACC regular season champions
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 6
APNo. 6
Record32–7 (11–3 ACC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaCameron Indoor Stadium
Seasons
1990–91 ACC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 6 Duke 11 3   .786 32 7   .821
No. 4 North Carolina 10 4   .714 29 6   .829
Wake Forest 8 6   .571 19 11   .633
NC State 8 6   .571 20 11   .645
Georgia Tech 6 8   .429 17 13   .567
Virginia 6 8   .429 21 12   .636
Maryland 5 9   .357 16 12   .571
Clemson 2 12   .143 11 17   .393
1991 ACC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Roster

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Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

No. Position Player
3   G Marty Clark
4   G Kenny Blakeney
5   G Billy McCaffrey
11   G Bobby Hurley
12   F/G Thomas Hill
21   F Antonio Lang
22   F Greg Koubek
No. Position Player
23   G/F Brian Davis
32   F/C Christian Laettner
33   F/G Grant Hill
34   C Crawford Palmer
45   F/C Clay Buckley
54   F Christian Ast

Expectations

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The Blue Devils had ended the 1990 season with a record-setting 30-point loss to the UNLV Runnin' Rebels in the national championship game (103–73). After losing seniors Phil Henderson, Alaa Abdelnaby, and Robert Brickey to graduation, Duke welcomed a new addition to the team, freshman Grant Hill.

Regular season

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With junior Christian Laettner and sophomore Bobby Hurley leading the way, Duke placed third at the Preseason NIT (behind Arizona and Arkansas). The Blue Devils went on to compile a 25–6 regular season record, including a perfect 16–0 mark at home. Scoring victories in both rivalry matches against North Carolina and sporting an 11–3 conference record, Duke also captured their 9th regular-season championship in school history.

Conference tournament

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Duke entered the ACC tournament as a No. 1 seed, but stumbled in the ACC title game against North Carolina by a score of 96–74, even though the Blue Devils had defeated the Tar Heels twice during the regular season. As a result, North Carolina received the top seed in the East Regional, leaving Duke with a No. 2 seed in the Midwest Regional of the NCAA tournament.

NCAA tournament

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Duke however tore through the Midwest Regional, defeating St. John's to join UNLV, Kansas, and rival North Carolina in the Final Four in Indianapolis. Entering the semifinal game against UNLV, the Blue Devils were facing an undefeated and top-ranked Runnin' Rebels squad that boasted a 45-game winning streak and featured National Player of the Year Larry Johnson. In one of the biggest upsets in Final Four history, however, Duke got its revenge from a year ago by a score of 79–77 after Laettner hit two free throws with 12 seconds remaining and UNLV guard Anderson Hunt missed a three-point attempt at the end-of-game buzzer.[1][2]

An all-ACC, Duke vs. UNC title game was averted when Roy Williams coached his Kansas Jayhawks team to victory over his mentor Dean Smith and his Tar Heels squad. In what would become the first of many matchups between Williams (later head coach at North Carolina until his retirement in 2021) and Mike Krzyzewski, Duke finally claimed its first national championship by a score of 72–65. Laettner was named NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player.

Schedule

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
November 14, 1990*
No. 6 Marquette
Preseason NIT
W 87–74  1–0
Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
November 16, 1990*
No. 6 Boston College
Preseason NIT
W 100–76  2–0
Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
November 21, 1990*
 ESPN
No. 6 vs. No. 2 Arkansas
Preseason NIT
L 88–98  2–1
Madison Square Garden 
New York, NY
November 23, 1990*
 ESPN
No. 6 vs. Notre Dame
Preseason NIT
W 85–77  3–1
Madison Square Garden 
New York, NY
November 26, 1990*
7:30 pm
No. 6 East Carolina W 125–82  4–1
Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
December 1, 1990*
7:30 pm
No. 8 Charlotte W 111–94  5–1
Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
December 5, 1990*
9:00 pm, ESPN
No. 5 at No. 6 Georgetown
ACC/Big East Challenge
L 74–79  5–2
Capital Center 
Landover, Maryland
December 8, 1990*
2:00 pm, ABC
No. 5 Michigan W 75–68  6–2
Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
December 19, 1990*
7:30 pm
No. 9 at Harvard W 83–66  7–2
Briggs Athletic Center 
Cambridge, MA
December 22, 1990*
3:45 pm, CBS
No. 9 at No. 11 Oklahoma W 90–85  8–2
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, OK
December 29, 1990*
7:30 pm
No. 8 Lehigh W 97–67  9–2
Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
January 2, 1991*
7:30 pm
No. 8 Boston University W 109–55  10–2
Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
January 5, 1991
12:30 pm
No. 8 at No. 18 Virginia L 64–81  10–3
(0–1)
University Hall 
Charlottesville, VA
January 9, 1991
9:00 pm
No. 14 No. 24 Georgia Tech W 98–57  11–3
(1–1)
Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
January 12, 1991
1:00 pm
No. 14 at Maryland W 94–78  12–3
(2–1)
Cole Field House 
College Park, MD
January 14, 1991
9:00 pm
No. 14 Wake Forest W 89–67  13–3
(3–1)
Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
January 16, 1991*
7:30 pm
No. 12 at The Citadel W 83–50  14–3
McAlister Field House 
Charleston, SC
January 19, 1991
8:00 pm
No. 12 No. 5 North Carolina W 74–60  15–3
(4–1)
Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
January 23, 1991
7:00 pm
No. 9 at NC State L 89–95  15–4
(4–2)
Reynolds Coliseum 
Raleigh, NC
January 26, 1991
4:00 pm
No. 9 at Clemson W 99–70  16–4
(5–2)
Littlejohn Coliseum 
Clemson, SC
January 30, 1991
9:00 pm
No. 7 at No. 23 Georgia Tech W 77–75  17–4
(6–2)
Alexander Memorial Coliseum 
Atlanta, GA
February 2, 1991*
4:00 pm
No. 7 at Notre Dame W 90–77  18–4
Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, IN
February 7, 1991
9:00 pm
No. 6 No. 11 Virginia W 86–74  19–4
(7–2)
Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
February 9, 1991
1:00 pm
No. 6 Maryland W 101–81  20–4
(8–2)
Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
February 10, 1991*
2:00 pm
No. 6 No. 19 LSU W 88–70  21–4
Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
February 13, 1991*
No. 5 Davidson W 74–39  22–4
Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
February 16, 1991
4:00 pm
No. 5 at Wake Forest L 77–86  22–5
(8–3)
Lawrence Joel Coliseum 
Winston-Salem, NC
February 20, 1991
9:00 pm
No. 7 vs. NC State W 72–65  23–5
(9–3)
Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
February 24, 1991*
4:00 pm
No. 7 at No. 9 Arizona L 96–103 2OT 23–6
McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
February 27, 1991
9:00 pm
No. 8 Clemson W 79–62  24–6
(10–3)
Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
March 3, 1991
2:00 pm
No. 8 at No. 4 North Carolina W 83–77  25–6
(11–3)
Dean Smith Center 
Chapel Hill, NC
ACC Tournament
March 9, 1991
No. 6 vs. NC State
ACC tournament semifinals
W 93–72  26–6
Charlotte Coliseum 
Charlotte, NC
March 10, 1991
 Raycom (Locally)
CBS (Nationally)
No. 6 vs. No. 7 North Carolina
ACC Tournament Finals
L 74–96  26–7
Charlotte Coliseum 
Charlotte, NC
NCAA Tournament
March 14, 1991*
 CBS
(2 MW) No. 6 vs. (15 MW) Northeast Louisiana
NCAA Midwest First round
W 102–73  27–7
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 
Minneapolis, MN
March 16, 1991*
 CBS
(2 MW) No. 6 vs. (7 MW) Iowa
NCAA Midwest Second Round
W 85–70  28–7
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 
Minneapolis, MN
March 22, 1991*
 CBS
(2 MW) No. 6 vs. (11 MW) Connecticut
NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal
W 81–67  29–7
Pontiac Silverdome 
Pontiac, MI
March 24, 1991*
 CBS
(2 MW) No. 6 vs. (4 MW) No. 20 St. John's
NCAA Midwest Regional Final
W 78–61  30–7
Pontiac Silverdome 
Pontiac, MI
March 30, 1991*
 CBS
(2 MW) No. 6 vs. (1 W) No. 1 UNLV
NCAA National semifinal
W 79–77  31–7
RCA Dome 
Indianapolis, IN
April 1, 1991*
21:00, CBS
(2 MW) No. 6 vs. (3 SE) No. 12 Kansas
NCAA national championship
W 72–65  32–7
RCA Dome 
Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Accomplishments

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  • 1st basketball championship after 4 previous appearances in title game (1964, 1978, 1986, 1990)
  • 2nd straight appearance in national championship game (1990, 1991)
  • 4th straight appearance in Final Four (1988–1991)
  • Christian Laettner was a consensus All-American Second Team selection.[3]
  • Three players received All-ACC honors:
    • Christian Laettner (1st Team)
    • Bobby Hurley, Thomas Hill (3rd Team)
  • Three players from the 1991 squad (Laettner, Hurley, and Grant Hill) had their jerseys retired by Duke.

References

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  1. ^ "TSN's Greatest NCAA Tournament Upsets: No. 4". Archived from the original on March 31, 2008. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  2. ^ E-Ticket: Almost Immortal
  3. ^ NCAA.org: 2008 Men’s Basketball Records Book Archived 2008-06-25 at the Wayback Machine
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