1991 Duke vs. UNLV
Re-watch #1 - The Duke Basketball Project
Duke vs. UNLV
1991 Final Four - National Semifinal
Hoosier Dome - Indianapolis, IN
March 30, 1991
Where I was
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to watch this game live when it happened. The 1991 Final Four took place a couple of months before my 7th birthday and with this game being the second one of the evening, I’m sure any protests I made to stay up past my bedtime were unsuccessful, as they often were. This game did cause my dad and I to devise a system for the next season where I could know the result of any late games immediately upon waking up in the morning, but I’ll share that story another time.
Why this game
In reference to this game, I once heard author Gene Wojciehowski say “Duke became Duke that day.” That always stuck with me and as I begin the journey of re-watching Duke games throughout Coach K’s career, this one felt like an awesome place to start. As a kid, we owned a VHS from Sports Illustrated entitled "The Year in Sports 1991." I would come home from school and watch the segment on the college basketball season over and over, perhaps making up for the fact that I was not allowed to watch the game live. I was already a Duke fan, and remember watching games prior to this one, but this is the game that Duke became Duke for me as well.
Storylines
The storylines coming into the game were pretty obvious, even to a six year old. UNLV was undefeated on the year and had won 45 straight games, not to mention they were the defending National Champions after beating Duke by 30 points in the 1990 title game. Re-watching the game over the years, this becomes more and more amazing to me. I have no context for UCLA’s 88 straight victories in the early 70’s but 45 in a row at that time is unthinkable to me.
Duke was playing in their 4th consecutive Final Four, and 5th in 6 years, but had yet to win a National Championship. While I don’t recall this at the time, history says that sports media was questioning whether Coach K could “win the big one.” I think we found out the answer to that one.
The Teams
UNLV, coached by Jerry Tarkanian, used the following starting lineup: Greg Anthony, Anderson Hunt, Stacey Augmon, Larry Johnson, and George Ackles. Eyric Gray and Elmore Spencer came off the bench.
Mike Krzyzewski’s Blue Devils started Bobby Hurley, Thomas Hill, Grant Hill, Greg Koubek, and Christian Laettner. Their main subs were Brian Davis and Billy McCaffrey, with Crawford Palmer and Antonio Lang also logging minutes.
The Game
1st Half 20:00 - Duke 0 UNLV 0
Grant Hill and Laettner had an impact early, helping set the tone and providing some confidence that Duke could play a much better game than the year before. Hill scored off the opening tip, while he and Laettner started a combined 6-7 from the field, scoring all of Duke’s 15 points to take an early lead.
1st Half 15:10 - Duke 15 UNLV 8
Out of the first TV timeout, UNLV showed its first glimpse of their “amoeba” zone defense, which slowed down Duke’s motion offense and created some turnovers. Brian Davis attacked the zone off a skip pass, converting the layup and a free throw for a 3 point play. UNLV continued to pound the offensive glass for 12 second chance points, responding to Duke’s fast start and tying the game at 18.
1st Half 11:47 - Duke 18 UNLV 18
Duke was able to adjust to the amoeba, using Laettner to find gaps in the zone at both the free throw line and short corner. Billy Packer and Jim Nantz noted that Larry Johnson and Stacey Augmon had become just the fifth teammates to both be named 1st Team AP All-Americans. Duke would go on to have teammates named to the AP 1st Team three times in the future. Can you name them? See trivia answer below. A steal by Grant Hill led to a run out by Hurley, who dished it back to Hill with a behind the head pass for a dunk.
1st Half 6:36 - Duke 30 UNLV 29
Duke showed a zone defense of their own out of the TV timeout, I think designed to help rest a few guys who wouldn’t come out of the game and hopefully prevent foul trouble going into halftime. For UNLV, George Ackles picked up his 3rd foul as he was being boxed out - foul trouble would plague the Runnin’ Rebels later in the game as well. The Hunt/Anthony backcourt for UNLV was so explosive, with each guy hitting a 3 on back to back possessions to tie the game at 37.
1st Half 3:48 - Duke 37 UNLV 37
Greg Anthony really asserted himself to close the half, pushing the tempo, dishing out assists, and even had a layup taken away for offensive goaltending. Anthony’s driving bucket at the end of the half gave UNLV the lead at the break.
2nd Half 20:00 - Duke 41 UNLV 43
Duke took the lead briefly on a Thomas Hill jumper off the glass, but Anderson Hunt answered immediately with a 3 in transition to take the lead back for UNLV. Jim Nantz pointed out that UNLV had only trailed twice in the second half all season, for a total of just 1 minute 20 seconds in over 11 hours of game time. With UNLV ahead by 3, Duke faced a key moment before the first TV timeout of the half. Another basket or two would give UNLV a multiple possession margin - a lot for a championship team of that caliber. However, Grant Hill and Bobby Hurley would convert consecutive 3-point plays to take the lead back. Hunt answered again with a 3 to tie the game for the 9th time, to go along with 15 lead changes so far. We’re on our way to a classic….
2nd Half 15:24 - Duke 53 UNLV 53
Anderson Hunt continued to dazzle, scoring the first 11 points for UNLV, while Nantz noted that Bobby Hurley had yet to come out of the game as it reached the 14 minute mark in the second half. He wouldn’t come out of the game at all, finishing with 7 assists and one big shot still to come. I love how Duke continued to push the tempo on offense when the opportunity presented itself and when Hurley fed Laettner for a reverse layup in transition, Duke now had a 4 point lead. Teams obviously didn’t want to get into a running match with Vegas but capitalizing on transition opportunities allowed Duke to get some buckets without going against the size and athleticism of UNLV’s half-court defense.
2nd Half 11:49 - Duke 62 UNLV 59
Greg Koubek, Duke’s only senior in the rotation, hit his first bucket of the game and the broadcast noted that he had become the first player ever to appear in four Final Fours. Obviously some of the UCLA players like Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton would have completed this feat had freshmen been eligible to play varsity during the John Wooden era. Side Note: UCLA did not go to the Final Four in Alcindor’s freshman year (1966) but I bet they would have had he been eligible! Laettner would go on the following year to become the first player to ever be a starter in four Final Fours. Johnson and Augmon each got their first points of the second half and the game had its 20th lead change.
2nd Half 7:25 - Duke 67 UNLV 68
With Anthony and Ackles in foul trouble with 4 each, UNLV continued to use its zone. Brian Davis came up with three big plays down the stretch, first with a drive through the zone and later receiving a feed from Koubek for the dunk. Davis would save his best for last. Perhaps the key play of the game to this point came when Greg Anthony fouled out on a charging call to take the game to its last TV timeout. The outcome of the game may not have changed but no doubt UNLV would have rather played the last 4 minutes with their senior guard on the floor.
2nd Half 3:51 - Duke 71 UNLV 74
The offensive glass continued to power UNLV as George Ackles tipped in his own miss to give UNLV a 5 point lead, its largest lead of the game.
2nd Half 2:22 - Duke 71 UNLV 76
Duke responded with one of the biggest shots in program history as Hurley rose up and drilled a 3-pointer before Coach K could call out what he wanted - Hurley shot it the same way played throughout his career, fearlessly, keeping Duke in contact with the defending champs.
2nd Half 2:12 - Duke 74 UNLV 76
With Duke’s man defense locked in, UNLV was unable to generate a quality look and Laettner’s deflection allowed UNLV to take the ball out underneath their goal with 5 seconds left on the 45 second shot clock. Duke held strong, forcing a shot clock violation to build on the momentum of Hurley’s 3. Grant Hill drove down the left lane and dished to Brian Davis on the baseline. Davis went up between Ackles and Johnson, laying it in as he was fouled. He made the free throw. Duke is back in front.
2nd Half 1:02 - Duke 77 UNLV 76
UNLV went to work quickly. A miss by Augmon was rebounded by Larry Johnson and he was fouled going back up. Johnson, an 82% free throw shooter, missed both foul shots but Thomas Hill was called for a lane violation on the second. If you remember LJ at the line, he had a hitch at the top right before his release - Hill stepped in the lane early and Johnson made the third free throw to tie the score.
2nd Half 0:49 - Duke 77 UNLV 77
With a 4 second difference between the shot and game clock, Duke ran some time before Thomas Hill drove from the left wing. His jumper went in and out but the miss was tipped and kept alive by Grant Hill, allowing Laettner to secure the offensive rebound and be fouled on his way back up with 12.7 seconds remaining. Duke finally had a key offensive rebound of their own. UNLV called timeout. Laettner was 7-9 from the line for the game and a 79% free throw shooter on the year. He swished them both - nobody was more clutch than Laettner.
2nd Half 0:12.7 - Duke 79 UNLV 77
Larry Johnson brought the ball all the way up the court, was stopped on the outside by Laettner and passed it back to Anderson Hunt. Hunt launched a 3 from the top with Hurley on him and Laettner coming off Johnson to help challenge the shot. It banked off the glass, off the rim and into the arms of Hurley as Nantz let us know that “Duke has done it, Duke has upset UNLV!”
From the Box Score
For UNLV, Anderson Hunt finished the game with 29 points and Anthony pitched in 19 before fouling out. I said it earlier but their backcourt was explosive, to say the least. Laettner countered with 28 points of his own, better than the 26 points combined for the UNLV frontcourt of Johnson, Augmon, and Ackles. Duke was crushed on the offensive glass, giving up 17 offensive rebounds, but shared the ball well for 21 assists on 29 made field goals.
Postgame Notes
Duke would go on to win the program’s first national championship two nights later, beating Kansas 72-65. I’ll obviously revisit that game as part of The Duke Basketball Project.
Trivia Answer
R.J. Barrett & Zion Williamson (2019), J.J. Redick & Shelden Williams (2006), and Shane Battier & Jason Williams (2001)
Thanks for reading, Go Duke!
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