Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 16, 1992 TAG: 9203160054
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
The Duke players, none of whom had won an ACC championship, left nothing to chance in a 94-74 victory over North Carolina, the team that defeated the Blue Devils in the 1991 title game.
Although Duke went on to win the NCAA championship in its third consecutive trip to the Final Four, the Blue Devils had not won an ACC Tournament since 1988.
"With all the talent we've had, we should have won it," said Brian Davis, one of two seniors on the Duke team. "I think we would have missed out on a lot if we hadn't.
"Looking back on our ACC careers, it would have hurt to know we hadn't done everything in our power to win it. There was no pressure. Pressure is going to four Final Fours and never winning."
The Blue Devils put that demon to rest last year and they were no less eager to get the ACC championship behind them. It added only slightly to Duke's satisfaction that the victory came at the expense of the Tar Heels.
"We remembered what happened last year," Davis said. "We remembered they had beaten us by (22). The fact that it was Carolina makes it a little special. It helps in the community."
North Carolina had handed Duke one of its two regular-season losses and led 28-26 Sunday at the Charlotte Coliseum before Duke senior Christian Laettner hit a 3-pointer with 7:13 remaining in the half.
Laettner hit another 3-pointer to give the Blue Devils a 44-36 halftime lead and had five treys en route to a game-high 25 points. He also had 10 rebounds and a career-high seven steals.
Laettner received the Everett Case Award as the tourney's Most Valuable Player and was a unanimous selection to the all-tournament team, as was North Carolina guard Hubert Davis. Other first-team selections were Brian Davis and Bobby Hurley of Duke and UNC's George Lynch.
"I thought Laettner made some key adjustments," said Lynch, who had 55 points in three games, 15 in the final. "If we put a quicker player on him, he'd post him up. If we put somebody taller on him, he'd go outside."
On Duke's third possession, Laettner left his feet as if to shoot and threw the ball past Antonio Lang, who had turned his back. On the way upcourt, Lang pleaded with Laettner to "shoot if you're open.' "
Laettner is shooting 57.3 percent on 3-pointers (47-of-82), but until Sunday had not made enough to qualify for the NCAA statistics. His percentage would have been good enough to rank second last week.
"Most people like to see a 6-11 guy shoot the 3-pointers," North Carolina coach Dean Smith said. "The best you can usually hope for is shooting 34 or 35 percent. What's he shooting, 65 percent? Larry Bird couldn't do that."
North Carolina cut the deficit to six points twice in the opening minutes of the second half, but the Blue Devils made 11 of their first 14 shots and had a double-figure lead for the last 15 minutes.
Duke had six players in double figures, including 6-8 sophomore Grant Hill, who only eight days earlier had returned to the lineup after missing three games with a broken foot.
Hill did not miss a shot from the field (8-for-8) or free-throw line (4-for-4), and had seven assists compared to one turnover.
"In the second half," Krzyzewski said, "I told him to go out there and said, `Take advantage of your athletic ability. You're the freshest player out there.' "
Krzyzewski said he felt the Tar Heels, who played in the 9:30 p.m. game on Friday, may have tired in the second half Sunday. Nevertheless, North Carolina shot better than 50 percent in both halves Sunday.
Davis had 19 points to lead the Tar Heels, who came into the tournament with five losses in their previous six games, but improved their record to 21-9 after making the ACC final for the 20th time in 39 tournaments.
"I didn't think Duke could play better than they did in Durham, but they did today," said Smith, referring to the Blue Devils' 89-77 victory over North Carolina at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Top-ranked Duke, which captured the regular-season ACC title, enters the NCAA Tournament with a 28-2 record. Sunday's game marked their sixth appearance in the championship game under Krzyzewski, who has enjoyed three titles in 12 years.
"The last two championships we went after, we won, and that's a nice habit - as much as shooting jump shots and learning how to play defense," said Krzyewski, referring to the NCAA Tournament and ACC regular season.
"This was not just for the seniors. This was something every one of us identifies with, especially since we won the regular season and the tournament. I think our team in 1986 was the last team to do that.
"You're in pretty select company when you've done both of those." \
see microfilm for box score
by CNB