The 1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game was the final game of the

1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 17, 1994, and ended with the champ ...

. It determined the national champion for the

1993–94 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 1993–94 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1993 and concluded in the 64-team 1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, whose finals were held at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte, ...

and was contested by the

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 ...

from 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 ...

(ACC) and the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...

from the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC). The game was played on April 4, 1994, at

Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte Coliseum was a multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was operated by the Charlotte Coliseum Authority, which also oversees the operation of Bojangles Coliseum, which was called Charlotte ...

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. Arkansas defeated Duke 76–72 to win their first national championship in program history, denying the ACC a fourth straight title.

Participants

Duke Blue Devils

The Duke Blue Devils represented

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

, and were led by head coach

Mike Krzyzewski Michael William Krzyzewski ( , ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980–81 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team, 1980 to 2021� ...

in his fourteenth season. They were ranked No. 4 in the preseason AP Poll and No. 3 in the preseason

Coaches Poll In the United States, the Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. The football version of the poll has ...

. *Southeast **(2) Duke 82, (15) Texas Southern 70 **(2) Duke 85, (7) Michigan State 74 **(2) Duke 59, (6) Marquette 49 **(2) Duke 69, (1) Purdue 60 *Final Four **(SE2) Duke 70, (E3) Florida 65

Arkansas Razorbacks

The Arkansas Razorbacks, representing the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, Arkansas, Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city ...

, were led by head coach

Nolan Richardson Nolan Richardson Jr. (born December 27, 1941) is an American former basketball head coach best known for his tenure at the Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball, University of Arkansas, where he won the 1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tourn ...

in his ninth season. The team entered the season ranked No. 3 in the preseason AP Poll and No. 3 in the preseason Coaches Poll. *Midwest **(1) Arkansas 94, (16) North Carolina A&T 79 **(1) Arkansas 85, (9) Georgetown 73 **(1) Arkansas 103, (12) Tulsa 84 **(1) Arkansas 76, (3) Michigan 68 *Final Four **(MW1) Arkansas 91, (W2) Arizona 82

Starting lineups

Game summary

Source: Duke's Grant Hill made a 3-pointer to tie the game at 70 with 1:30 left. After an Arkansas timeout, Scotty Thurman hit a 3-pointer over Antonio Lang as the 35-second shot clock expired, giving the Razorbacks a 73–70 lead with 50.7 seconds remaining. Chris Collins missed a 3 that would have tied the score. Clint McDaniel rebounded for Arkansas and was fouled with 28.4 seconds left. He made one of two free throws to put Arkansas up by four, 74–70. Collins missed a floater in the lane. Corey Beck rebounded and was fouled. Beck missed the first free throw and made the second for a 75–70 Razorbacks lead with 17.2 seconds left. Jeff Capel's 3-point attempt missed, but Cherokee Parks got the offensive rebound and scored on the putback to bring the Blue Devils within three, 75–72, with 10.2 seconds left. McDaniel was fouled with 9 seconds left, and he hit one of two free throws to seal the national championship for Arkansas with a 76–72 victory over Duke.

References

{{1994 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball navbox NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game NCAA Division I men's basketball championship games Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball Duke Blue Devils men's basketball College basketball tournaments in North Carolina NCAA Division I Basketball Championship Game, 1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game NCAA Division I Basketball Championship Game