As Duke-UNC tourney collisions go, 1991 remains the closest shave
Missed again.
Duke and North Carolina are among the most frequent visitors to the NCAA tournament, with a stunning 93 appearances between them, this March included. They played in 325 NCAA games, the equivalent of about 10 full regular seasons, amassed 240 victories, reached 36 Final Fours and won 11 championships – two each over the past 10 seasons.
Both schools have higher tournament winning percentages than any other programs in history. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and North Carolina’s Roy Williams have earned more NCAA tournament wins than any other coaches.
This year was the 35th the Tar Heels and Blue Devils made the same NCAA tournament field. By now, you’d think Duke and UNC would have crossed paths in NCAA competition, given all their visits and the penchant of tournament selection committees to engineer intriguingly perverse matchups -- think Minnesota and head coach Richard Pitino pitted in this year’s first round against Louisville, the school that fired his father.
Yet, somehow, the Triangle neighbors still haven’t met in the NCAAs. There was hope that, as the No. 1 seeds in the East and Midwest Regionals, their paths would cross in the 2019 national championship game in the ultimate, traffic-stopping battle for bragging rights.
Didn’t happen.
After this past weekend, when UNC was throttled by Auburn in the Sweet 16 and Duke fell to Michigan State in the Elite Eight, they’ll have to wait at least another year for the exquisite, long-delayed showdown.
The two programs were placed in the same regional only twice (1979, 2004), necessitating any meeting occur in a Final Four, presumably a fitting showcase for the rivalry. ACC teams have met nine times overall in NCAA play, most within the past five years, including Duke’s win over Virginia Tech last week.
ACC members did cross paths in three Final Fours. North Carolina defeated Virginia in the 1981 Final Four before falling to Indiana. Duke beat Maryland in the 2001 semifinals, rallying from a 22-point first-half deficit, then topped Arizona for the title. UNC beat 10th-seeded Syracuse in the 2016 semis, only to drop the championship contest to Villanova on a late 3-pointer.
The 1991 Final Four offered the first, best chance to date of a Tar Heel-Blue Devil meeting. But first UNC had to get past a Kansas squad coached by Williams, the first NCAA encounter between those schools since the 1957 final won by Frank McGuire’s undefeated Heels. Then second-seeded Duke faced unbeaten, top-seeded UNLV, winner of 45 straight games.
The dominant theme of the ’91 Final Four was UNLV’s prowess, personified by 6-foot-7, 255-pound national player of the year Larry Johnson and ratified by what remains the longest winning streak in college ball in the past 45 years.
“That’s their show – who can beat Vegas?” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said of coverage by CBS. “It’s like a mini-series.”
Dean Smith, taking a team to the Final Four for the first time in nine years and the eighth time overall, downplayed the Heels’ meeting with his alma mater. Much media chatter centered on his close master-pupil relationship with former assistant Williams, surprisingly hired three seasons earlier straight off the UNC bench. Whatever the press interest, Smith made sure to portray No. 1 seed Carolina’s matchup with the third-seed Jayhawks as the “preliminary game”.
Little was expected of the second semifinal, either. Jerry “The Shark” Tarkanian’s Runnin’ Rebels and their swarming defense had routed Duke by 30 points for the 1990 title. That remains the largest margin ever in an NCAA championship game. Afterward Duke freshman guard Bobby Hurley said he had nightmares about sharks. Asked how much time he wanted to prepare for UNLV, Krzyzewski said dryly, “I’d like about three years.”
If Duke and North Carolina had advanced to the NCAA championship contest, it would have been their fourth meeting of 1991. The Blue Devils, en route to their fourth consecutive Final Four, won both regular-season contests and finished first in the league. The teams also played in the ACC tournament; UNC handed Duke the largest margin of defeat ever in a title game.
“I was really impressed with this Duke team,” Smith said later. “I honestly thought it was the best Duke team in modern days. That’s what makes it so satisfying.”
During the final the emotional Devils boiled over: Krzyzewski got an early technical foul. Hurley and teammate Christian Laettner clashed verbally. Bad boy Laettner got in the face of an official and profanely cursed him out. And escaped punishment.
Come the Final Four, UNC senior starters Rick Fox, Pete Chilcutt and King Rice were 8 for 36 from the floor as Kansas won 79-73. Overshadowing KU’s achievement, with 35 seconds remaining official Pete Pavia shockingly ejected Smith. The coach claimed he was inquiring about a substitution when he left the coaching box and received a second, disqualifying technical foul. Smith later acknowledged he was also trying to ice a Kansas foul shooter.
The late game saw Duke hang with UNLV, often leading by small margins as Laettner had 20 first-half points. The Rebels, rarely challenged during the late going of regular-season games, came back to lead by five with 2:30 left. But Hurley quickly hit a momentum-shifting 3-pointer, a shot Krzyzewski later called the biggest of his coaching tenure, sparking an 8-1 closing Duke run. Laettner sealed the 79-77 upset by hitting a pair of free throws with 12 seconds remaining.
Duke led Kansas throughout the championship game, cruising to a 72-65 victory.
“I hope we do it again,” Krzyzewski said of capturing his first NCAA title. “I wonder when we will do it again.” The following season, it turned out.