Duke vs UNC in Final Four is a first. But it nearly happened in 1991 NCAA tournament
It almost happened before, you know.
And if it had, it would have been for the national championship.
In 1991, Duke and North Carolina both advanced to the Final Four, setting off alarms all around the state and jangling nerves among a lot of basketball fans. Duke-Carolina. Could this be the year?
Had referee Pete Pavia not hit UNC coach Dean Smith with two technical fouls, had the Tar Heels’ Rick Fox not missed 17 of his 22 shots, had Kansas’ Roy Williams not outcoached his mentor, it might have happened.
But, of course, it did not.
Duke did its part. Few believed unbeaten UNLV would lose in the semifinals at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, and not against Duke. The year before, the Runnin’ Rebels beat the Blue Devils so badly in the championship game that Duke guard Bobby Hurley said he had a recurring nightmare about being chased by a shark in a swimming pool.
UNLV rolled into Indy with some cocksure vibes. Guard Greg Anthony even wore a Duke cap to the pregame press conference, as if saying, “We own them.”
But before Duke-UNLV, there was North Carolina-Kansas. Smith and Williams were all smiles before the semifinal game in a juxtaposition — Smith, the Kansas graduate, coaching the Tar Heels against Williams, the UNC graduate and one of Smith’s former assistant coaches.
No one knew for sure if Pavia held some longstanding refereeing grudge against Smith, but Pavia T’ed him up twice to send Smith to the locker room early, with 35 seconds remaining in the game. Smith took his time leaving, stopping by the Kansas bench for handshakes with Williams, his staff and the players while being led off the court.
Several Tar Heel players were left shaken after the 79-73 loss and certainly the way it ended, their coach banished. Hubert Davis, who had 25 points, walked off the court being consoled by center Eric Montross.
Oddly, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany, who had played for Smith at UNC and was chairman of the NCAA basketball committee, said the second technical was for Smith leaving the coach’s box. Smith said the second T and ejection was an “embarrassment.”
The week before, Pavia had ejected Oklahoma coach Billy Tubbs in the NIT championship game as the Sooners lost to Stanford.
The Jayhawks’ victory quickly ended chances of the ultimate showdown. North Carolina had smacked Duke 96-74 in the ACC Tournament championship game in Charlotte as Fox was named the tournament MVP, but there would be no grudge-settling in the Final Four in Indy.
All eyes then turned to the Runnin’ Rebels and their towel-chewing coach, Jerry Tarkanian — the “Shark.” Would there be another Final Four rout?
No there would not be. Duke won 79-77, Christian Laettner scoring 28 points and Hurley riding the shoulders of center Clay Buckley off the court when the dream win was over.
Instead of Carolina waiting in the title game, there was Kansas. It was Coach K vs Roy Williams in a look of what was to come when Williams finally went back to UNC.
Blue Devils win first national title
The Blue Devils won 72-65, a score still etched in Williams’ mind. Duke and Krzyzewski had a first NCAA championship. The party later that night at the Duke hotel was well attended and went well into the wee hours.
Later, Krzyzewski would say the beatdown by Carolina in the ACC tournament was just what the Blue Devils needed, saying, “Sometimes you have to get smacked to remember how you got to be good.”
Duke would go on to win four more NCAA championships and Coach K has more than 1,200 wins. He was hoping so badly for one more win — his last game at Cameron Indoor Stadium this season. The Tar Heels spoiled that one, and then stopped the scintillating run of St. Peter’s on Sunday in the NCAA tournament.
So here we have it: Duke-Carolina in the Final Four. At last.
Smith and Tarkanian are no longer with us, the two dying four days apart in 2015. Williams is retired but will have a great seat in New Orleans, surely front and center. Davis, in his first season as UNC’s head coach, has his team in the Final Four.
Coach K’s seat will be on the Duke bench, not wanting his final season to end — and not that way, to Carolina. Not again.
(Staff writer Chip Alexander covered the 1991 Final Four for the News & Observer)
This story was originally published March 27, 2022 at 8:16 PM with the headline "Duke vs UNC in Final Four is a first. But it nearly happened in 1991 NCAA tournament."
