1990–91 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team

1990–91 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball
1990–91 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball
NCAA tournament National Champions; ACC regular season champions
National Championship Game, ; W 72–65 vs. Kansas
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 6
AP	No. 6
Record	32–7 (11–3 ACC)
Head coach	Mike Krzyzewski (11th season);
Assistant coaches	Pete Gaudet ; Mike Brey ; Tommy Amaker ; Jay Bilas ;
Home arena	Cameron Indoor Stadium
	Seasons ← 1989–90 1991–92 →

Last updated May 10, 2025

1990–91 ACC men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 6 Duke	11	–	3	.786	32	–	7	.821
No. 4 North Carolina †	10	–	4	.714	29	–	6	.829
Wake Forest	8	–	6	.571	19	–	11	.633
NC State	8	–	6	.571	20	–	11	.645
Georgia Tech	6	–	8	.429	17	–	13	.567
Virginia	6	–	8	.429	21	–	12	.636
Maryland	5	–	9	.357	16	–	12	.571
Clemson	2	–	12	.143	11	–	17	.393

† 1991 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 1990–91 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team was a Division I college basketball team that competed in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The team brought to Duke their first national championship when they defeated Kansas 72–65. Duke would win the championship again the following year, making Duke the first team since UCLA in 1973 to win back-to-back titles.

Roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

No.	Position	Player
3	G	Marty Clark
4	G	Kenny Blakeney
5	G	Billy McCaffrey
11	G	Bobby Hurley
12	F/G	Thomas Hill
21	F	Antonio Lang
22	F	Greg Koubek

No.	Position	Player
23	G/F	Brian Davis
32	F/C	Christian Laettner
33	F/G	Grant Hill
34	C	Crawford Palmer
45	F/C	Clay Buckley
54	F	Christian Ast

Expectations

The Blue Devils had ended the 1990 season with a record-setting 30-point loss to the UNLV Runnin' Rebels in the national championship game (103–73). After losing seniors Phil Henderson, Alaa Abdelnaby, and Robert Brickey to graduation, Duke welcomed a new addition to the team, freshman Grant Hill.

Regular season

With junior Christian Laettner and sophomore Bobby Hurley leading the way, Duke placed third at the Preseason NIT (behind Arizona and Arkansas). The Blue Devils went on to compile a 25–6 regular season record, including a perfect 16–0 mark at home. Scoring victories in both rivalry matches against North Carolina and sporting an 11–3 conference record, Duke also captured their 9th regular-season championship in school history.

Conference tournament

Duke entered the ACC tournament as a No. 1 seed, but stumbled in the ACC title game against North Carolina by a score of 96–74, even though the Blue Devils had defeated the Tar Heels twice during the regular season. As a result, North Carolina received the top seed in the East Regional, leaving Duke with a No. 2 seed in the Midwest Regional of the NCAA tournament.

NCAA tournament

Duke however tore through the Midwest Regional, defeating St. John's to join UNLV, Kansas, and rival North Carolina in the Final Four in Indianapolis. Entering the semifinal game against UNLV, the Blue Devils were facing an undefeated and top-ranked Runnin' Rebels squad that boasted a 45-game winning streak and featured National Player of the Year Larry Johnson. In one of the biggest upsets in Final Four history, however, Duke got its revenge from a year ago by a score of 79–77 after Laettner hit two free throws with 12 seconds remaining and UNLV guard Anderson Hunt missed a three-point attempt at the end-of-game buzzer.^[1]^[2]

An all-ACC, Duke vs. UNC title game was averted when Roy Williams coached his Kansas Jayhawks team to victory over his mentor Dean Smith and his Tar Heels squad. In what would become the first of many matchups between Williams (later head coach at North Carolina until his retirement in 2021) and Mike Krzyzewski, Duke finally claimed its first national championship by a score of 72–65. Laettner was named NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player.

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
November 14, 1990*	No. 6	Marquette Preseason NIT	W 87–74	1–0	Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC
November 16, 1990*	No. 6	Boston College Preseason NIT	W 100–76	2–0	Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC
November 21, 1990* ESPN	No. 6	vs. No. 2 Arkansas Preseason NIT	L 88–98	2–1	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
November 23, 1990* ESPN	No. 6	vs. Notre Dame Preseason NIT	W 85–77	3–1	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
November 26, 1990* 7:30 pm	No. 6	East Carolina	W 125–82	4–1	Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC
December 1, 1990* 7:30 pm	No. 8	Charlotte	W 111–94	5–1	Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC
December 5, 1990* 9:00 pm, ESPN	No. 5	at No. 6 Georgetown ACC/Big East Challenge	L 74–79	5–2	Capital Center Landover, Maryland
December 8, 1990* 2:00 pm, ABC	No. 5	Michigan	W 75–68	6–2	Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC
December 19, 1990* 7:30 pm	No. 9	at Harvard	W 83–66	7–2	Briggs Athletic Center Cambridge, MA
December 22, 1990* 3:45 pm, CBS	No. 9	at No. 11 Oklahoma	W 90–85	8–2	Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK
December 29, 1990* 7:30 pm	No. 8	Lehigh	W 97–67	9–2	Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC
January 2, 1991* 7:30 pm	No. 8	Boston University	W 109–55	10–2	Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC
January 5, 1991 12:30 pm	No. 8	at No. 18 Virginia	L 64–81	10–3 (0–1)	University Hall Charlottesville, VA
January 9, 1991 9:00 pm	No. 14	No. 24 Georgia Tech	W 98–57	11–3 (1–1)	Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC
January 12, 1991 1:00 pm	No. 14	at Maryland	W 94–78	12–3 (2–1)	Cole Field House College Park, MD
January 14, 1991 9:00 pm	No. 14	Wake Forest	W 89–67	13–3 (3–1)	Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC
January 16, 1991* 7:30 pm	No. 12	at The Citadel	W 83–50	14–3	McAlister Field House Charleston, SC
January 19, 1991 8:00 pm	No. 12	No. 5 North Carolina	W 74–60	15–3 (4–1)	Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC
January 23, 1991 7:00 pm	No. 9	at NC State	L 89–95	15–4 (4–2)	Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC
January 26, 1991 4:00 pm	No. 9	at Clemson	W 99–70	16–4 (5–2)	Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, SC
January 30, 1991 9:00 pm	No. 7	at No. 23 Georgia Tech	W 77–75	17–4 (6–2)	Alexander Memorial Coliseum Atlanta, GA
February 2, 1991* 4:00 pm	No. 7	at Notre Dame	W 90–77	18–4	Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN
February 7, 1991 9:00 pm	No. 6	No. 11 Virginia	W 86–74	19–4 (7–2)	Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC
February 9, 1991 1:00 pm	No. 6	Maryland	W 101–81	20–4 (8–2)	Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC
February 10, 1991* 2:00 pm	No. 6	No. 19 LSU	W 88–70	21–4	Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC
February 13, 1991*	No. 5	Davidson	W 74–39	22–4	Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC
February 16, 1991 4:00 pm	No. 5	at Wake Forest	L 77–86	22–5 (8–3)	Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, NC
February 20, 1991 9:00 pm	No. 7	vs. NC State	W 72–65	23–5 (9–3)	Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC
February 24, 1991* 4:00 pm	No. 7	at No. 9 Arizona	L 96–103 ^2OT	23–6	McKale Center Tucson, AZ
February 27, 1991 9:00 pm	No. 8	Clemson	W 79–62	24–6 (10–3)	Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC
March 3, 1991 2:00 pm	No. 8	at No. 4 North Carolina	W 83–77	25–6 (11–3)	Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC
ACC Tournament
March 9, 1991	No. 6	vs. NC State ACC tournament semifinals	W 93–72	26–6	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC
March 10, 1991 Raycom (Locally) CBS (Nationally)	No. 6	vs. No. 7 North Carolina ACC Tournament Finals	L 74–96	26–7	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC
NCAA Tournament
March 14, 1991* CBS	(2 MW) No. 6	vs. (15 MW) Northeast Louisiana NCAA Midwest First round	W 102–73	27–7	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN
March 16, 1991* CBS	(2 MW) No. 6	vs. (7 MW) Iowa NCAA Midwest Second Round	W 85–70	28–7	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN
March 22, 1991* CBS	(2 MW) No. 6	vs. (11 MW) Connecticut NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal	W 81–67	29–7	Pontiac Silverdome Pontiac, MI
March 24, 1991* CBS	(2 MW) No. 6	vs. (4 MW) No. 20 St. John's NCAA Midwest Regional Final	W 78–61	30–7	Pontiac Silverdome Pontiac, MI
March 30, 1991* CBS	(2 MW) No. 6	vs. (1 W) No. 1 UNLV NCAA National semifinal	W 79–77	31–7	RCA Dome Indianapolis, IN
April 1, 1991* 21:00, CBS	(2 MW) No. 6	vs. (3 SE) No. 12 Kansas NCAA national championship	W 72–65	32–7	RCA Dome Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from Coaches' Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Accomplishments

1st basketball championship after 4 previous appearances in title game (1964, 1978, 1986, 1990)
2nd straight appearance in national championship game (1990, 1991)
4th straight appearance in Final Four (1988–1991)
Christian Laettner was a consensus All-American Second Team selection.^[3]
Three players received All-ACC honors:
- Christian Laettner (1st Team)
- Bobby Hurley, Thomas Hill (3rd Team)
Three players from the 1991 squad (Laettner, Hurley, and Grant Hill) had their jerseys retired by Duke.

References

↑ "TSN's Greatest NCAA Tournament Upsets: No. 4". Archived from the original on March 31, 2008. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
↑ E-Ticket: Almost Immortal
↑ NCAA.org: 2008 Men’s Basketball Records Book Archived 2008-06-25 at the Wayback Machine

External links

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Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[1] "TSN's Greatest NCAA Tournament Upsets: No. 4". Archived from the original on March 31, 2008. Retrieved April 6, 2008.

[2] E-Ticket: Almost Immortal

[3] NCAA.org: 2008 Men’s Basketball Records Book Archived 2008-06-25 at the Wayback Machine

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Duke Blue Devils men's basketball
Venues	The Ark (1906–1923) Alumni Memorial Gymnasium (1924–1930) Card Gymnasium (1930–1939) Cameron Indoor Stadium (1940–present)
Rivalries	Maryland Michigan North Carolina (Carlyle Cup)
Culture & lore	Blue Devil Big Four Tournament Blue blood status Cameron Crazies Champions Classic Dixie Classic I Hate Christian Laettner Krzyzewskiville "The Shot" Tobacco Road 1991 UNLV game
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

1990–91 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball

NCAA tournament National Champions ACC regular season champions
National Championship Game, W 72–65 vs. Kansas
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 6
AP	No. 6
Record	32–7 (11–3 ACC)
Head coach	Mike Krzyzewski (11th season)
Assistant coaches	Pete Gaudet Mike Brey Tommy Amaker Jay Bilas
Home arena	Cameron Indoor Stadium
Seasons ← 1989–90 1991–92 →