| 1990–91 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball | |||
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| National Champions, ACC Regular Season Champions |
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| NCAA National Championship Game vs. Kansas, W, 72–65 |
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| Conference | Atlantic Coast Conference | ||
| Ranking | |||
| AP | #6 | ||
| 1990–91 record | 32–7 (11–3 ACC) | ||
| Head coach | Mike Krzyzewski | ||
| Assistant coach | Mike Brey | ||
| Assistant coach | Tommy Amaker | ||
| Assistant coach | Jay Bilas | ||
| Home arena | Cameron Indoor Stadium | ||
Seasons
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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.
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Roster [edit]
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Expectations [edit]
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 [edit]
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 a 11–3 conference record, Duke also captured their 9th regular-season championship in school history.
Conference Tournament [edit]
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 [edit]
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 semifinals 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.[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 (now head coach at North Carolina) 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 [edit]
| Date | Time | Opponent# | Rank# | Site | TV | Result | Record | ||||
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| November 14, 1990* | Marquette | #6 | Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC (Preseason NIT) |
W 87–74 | 1–0 | ||||||
| November 16, 1990* | Boston College | #6 | Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC (Preseason NIT) |
W 100–76 | 2–0 | ||||||
| November 21, 1990* | vs. #2 Arkansas | #6 | Madison Square Garden • New York, NY (Preseason NIT) |
L 88–98 | 2–1 | ||||||
| November 23, 1990* | vs. Notre Dame | #6 | Madison Square Garden • New York, NY (Preseason NIT) |
W 85–77 | 3–1 | ||||||
| November 26, 1990* | 7:30 PM | East Carolina | #6 | Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC | W 125–82 | 4–1 | |||||
| December 1, 1990* | 7:30 PM | Charlotte | #8 | Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC | W 111–94 | 5–1 | |||||
| December 5, 1990* | 9:00 PM | at #6 Georgetown | #5 | Capital Center • Landover, Maryland (ACC/Big East Challenge) |
L 74–79 | 5–2 | |||||
| December 8, 1990* | 2:00 PM | Michigan | #5 | Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC | W 75–68 | 6–2 | |||||
| December 19, 1990* | 7:30 PM | at Harvard | #9 | Briggs Athletic Center • Cambridge, MA | W 83–66 | 7–2 | |||||
| December 22, 1990* | 3:45 PM | at #11 Oklahoma | #9 | Lloyd Noble Center • Norman, OK | W 90–85 | 8–2 | |||||
| December 29, 1990* | 7:30 PM | Lehigh | #8 | Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC | W 97–67 | 9–2 | |||||
| January 2, 1991* | 7:30 PM | Boston University | #8 | Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC | W 109–55 | 10–2 | |||||
| January 5, 1991 | 12:30 PM | at #18 Virginia | #8 | University Hall • Charlottesville, VA | L 64–81 | 10–3 | |||||
| January 9, 1991 | 9:00 PM | #24 Georgia Tech | #14 | Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC | W 98–57 | 11–3 | |||||
| January 12, 1991 | 1:00 PM | at Maryland | #14 | Cole Field House • College Park, MD | W 94–78 | 12–3 | |||||
| January 14, 1991 | 9:00 PM | Wake Forest | #14 | Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC | W 89–67 | 13–3 | |||||
| January 16, 1991* | 7:30 PM | at The Citadel | #12 | McAlister Field House • Charleston, SC | W 83–50 | 14–3 | |||||
| January 19, 1991 | 8:00 PM | #5 North Carolina | #12 | Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC | W 74–60 | 15–3 | |||||
| January 23, 1991 | 7:00 PM | at NC State | #9 | Reynolds Coliseum • Raleigh, NC | L 89–95 | 15–4 | |||||
| January 26, 1991 | 4:00 PM | at Clemson | #9 | Littlejohn Coliseum • Clemson, SC | W 99–70 | 16–4 | |||||
| January 30, 1991 | 9:00 PM | at #23 Georgia Tech | #7 | Alexander Memorial Coliseum • Atlanta, GA | W 77–75 | 17–4 | |||||
| February 2, 1991* | 4:00 PM | at Notre Dame | #7 | Joyce Center • Notre Dame, IN | W 90–77 | 18–4 | |||||
| February 7, 1991 | 9:00 PM | #11 Virginia | #6 | Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC | W 86–74 | 19–4 | |||||
| February 9, 1991 | 1:00 PM | Maryland | #6 | Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC | W 101–81 | 20–4 | |||||
| February 10, 1991* | 2:00 PM | #19 LSU | #6 | Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC | W 88–70 | 21–4 | |||||
| February 13, 1991* | Davidson | #5 | Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC | W 74–39 | 22–4 | ||||||
| February 16, 1991 | 4:00 PM | at Wake Forest | #5 | Lawrence Joel Coliseum • Winston-Salem, NC | L 77–86 | 22–5 | |||||
| February 20, 1991 | 9:00 PM | vs. NC State | #7 | Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC | W 72–65 | 23–5 | |||||
| February 24, 1991* | 4:00 PM | at #9 Arizona | #7 | McKale Center • Tucson, AZ | L 96–103 2OT | 23–6 | |||||
| February 27, 1991 | 9:00 PM | Clemson | #8 | Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC | W 79–62 | 24–6 | |||||
| March 3, 1991 | 2:00 PM | at #4 North Carolina | #8 | Dean Smith Center • Chapel Hill, NC | W 83–77 | 25–6 | |||||
| March 9, 1991 | vs. NC State | #6 | Charlotte Coliseum • Charlotte, NC (ACC Tournament Semifinals) |
W 93–72 | 26–6 | ||||||
| March 10, 1991 | vs. #7 North Carolina | #6 | Charlotte Coliseum • Charlotte, NC (ACC Tournament Finals) |
L 74–96 | 26–7 | ||||||
| March 14, 1991* | vs. Louisiana-Monroe | #6 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome • Minneapolis, MN (NCAA Midwest First Round) |
CBS | W 102–73 | 27–7 | |||||
| March 16, 1991* | vs. Iowa | #6 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome • Minneapolis, MN (NCAA Midwest Second Round) |
CBS | W 85–70 | 28–7 | |||||
| March 22, 1991* | vs. Connecticut | #6 | Pontiac Silverdome • Pontiac, MI (NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinal) |
CBS | W 81–67 | 29–7 | |||||
| March 24, 1991* | vs. #20 St. John's | #6 | Pontiac Silverdome • Pontiac, MI (NCAA Midwest Regional Final) |
CBS | W 78–61 | 30–7 | |||||
| March 30, 1991* | vs. #1 UNLV | #6 | RCA Dome • Indianapolis, IN (NCAA National Semifinal) |
CBS | W 79–77 | 31–7 | |||||
| April 1, 1991* | vs. #12 Kansas | #6 | RCA Dome • Indianapolis, IN (NCAA National Championship) |
CBS | W 72–65 | 32–7 | |||||
| *Non-conference game. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll. | |||||||||||
Accomplishments [edit]
- 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 [edit]
External links [edit]
- Duke Blue Devils Basketball Statistical Database
- Coach K's 1991 Blue Devils win championship
- Crowning Moments in the Queen City: National Champions Not Always ACC Champions (1991–1993)
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