Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 25, 1991 TAG: 9103250079
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: PONTIAC, MICH. LENGTH: Medium
"I see a killer," St. John's coach Lou Carnesecca said after Hurley's 20 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals helped Duke dismantle the Redmen 78-61 Sunday for the Midwest Regional championship and a fourth straight trip to the Final Four.
"He makes the other guys look better. He hits the 3s, he's smart."
Hurley's teammate, Brian Davis, took it one more step: "Bobby had the best game of his career."
Hurley scored 13 points in the first half - shooting 4-of-5 from 3-point range - as Duke became only the third school to make four consecutive Final Four appearances.
UCLA played in 10 straight Final Fours from 1967-76, winning eight times, and Cincinnati was there five straight years from 1959-63, winning twice.
It will be the fifth Final Four try in six years and ninth overall for Duke (30-7), which is 24-5 in the past six NCAA tournaments.
But the Blue Devils are still seeking their first title, and no team has been there as many times without winning.
Next up for Duke in Saturday's national semifinals in Indianapolis is top-ranked and unbeaten UNLV, which embarrassed the Blue Devils 103-73 in last year's title game.
Hurley was ill and scored only two points in that game, but he looked plenty healthy Sunday.
"Bobby was real inspired," Duke's Greg Koubek said. "He was hitting his shots. He was confident. He was a leader. Hey, he only had one turnover [in 36 minutes]. We need Bobby to have a game like that to win Saturday."
Hurley added: "I had the flu last year. I couldn't swallow much. I was taking medication that inflamed my stomach. I'm in much better shape this year. I'm not rundown. I took care of myself."
In Sunday's first half, the 6-foot sophomore took care of the Redmen, with 13 points, four rebounds, three steals and three assists. The Blue Devils led 40-26 at halftime, which was bad news for St. John's - Duke is 28-0 this season when leading at intermission.
"If we have a big lead, we don't want to let the other team get its confidence by getting it into single digits," said Hurley, who was named the regional's outstanding player.
It was a familiar tournament pattern for the Blue Devils, who have rarely trailed in winning their four games by an average of 18.8 points.
Christian Laettner scored 19 points for Duke. Malik Sealy shook off a poor first half to score 19 for St. John's (23-9). The Blue Devils, whose other eight regional titles all came in the East, set a record for most steals in a regional game with 17 and forced 26 Redmen turnovers.
Making a record 46th postseason appearance but also looking for its first NCAA championship, St. John's was plagued by poor shooting, injury and foul trouble in the first half and never recovered.
"I don't need to tell you that we didn't play very well," Carnesecca said. "It was in no small measure that Duke contributed to that. They are an excellent club. It is no accident that in five of the last six years, they have gone to the Final Four. It is not by chance. They have skill, they work hard and they have excellent leadership."
Point guard Jason Buchanan, who matched up against Hurley, picked up his third foul 7:54 into the game and sat for the rest of the half as the Redmen made 16 first-half turnovers.
Center Robert Werdann, the only player who could hope to contain the 6-11 Laettner, played little after the first eight minutes because of a pulled calf muscle. He finished with four points and seven rebounds in only 12 minutes.
St. John's lost its tournament shooting eye, hitting only 43.9 percent - right in line with its 45 percent regular-season average but well off its 57 percent pace in the first three NCAA games.
It was the second straight game in which Duke overwhelmed an opponent that took the Blue Devils to the wire in last year's tournament. Duke beat Connecticut 79-78 last year but won 81-67 in Friday's East semifinal. Duke rallied to defeat St. John's 76-72 last year but was never challenged Sunday.
"I guess it was easier than I thought it would be," Koubek said.
Koubek will be the first player ever to compete in four straight Final Fours. Fellow senior Clay Buckley was on the roster as a freshman but didn't play.
Now it is Duke's turn to go for revenge.
"I'm just going to try to forget about last year's game," Hurley said. "I've been to the Final Four. Now I want to go out and win it."
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