2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game

Last updated

2001 NCAA tournament championship Game
National championship game
NCAA logo.svg
Arizona Wildcats Duke Blue Devils
Pac-10 ACC
(28–7)(34–4)
7282
Head coach:
Lute Olson
Head coach:
Mike Krzyzewski
1st half2nd halfTotal
Arizona Wildcats 333972
Duke Blue Devils 354782
DateApril 2, 2001
Venue Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
MVP Shane Battier, Duke
Favorite Duke by 3.5
Referees Scott Thornley, Frankie Bordeaux, Ed Corbett
Attendance45,944
United States TV coverage
Network CBS
Announcers Jim Nantz (play-by-play)
Billy Packer (color)
Bonnie Bernstein and Armen Keteyian (sideline)
  2000
2002  

The 2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game was the finals of the 2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and it determined the national champion for the 2000-01 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The game was played on April 2, 2001, at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota and featured the East Regional Champion, #1-seeded Duke versus the Midwest Regional Champion, #2-seeded Arizona.

Contents

Participants

Arizona Wildcats

Featuring future NBA stars Richard Jefferson and Gilbert Arenas along with Wake Forest transfer Loren Woods, future NBA player and coach Luke Walton and future Harlem Globetrotter Eugene "Wildkat" Edgerson, Arizona entered the season ranked #1 and entered the tournament as the #2 seed in the Midwest Regional.

The Wildcats would crush Eastern Illinois and Butler to reach the Sweet 16. Arizona would beat #3 Ole Miss 66–56 and #1 Illinois to reach the Final Four.

In an emotional season in which coach Lute Olson suffered the loss of his wife Bobbi, he would be just 40 minutes away from a second national championship after his Wildcats blew out defending national champion Michigan State. The game was close at halftime with Arizona leading by just 2. However, Arizona outscored Michigan State 48–31 in the second half en route to the 19-point victory. [1]

Duke Blue Devils

Featuring Carlos Boozer, Jay Williams and national and Defensive Player of the Year Shane Battier, the Blue Devils would travel the same path they took nine years ago when they claimed their last championship in 1992 and became the first team since UCLA in 1972 and 1973 to repeat as national champions, from Greensboro to Philadelphia to Minneapolis. In their first four games of the tournament, Duke bested Monmouth, Missouri (coached by Duke player and assistant and future NBA coach Quin Snyder) and Los Angeles rivals UCLA and USC all by double digits.

In the Final Four, they met ACC rival Maryland for the fourth time that season after both road teams won during the ACC regular season before Duke won 84–82 in the ACC tournament semifinals in Atlanta en route to winning the tournament. Finding themselves down 39–17 with 6:57 to play in the first half and down 49–38 at the half, Duke went on to stage a comeback against the Terrapins and win 95–84 to advance to the championship game. Duke's 22-point deficit and 11-point halftime deficit marked the largest comeback in Final Four history. [2]

Starting lineups

ArizonaPositionDuke
Gilbert Arenas 2G Chris Duhon 2
Jason Gardner GJay Williams 1
Michael Wright 2F Mike Dunleavy Jr. 1
Richard Jefferson 1FShane Battier 1
Loren Woods 2C Casey Sanders
2001 Consensus First Team All-American
 Players selected in an NBA draft  (number indicates round)

Source [3]

Route to the game

Arizona Wildcats (#2 Midwest)RoundDuke Blue Devils (#1 East)
OpponentResultRegionalsOpponentResult
#15 Eastern Illinois PanthersWin 101–76First round#16 Monmouth HawksWin 95–52
#10 Butler BulldogsWin 72–53Second round#8 Missouri TigersWin 94–81
#3 Ole Miss RebelsWin 66–56Regional semifinal#4 UCLA BruinsWin 76–63
#1 Illinois Fighting IlliniWin 87–81Regional final#6 USC TrojansWin 79–69
OpponentResultFinal FourOpponentResult
Michigan State Spartans (#1 South)Win 80–61National semifinalMaryland Terrapins (#3 West)Win 95–84

Game Summary

The second-ranked team coming into the NCAA Tournament would leave giving both the school and coach Mike Krzyzewski their third national championship. Arizona cut Duke's lead to 39–37 early in the second half, but Mike Dunleavy Jr. – with his father, NBA coach Mike Dunleavy Sr., in the stands – connected on three consecutive three-pointers during an 112 Duke run on his way to a team-high 21 points. The Wildcats got back within 3 four times, including twice inside the four-minute TV timeout. However, Battier proved himself too much for the Wildcats to handle as he hit two critical shots to keep the Blue Devils comfortably ahead. Jay Williams, despite a poor shooting night, iced the game with a three-pointer from the top of the key off a Battier screen that gave give Duke an 80–72 lead with under 2 minutes to play.

Following the season, Krzyzewski was also inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Earlier in the season, the court at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham had been named Coach K Court after the Blue Devils' second game of the year, a victory over Villanova in the second round of the NIT Season Tip-Off (then the Preseason NIT) that was Krzyzewski's 500th victory as Duke head coach.

CBS
April 2nd, 2001
#E1 Duke Blue Devils82, #MW2 Arizona Wildcats 72
Scoring by half: 35–33, 47–39
Pts: Mike Dunleavy Jr. 21
Rebs: Carlos Boozer 12
Asts: Shane Battier/Chris Duhon 6
Pts: Loren Woods 22
Rebs: Loren Woods/Michael Wright 11
Asts: Gilbert Arenas/Luke Walton 4
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 45,944
Referees: Scott Thornley, Frankie Bordeaux, Ed Corbett

References

  1. "2001 NCAA National Semifinals: (MW2) Kansas 80, (S4) Michigan State 61". CNN Sports Illustrated . CNNSI.com. Archived from the original on April 13, 2001. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
  2. "Duke Comes Back, Trips Up Terps, 95–84". Archived from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  3. "Duke vs. Arizona Box Score (Men), April 2, 2001". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 29, 2023.