Duke Well-Represented in NCAA Greatest Moments Bracket

Eight of the 64 moments involve Blue Devils
Duke Well-Represented in NCAA Greatest Moments Bracket
Duke Well-Represented in NCAA Greatest Moments Bracket /

NCAA.com is doing an interactive bracket of the top 64 NCAA Tournament moments of the past. Duke has had mixed results in early voting.

In the Final Four/National Championship region, the last-ditch half-court shot by Butler’s Gordon Heyward at the end of Duke’s 2010 win in the title game won its first-round matchup. The 9-seed in the region, it topped 8-seed Hakim Warrick’s blocked shot for Syracuse in 2003, 56 percent to 44 percent.

UNLV’s record-setting rout of Duke in the 1990 title game was the 12 seed and lost to Michael Jordan’s title winning shot in 1982, 72 percent to 28 percent.

Duke upsetting UNLV the following season was the 6-seed, but it lost to 2015 Wisconsin beating undefeated Kentucky, 72 to 27 percent.

In the Elite Eight region, Christian Laettner’s shot was the top seed and won against Michigan State over Kentucky in two overtimes, 52 to 48 percent.

Christian Laettner’s shot to beat UConn in 1990 was the 13-seed and lost to Illinois’ comeback against Arizona in 2005, 76 to 24 percent.

Michigan State beating Duke last year, inexplicably was the 7-seed. It lost to Loyola, Illinois’ run to the Final Four 53 to 47 percent.

The first round games in the other two regions are still voting.

In the Round of 64 region:

CJ McCollum and Lehigh upsetting Duke in 2012 is the 12-seed and matched against Bo Kimble’s left-handed free throw tribute to fallen teammate Hank Gathers in 1990.

Mercer beating Duke in 2014 is the 13-seed and is facing Northwestern winning its first NCAA Tournament game ever, in 2017, which is inexplicably the 4-seed.


Published
Shawn Krest
SHAWN KREST

Shawn Krest has covered Duke for the last decade. His work has appeared in The Sporting News, USA Today, CBSSports.com, ESPN.com and dozens of other national and regional outlets. Shawn's work has won awards from the USBWA, PFWA, BWAA and NC Press Association.