The 1991–92 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team was a Division I college basketball team that competed in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

. Led by All-American

Christian Laettner Christian Donald Laettner (, ; born August 17, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. His college career for the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball, Duke Blue Devils is widely regarded as one of the best in National Collegi ...

and

Grant Hill Grant Henry Hill (born October 5, 1972) is an American professional basketball executive and former player who is a co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and a part-owner of Orlando City SC of Major League ...

, Duke won its 2nd national championship in as many years to become the first repeating team since

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

's seven-year dynasty from 1967 to 1973. The feat would not be accomplished again in college basketball until the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

did it in 2007.

Roster

Expectations

The Blue Devils started the season as the defending National Champions, and were looking to repeat as National Champions for the first time since

did it in 1973. Losing only Greg Koubek and Clay Buckley to graduation along with outgoing transfers

Billy McCaffrey Billy McCaffrey (born May 30, 1971) is an American former basketball player. He is also the former interim head coach at St. Bonaventure University. Basketball career McCaffrey attended Allentown Central Catholic High School in Allentown, Penns ...

and Crawford Palmer, Duke retained its core players including Laettner,

Bobby Hurley Robert Hurley (born June 28, 1971) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils. He was previously the head coach at the University at Buffalo. As a college senior, ...

, and

and was able to add recruits

Cherokee Parks Cherokee Bryan Parks (born October 11, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. He played nine seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A 6 ft 11 in (211 cm), 240 lb (109 kg) center, Parks p ...

and Erik Meek to its lineup.

Regular season

The Blue Devils started the season ranked No. 1 and won its first 17 games. Their unbeaten streak came to an end when they lost a close contest to

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

in the Dean Dome by a score of 75–73. However, Duke would only lose another game (to Wake Forest 72–68) for the rest of the season and finished the season with a 25–2 record and the 10th regular-season championship in school history.

Conference Tournament

Duke entered the ACC tournament as the No. 1 seed. They defeated North Carolina in the ACC title game 94–74 to capture their 9th ACC Tournament Championship in school history. As a result, the Blue Devils received a No. 1 seed in the East Regional of the NCAA tournament.

NCAA tournament

The Blue Devils had little trouble progressing through the first three rounds, but faced the toughest test of the season in the East Regional Final against sixth-ranked and No. 2 seed

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

coached by

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (; born September 18, 1952) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University (New York City), St. John's University. He was also the head coach of Greece national basketball t ...

. In perhaps the greatest college basketball game in history,

hit a buzzer-beating turnaround jumper on a long inbounds pass from

, and Duke got a 104–103 overtime win over Kentucky to earn its fifth straight Final Four appearance. Laettner scored 31 points in that game, making all 10 of his field goal attempts (including a

three-pointer A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or triple) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two p ...

) and all 10 of his free throws. After defeating an

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

team led by

Calbert Cheaney Calbert Nathaniel Cheaney (born July 17, 1971) is an American basketball coach and former player who serves as Director of player development for the Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball of the Big Ten. He starred as a player for the Indiana Hoosie ...

, Duke reached the title game for the third consecutive time to face off against

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

's Fab Five, led by freshmen

Chris Webber Mayce Edward Christopher Webber III (born March 1, 1973), nicknamed "C-Webb", is an American former professional basketball player. Webber played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), with the largest portion of his career sp ...

Jalen Rose Jalen Anthony Rose (born January 30, 1973) is an American sports analyst and former professional basketball player. In college, he was a member of the University of Michigan Michigan Wolverines, Wolverines' "Fab Five (University of Michigan), Fa ...

Juwan Howard Juwan Antonio Howard ( ; born February7, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously served as the head coach ...

Jimmy King Jimmy Hal King (born August 9, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player. King played in the NBA and other leagues. He is most famous for his time spent on the famed University of Michigan Wolverines Fab Five along with Ray J ...

and Ray Jackson. The Blue Devils ended the Fab Five's dream run in a 71–51 contest to become the first team since UCLA 19 years ago to repeat as National Champions. Bobby Hurley was named

NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player The Most Outstanding Player (MOP) is awarded to one player after the conclusion of the championship game of the NCAA Division I NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, men's and NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, women's basketb ...

Schedule

, - !colspan=9 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=8 style=, ACC Tournament , - !colspan=9 style=, NCAA tournament

Rankings

Accomplishments

*2nd straight national championship (1991–1992) *3rd straight appearance in national championship game (1990–1992) *5th straight appearance in Final Four (1988–1992) *Held AP No. 1 ranking from start to finish throughout season (18 polls) *Christian Laettner received several Player of the Year accolades in 1992: **NABC Player of the Year **AP National Player of the Year **

Oscar Robertson Trophy The Oscar Robertson Trophy is given out annually to the most outstanding NCAA Division I men's basketball player by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), first presented in 1958–59 NCAA University Division men's basketball season, 19 ...

Wooden Award The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The Wooden Award program consists of the men's and women's player of the year awards, the Legends of Coaching Award, and rec ...

Naismith Award Naismith Award is a basketball award named after James Naismith, and awarded by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. Naismith Awards include: * Naismith College Player of the Year (men's and women's; NCAA Division I basketball) * Naismith College Coach of th ...

Adolph Rupp Trophy The Adolph F. Rupp Trophy was an annual college basketball award given to the top player in men's NCAA Division I competition. It was awarded between 1972 and 2015. The recipient of the award was selected by an independent panel consisting of nat ...

*Christian Laettner was a unanimous First Team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

selection. NCAA.org: 2008 Men's Basketball Records Book
*Christian Laettner became the only player to start in four consecutive Final Fours. He also played in a record-setting 23 games in the NCAA Tournament. (To break this record, one would have to play in four consecutive ''championship'' games.) *Four players received All-ACC honors: **Christian Laettner (1st Team) **Grant Hill, Bobby Hurley (2nd Team) **Thomas Hill (3rd Team) *Three players from the 1992 squad (Laettner, Hurley, and Grant Hill) had their jerseys retired by Duke. *Mike Krzyzewski was named the

Naismith College Coach of the Year The Naismith College Coach of the Year Award (officially known for sponsorship reasons as the Werner Ladder Naismith College Coach of the Year) is an award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to one men's and one women's NCAA Division I collegiate c ...

*Christian Laettner was the only College Basketball Player on the

1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team The United States men's national basketball team, men's national basketball team of the United States at the 1992 Summer Olympics, United States competed at the Basketball at the 1992 Summer Olympics, 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, a ...

known as The Dream Team. *Mike Krzyzewski was also on The Dream Team Coaching Staff as an Assistant.

References

External links

Duke Blue Devils Basketball Statistical Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:1991-92 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team Duke Blue Devils men's basketball seasons

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the N ...

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship seasons NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...