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 athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

. 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 is widely regarded as one of the best in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) hi ...

and

Grant Hill Grant Henry Hill (born October 5, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player who is a co-owner and executive of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended Duke University and is widely considere ...

, 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. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

'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 intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...

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 Greg Koubek (born March 15, 1969) is an American retired basketball player best known for his collegiate career at Duke University between 1987 and 1991. He also played professionally overseas after college for several years. Early life A nativ ...

to graduation, Duke retained its core players including Laettner,

Bobby Hurley Robert Matthew 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 men's basketball, Arizona State Sun Devils. He was previously the head coach a ...

, 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 playe ...

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 state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

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 state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

coached by

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (born September 18, 1952) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach for Iona College. He was also the head coach of Greece's senior national team. He has been the head coach of several teams in NCAA D ...

. 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 trey) 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 po ...

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

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

team led by

Calbert Cheaney Calbert Nathaniel Cheaney (born July 17, 1971) is an American basketball coach and former player who serves as assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He starred as a player for the Indiana Hoosiers fro ...

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

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

's Fab Five, led by freshmen

Chris Webber Mayce Edward Christopher Webber III (born March 1, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player. Drafted number one overall by the Orlando Magic, though arguably best known and remembered as the star forward for the Sacramento King ...

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 Wolverines' " Fab Five" (along with Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy K ...

Juwan Howard Juwan Antonio Howard (born February 7, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach of the Michigan Wolverines men's team. A one-time All-Star and one-time All-NBA power forward, he began his NBA career ...

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 Ja ...

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 At the conclusion of the NCAA men's and women's Division I basketball championships (the "Final Four" tournaments), a media panel selects a Most Outstanding Player (MOP). It is usually awarded to a member of the championship team. There have been ...

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 outstanding men's college basketball player by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). The trophy is considered to be the oldest of its kind and has been given out since 195 ...

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 program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the Legends of Coaching award, and recognizing the ...

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 the ...

Adolph Rupp Trophy The Adolph F. Rupp Trophy was an award given annually to the top player in men's Division I NCAA basketball until 2015. The recipient of the award was selected by an independent panel consisting of national sportswriters, coaches, and sports admi ...

*Christian Laettner was a unanimous First Team All-American 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 Naismith College Coach of the Year Award is an award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to one men's and one women's NCAA Division I collegiate coach each season since 1987. The award was originally given to the two winning coaches of the NCAA Divis ...

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 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 National Collegiate Athletic Associatio ...

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 royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...