(Photo from NCAA.com)
Duke’s buzzer-beating win over Kentucky in the 1992 NCAA East Region Finals is still considered one of the best college basketball games in history. What would happen if they played a best-of-seven series? We simulated a best-of-seven series using www.whatifsports.com, one of the top sports simulation sites on the web. Each team’s stats and trends are in their database, and here is what it gave us.
BACKGROUND: Kentucky was coming off their NCAA ban from violations committed when Eddie Sutton was the coach. UK won the SEC title in 1991 but couldn’t play in the NCAA Tournament. In 1991-92, the Wildcats entered the postseason at 26-6 and cruised to the SEC Tournament title. Kentucky was led by Jamal Mashburn and popular in-state players Richie Farmer, John Pelphrey, and Deron Feldhaus as well as Sean Woods who stayed with the program through the Rick Pitino rebuild. UK won their first three tourney games, including an 87-77 win over the John Calipari coached UMASS Minutemen.
Duke was the defending national champion and returned a solid nucleus of players that included Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill, and national player of the year Christian Laettner. The Blue-Devils coasted into the East Region Finals and a matchup with Kentucky at the Philadelphia Spectrum.
It’s called one of the greatest college basketball games of all-time. Sean Woods’ floater in the final seconds appeared to give Kentucky the 103-102 win. However, Grant Hill found Laettner at the top of the key with a baseball pass. A dribble, spin, and shot later saw Duke break the hearts of Kentucky fans with a 104-103 win and a return trip to the Final Four where the Blue-Devils repeated as National Champions.
So, what happens in a seven-game series?
GAME ONE – Duke 103 Kentucky 91 (Duke leads 1-0)
Duke ended the first half on a 16-4 run to break open a close game and hand Kentucky a 103-91 loss in the first game of the Best of 7.
Christian Laettner scored eight points during the run and finished with 27 points and eight rebounds. The Blue-Devils shot a blistering 62-percent from the field, including 7-of-10 behind the arc. Bobby Hurley added 19 points and eight assists, while Thomas Hill scored 20 points.
Travis Ford opened the second half with a 3-pointer to cut the Duke lead to 53-46. Kentucky would get no closer as Duke eventually built a 22-point lead in the second half.
Jamal Mashburn led the Wildcats with 23 points, with Richie Farmer adding 20 points. Kentucky shot 50-percent from the field but shot 7-of-22 from 3-point range.
Kentucky (91) – Mashburn 23, Farmer 20, Woods 9, Braddy 9, Brown 8, Martinez 6, Feldhaus 5, Pelphrey 4, Ford 4, Riddick 2, Harrison 1
Duke (103) – Laettner 27, T. Hill 20, Hurley 19, G. Hill 14, Davis 8, Clark 5, Meek 4, Blakeney 2, Burt 2, Parks 1, Lang 1
FG – UK 50.7%; Duke 62.7%
FT – UK 16-20; Duke 22-26
3PT – UK 7-22; Duke 7-10
REB – UK 28; Duke 31
GAME TWO – Duke 110 Kentucky 94 (Duke leads 2-0)
Duke used a 14-0 run midway through the first half to beat Kentucky 110-94 and take a 2-0 lead in the Best of 7.
Duke led 12-10 four minutes into the game before Kentucky went on a nearly four-minute scoring drought that was ended by a Travis Ford 3-pointer.
The Blue-Devils added another 11-2 run to build a 41-19 lead with 7:40 left in the first half.
Down 61-44 at halftime, Kentucky got as close as 13 points in the second half on consecutive 3-pointers by Jamal Mashburn but would get no closer.
Mashburn led five Wildcats in double figures with 20 points. John Pelphrey added 17 points, and Richie Farmer scored 12 points.
Kentucky launched 30 three-point attempts in the game, hitting 13.
Grant Hill led Duke with 21 points, and Brian Davis added 20 points. Christian Laettner scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. The Blue-Devils shot 64-percent from the field and forced 16 Kentucky turnovers.
Kentucky (94) – Mashburn 20, Pelphrey 17, Farmer 12, Feldhaus 10, Martinez 10, Woods 8, Ford 6, Brown 5, Braddy 3, Harrison 2, Riddick 1
Duke (110) – G. Hill 21, Davis 20, Laettner 19, T. Hill 18, Hurley 11, Meek 7, Parks 4, Clark 4, Lang 2, Blakeney 2, Ast 2
FG – UK 47.8%; Duke 63.9%
FT – UK 15-22; Duke 27-39
3PT – UK 13-30; Duke 5-10
REB – UK 31; Duke 38
GAME THREE – Kentucky 113 Duke 102 (Duke leads 2-1)
Jamal Mashburn paced five players in double figures to lead Kentucky to a 113-102 win over Duke and their first win in the Best of 7.
The UK sophomore hit 11-of-13 shots from the field, including 3-of-3 from behind the arc. John Pelphrey scored 21 points and was 4-of-4 on 3-pointers as UK hit 9-of-18 treys.
Duke jumped out to a 9-3 lead early, but Mashburn scored eight straight points for UK to give them the lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Kentucky extended their lead to as many as 22 points in the second half. Duke scored the game’s final eight points to make the margin closer.
Christian Laettner scored 29 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for Duke. Grant Hill added 19 points.
Kentucky (113) – Mashburn 29, Pelphrey 21, Martinez 15, Farmer 11, Feldhaus 10, Timberlake 7, Woods 6, Riddick 6, Harrison 5, Braddy 2, Ford 1
Duke (102) – Laettner 29, G. Hill 19, Davis 16, Hurley 10, Parks 7, Lang 6, Meek 6, T. Hill 5, Burt 2, Blakeney 1, Ast 1
FG – UK 63.1%; Duke 57.1%
FT – UK 22-27; Duke 26-33
3PT – UK 9-18; Duke 4-12
REB – UK 24; Duke 31
GAME FOUR – Duke 97 Kentucky 90 (Duke leads 3-1)
Duke led wire-to-wire in this one, posting a 97-90 win to move to a 3-1 lead in the Best of 7 with Kentucky in a showdown of 1992 teams.
Grant Hill scored 12 early points as Duke built a 25-13 lead. Hill finished the game with 16 points.
Christian Laettner had a big game for Duke, scoring 27 points and pulling down 15 rebounds. He hit 9-of-10 at the free throw line.
Duke held a 50-42 lead at halftime. Jamal Mashburn and Travis Ford combined for Kentucky’s first seven points of the second half to get to within 52-47 with 18:23 left.
Laettner scored five straight points to take Duke’s lead back out to 10 points. Duke maintained a double-digit lead for most of the second half.
Kentucky got as close as 91-85 with 2:44 left when Ford found Mashburn in the paint for a bucket. UK would get no closer.
Mashburn led five Wildcats in double figures with 22 points. John Pelphrey added 13 points and six rebounds.
Kentucky hit 11-of-27 from behind the arc, while Duke shot 55-percent from the field. Both teams forced 16 turnovers in the contest.
Kentucky (90) – Mashburn 22, Pelphrey 13, Feldhaus 10, Woods 10, Martinez 10, Ford 8, Farmer 7, Braddy 7, Harrison 3
Duke (97) – Laettner 27, Hurley 19, G. Hill 16, T. Hill 13, B. Davis 10, Parks 5, Blakeney 4, Meek 3
FG – UK 46.2%; Duke 55.7%
FT – UK 19-22; Duke 23-28
3PT – UK 11-27; Duke 6-13
REB – UK 28; Duke 37
GAME FIVE – Duke 96 Kentucky 92 (Duke wins the series 4-1)
Christian Laettner and Bobby Hurley combined to score Duke’s final 15 points to lead the Blue-Devils to a 96-92 win over Kentucky and win the Best of 7 series 4-1.
Sean Wood’s jumper at the left elbow with 2:27 left gave Kentucky an 82-81 lead. Laettner put Duke ahead 84-82 with an old-fashioned 3-point play with 2:18 left. Deron Feldhaus countered with a 3-pointer from the left corner for an 85-84 UK lead with 2:06 left.
Hurley scored four straight points to put Duke up 88-85. Feldhaus tipped in a missed Richie Farmer shot with 1:15 left to bring UK to within 88-87.
Laettner and Farmer traded buckets before Hurley got open off a Grant Hill pick to put Duke up 92-89 with 23 seconds left. Kentucky was called for an offensive foul on their next possession, and Laettner hit 4-of-4 free throws to seal the win.
Laettner scored 23 points with Hurley adding 16 points and handing out seven assists. Grant Hill also scored 16 points.
Feldhaus led Kentucky with 23 points and nine rebounds. Jamal Mashburn battled foul trouble and finished with 11 points. Farmer, Woods, and Travis Ford also scored 11 points.
Kentucky (92) – Feldhaus 23, Mashburn 11, Farmer 11, Woods 11, Ford 11, Pelphrey 8, Martinez 8, Braddy 5, Harrison 4
Duke (96) – Laettner 23, Hurley 16, G. Hill 16, T. Hill 11, B. Davis 10, Parks 8, Blakeney 6, Meek 6
FG – UK 51.5%; Duke 58.7%
FT – UK 12-15; Duke 17-28
3PT – UK 10-24; Duke 5-8
REB – UK 37; Duke 32
