Devils Illustrated - Walk down Memory Lane

March 14, 2007

Randall Thomason
Devils Illustrated Staff

Duke is one day away from tipping off its 23rd NCAA Tournament under head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

The run of dominance Coach K has had in the tournament ranks second only to legendary UCLA coach John Wooden, who won 10 national titles in a different era.

A look at Krzyzewski's NCAA Tournament record while with Duke.

1984
3 seed-West region
Washington L 80-78

Johnny Dawkins' 22 points can't overcome the Huskies.

1985
3 seed-Midwest region
Pepperdine W 75-62
Boston College L 74-73

Duke won its first round game in the first year of a 64 team field, but fell victim to 11 seed Boston College in round two.

1986
1 seed-East region
Mississippi Valley State W 85-78
Old Dominion W 89-61
DePaul W 74-67
Navy W 71-50
Kansas W 71-67
Louisville L 72-69

Coach K's first Final Four team almost didn't escape the first round, but 27 points from Dawkins got the Blue Devils past the MVSU Delta Devils and catapulted one of Duke's most storied senior classes to a national runner-up finish. Dawkins led the team in scoring in all six games of the tournament, averaging 25.5 points per game.

1987
5 seed-Midwest region
Texas A&M W 58-51
Xavier W 65-60
Indiana L 88-82

After losing the talented senior class of 1986, Duke came back for another Sweet 16 run in 1987, but it ended with a loss to the eventual national champion Hoosiers as Bobby Knight knocked out his star pupil.

1988
2 seed-East region
Boston University W 85-69
SMU W 94-79
Rhode Island W 73-72
Temple W 63-53
Kansas L 66-59

The Blue Devils returned to the Final Four in 1988, but again lost to the eventual national champion, this time bowing out to the Danny Manning led Jayhawks. Kevin Strickland and Danny Ferry were the main tournament catalysts on Coach K's second Final Four team.

1989
2 seed-East region
South Carolina State W 90-69
West Virginia W 70-63
Minnesota W 87-70
Georgetown W 85-77
Seton Hall L 95-78

Questions began to arise about Krzyzewski's ability to win 'the big one' when Duke was dispatched by double digits against three seed Seton Hall, but a star began to emerge who would soon erase all that talk. Freshman Christian Laettner paced Duke with a 24 point outing in the regional final over Georgetown, while Ferry concluded his brilliant career with 34 points in the loss to the Pirates.

1990
3 seed-East region
Richmond W 81-46
St. John's W 76-72
UCLA W 90-81
Connecticut W 79-78
Arkansas W 97-83
UNLV L 103-73

One of the most memorable tournaments in the Coach K era. Duke emerged from one of the most dramatic regionals in NCAA Tournament history when Laettner hit a 15 foot leaner to beat Connecticut by a point in the regional final. The Huskies had avanced in the regional semifinal by defeating Clemson on a miracle shot by Tate George. Despite Phil Henderson's 24.5 point average in the Final Four, Duke got romped by high flying UNLV in the championship game, which served as the only motivation that was needed for what was coming in 1991.

1991
2 seed-Midwest region
Northeast Louisiana W 102-73
Iowa W 85-70
Connecticut W 81-67
St. John's W 78-61
UNLV W 79-77
Kansas W 72-65

There were no more doubts about Krzyzewski after he engineered one of the greatest upset victories in college basketball history. After telling the media for a full week that his team couldn't compete with the swaggering Rebels, Duke defeated the defending champions behind 28 points from Laettner. Duke cut the nets down for the first time on April Fool's Day, 1991 with a 72-65 victory over Roy Williams' Kansas Jayhawks.

1992
1 seed-East region
Campbell W 82-56
Iowa W 75-62
Seton Hall W 81-69
Kentucky W 104-103 (OT)
Indiana W 81-78
Michigan W 71-51

Everyone remembers Laettner's performance against Kentucky, when he hit every shot he took from the floor and ended the Wildcats' dreams with a turnaround jumper at the buzzer. That merely sent Duke to the Final Four though, where Bobby Hurley's 26 points moved the Blue Devils past Indiana and into the championship game, where they beat Michigan's fame 'Fab 5' in dominating fashion.

1993
3 seed-Midwest region
Southern Illinois W 105-70
California L 82-77

Senior point guard Bobby Hurley ran out of magic against California in the second round loss to the sixth seeded Bears. Hurley's 32 points couldn't overcome Cal point guard Jason Kidd's remarkable 14 assist performance that day in Chicago, and the Blue Devils fell short of the Final Four for the first time in five seasons.

1994
2 seed-Southeast region
Texas Southern W 82-70
Michigan State W 85-74
Marquette W 59-49
Purdue W 69-60
Florida W 70-65
Arkansas L 76-72

Duke returned to the promised land behind senior All-American Grant Hill to make the program's fourth national title game in five seasons. The Blue Devils got past Glenn 'Big Dog' Robinson and the top seed Purdue Boilermakers to move on to the Final Four in Charlotte, but were shot down by a rainbow three pointer by Arkansas guard Scottie Thurman.

1996
8 seed-Southeast region
Eastern Michigan L 75-60

The only official first round exit under Krzyzewski because the 1984 loss to Washington was a second round game following a bye. Trying to return to prominence after the program fell on hard times in 1995, the Blue Devils weren't quite ready once again for the big stage.

1997
2 seed-Southeast region
Murray State W 71-68
Providence L 98-87

Relying on guts and grit, the 1997 Blue Devils started to put Duke back into the national spotlight. Relying on a lot of three pointers, Duke escaped a major scare from Murray State before the Devils ran out of gas against an Austin Croshere led Friar team.

1998
1 seed-south region
Radford W 99-63
Oklahoma State W 79-73
Syracuse W 80-67
Kentucky L 86-84

Despite earning a top seed, the draw wasn't exactly favorable to Duke, as the Devils had to play in Lexington's Rupp Arena in the first two rounds, where they were greeted as if they were playing Kentucky on the Wildcats' home floor. Though they advanced to the regional, Kentucky knocked them out by storming back from a 17 point second half deficit.

1999
1 seed-East region
Florida A&M W 99-58
Tulsa W 97-56
Southwest Missouri State W 78-61
Temple W 85-64
Michigan State W 68-62
Connecticut L 77-74

Perhaps the most talented Duke team from top to bottom, the Devils romped through the east region to make the Final Four, winning their first four games by an average of 30 points. A physical national semifinal win over Michigan State may have taken something out of Duke however, as UConn took the title in St. Petersburg despite 25 points from senior guard Trajan Langdon.

2000
1 seed-East region
Lamar W 82-55
Kansas W 69-64
Florida L 87-78

Duke reloaded after a mass exodus to the NBA following the 1999 season. With a squad that included freshmen Jason Williams, Carlos Boozer, and Mike Dunleavy, Duke successfully earned another top seed. Duke beat a young Kansas team in the second round, a tough battle that foreshadowed the duels to come when Roy Williams moved to Chapel Hill three years later. Shane Battier and Chris Carrawell provided the veteran leadership, but it wasn't enough to win against an upstart Florida team that ultimately lost in the championship game to Michigan State.

2001
1 seed-East region
Monmouth W 95-52
Missouri W 94-81
UCLA W 76-63
Southern Cal W 79-69
Maryland W 95-84
Arizona W 82-72

Seniors Shane Battier and Nate James went out in style, claiming Duke's third national title in dramatic fashion. The Devils survived a second round scare from Quin Snyder's Missouri team, overcame a 20 point deficit to get by Maryland in the Final Four, and defeated Arizona in the final thanks largely to three huge three pointers from sophomore Mike Dunleavy early in the second half.

2002
1 seed-South region
Winthrop W 84-37
Notre Dame W 84-77
Indiana L 74-73

Duke gutted out a very tight second round win against Mike Brey's Notre Dame team, but playing Indiana before a very partisan Hoosier crowd in Lexington, Kentucky brought the careers of Jason Williams, Carlos Boozer, and Mike Dunleavy to an end. Down 74-70 after losing a double digit second half lead, Williams hit a memorable three at the top of the key and got fouled by Indiana's Dane Fife in the game's waning seconds. The free throw missed though, and Boozer's put back attempt was off the mark.

2003
3 seed-West region
Colorado State W 67-57
Central Michigan W 86-60
Kansas L 69-65

Sent west for the first time since 1984, Duke dodged a first round bullet against Colorado State and moved past Chris Kaman's Central Michigan Chippewas in round two to advance to another Sweet 16. Dahntay Jones' 25 points per game average couldn't help Duke advance further though, as freshman J.J. Redick had an off night in the regional semifinal loss to eventual runner up Kansas.

2004
1 seed-Atlanta region
Alabama State W 96-61
Seton Hall W 90-62
Illinois W 72-62
Xavier W 66-63
Connecticut L 79-78

Freshman Luol Deng put Duke on his shoulders in the regional at the Georgia Dome, averaging 18.5 points per game in the wins over the Illini and the Musketeers. Duke couldn't hold onto a late lead in the semifinals against Connecticut, as both Shelden Williams and Shavlik Randolph fouled out in the closing minutes. J.J. Redick took the ball into the lane for a potential game winning shot, but had it stripped away and no foul was called, catapulting the Huskies to another national title two days later.

2005
1 seed-Austin region
Delaware State W 57-46
Mississippi State W 63-55
Michigan State L 78-68

Perhaps one of the most remarkable teams in the Coach K era, Duke used smoke and mirrors to garner another top seed. Emotionally drained after a grueling regular season and two difficult opening round games, the Devils just didn't have enough steam to push past the Spartans in the Sweet 16 at Texas' Erwin Center.

2006
1 seed-Atlanta region

Southern W 70-54
George Washington W 74-61
LSU L 62-54

The great careers of J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams came to a too early end at the Georgia Dome when a hot group of LSU Tigers shut down the Blue Devil offense. Redick hit just 3-18 from the floor in that game, providing an unfortunate end to an otherwise marvelous Duke career. Williams went out with a 23 point, 13 rebound double-double.

Duke all time in NCAA Tournament

Record: 85-27 (.759) 68-19 under Krzyzewski
Appearances: 30 (22 under Coach K)
National championships: 3 (all under Coach K)
Championship game appearances: 9 (7 under Coach K)
Final Four appearances: 14 (10 under Coach K)

Duke individual NCAA Tournament leaders

Points: Christian Laettner (407)
Rebounds: Laettner (169)
Assists: Bobby Hurley (145)
Steals: Grant Hill (39)
Blocks: Shane Battier (42)
Games played: Laettner (23)

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