Just saw that today is the 25 year anniversary of Duke upsetting UNLV in 1991...

tomorrow is the 30 year anniversary of Louisville with Never Nervous Pervis Ellison winning it all....

wow, some great memories there....

To this day there are still plenty of people who claim UNLV threw that game.

I am old too.

I remember when the NCAA men's basketball national championship game and the academy awards ceremony were on the same day. The last Monday in March.

Now the oscars are on the last Sunday in Feb and the NCAA NCG is the first Monday in April, almost 6 weeks apart.

35 years ago today, on March 30,1981, I remember President Reagon was shot on the Monday when both the Oscars and NCAA NCG was scheduled. They ended up postponing the Oscars but still played the basketball game.

(03-30-2016 11:37 AM)Hokie4Skins Wrote:  To this day there are still plenty of people who claim UNLV threw that game.

That's because they did.

(03-30-2016 03:10 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  

(03-30-2016 11:37 AM)Hokie4Skins Wrote:  To this day there are still plenty of people who claim UNLV threw that game.

That's because they did.

That Duke team had Grant Hill, Bobby Hurley, Christian Laettner and 2 other 2nd round picks in Thomas Hill and Antonio Lang. Looking back, one can see how they beat UNLV who had Larry Johnson and to a lesser degree, Greg Anthony. Don't get me wrong, Stacey Augmon and Anderson Hunt were good college players..but they didn't measure up to the overall talent Duke had that year. That's why they lost.

That..and they were hardly challenged all year...

Between the bathtub photo and a few things I noticed during the rebroadcast of the game, that game was fixed. That and the sheer improbability of the loss.

In hindsight it's not improbable. Duke had the more talented team, as well as the revenge factor from the 1990 final.

Duke had a more talented team?

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe they had a better team overall as far as the sum of the whole being better than the parts by themselves but more talented?

That UNLV team had five 1st round draft picks. They had blown out Duke by 30 points with basically the same group in 1989-90 and were 34-0 in 1990-1991. Duke on the other hand was 30-7 and a #6 seed in the bracket. Up to this point Duke had never won a national championship. This game was a monumental upset.

Duke was no 6 seed. They were a 2 seed.

(03-30-2016 11:15 AM)stever20 Wrote:  Just saw that today is the 25 year anniversary of Duke upsetting UNLV in 1991...

tomorrow is the 30 year anniversary of Louisville with Never Nervous Pervis Ellison winning it all....

wow, some great memories there....

I'm old enough to remember watching on TV the UCLA-Houston game in the Astrodome.

(03-30-2016 04:27 PM)CliftonAve Wrote:  That UNLV team had five 1st round draft picks. They had blown out Duke by 30 points with basically the same group in 1989-90 and were 34-0 in 1990-1991. Duke on the other hand was 30-7 and a #6 seed in the bracket. Up to this point Duke had never won a national championship. This game was a monumental upset.

Duke went to the Final Four in 1963, 1964, 1966, 1978, 1986, 1988, 1989, and 1990. They went to the Sweet 16 every year from 1986-1991. They were hardly newcomers.

If anything, Duke was the more powerful program despite UNLV's national title in 1990. UNLV was in the lowly Big West, and Duke was in the mighty ACC. Before 1990, UNLV had 2 Final Fours before 1990, Duke had 7, and neither had won a national title.

Trivia on Duke-UNLV:

Duke and UNLV made the national final together 2 straight years, in 90 and 91.

In 1989, the same team had eliminated both schools in the NCAA tourney, by 23 over UNLV (outscored UNLV 50-31 in the 2nd half), then by 17 over Duke (outscored Duke 62-40 in the 2nd half). Can anyone name the school?

(03-30-2016 08:01 PM)billyjack Wrote:  Trivia on Duke-UNLV:

Duke and UNLV made the national final together 2 straight years, in 90 and 91.

In 1989, the same team had eliminated both schools in the NCAA tourney, by 23 over UNLV (outscored UNLV 50-31 in the 2nd half), then by 17 over Duke (outscored Duke 62-40 in the 2nd half). Can anyone name the school?

That Duke-UNLV game in 91 was not the final. It was a semi-final.

Oh, and the answer to your trivia question. Seton Hall. Who beat UNLV and Duke in 1989 before losing in the NCG to Michigan in OT.

#1 seed UNLV crushed #3 seed Duke 103-73 in the 1990 championship game. Duke was a #2 seed when they beat #1 UNLV the following year by TWO points. I know on paper it was an upset but it really was about UNLV losing their first game after going 34-0 up to that point which is absolutely incredible by any standard. It's a shame it had to end for UNLV in that manner but that's life in the the single elimination game tournament format. On the other hand, Duke went on to win back to back national championships after the 1990 finals embarrassment. That speaks to their HOF coach, talent, motivation and resolve to win showing they belonged.

(03-30-2016 07:15 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  Duke went to the Final Four in 1963, 1964, 1966, 1978, 1986, 1988, 1989, and 1990. They went to the Sweet 16 every year from 1986-1991. They were hardly newcomers.

If anything, Duke was the more powerful program despite UNLV's national title in 1990. UNLV was in the lowly Big West, and Duke was in the mighty ACC. Before 1990, UNLV had 2 Final Fours before 1990, Duke had 7, and neither had won a national title.

That analogy doesn't work. Syracuse isn't a newcomer either but they would be a significant underdog to historically good but not great Oklahoma.

(03-30-2016 05:06 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(03-30-2016 11:15 AM)stever20 Wrote:  Just saw that today is the 25 year anniversary of Duke upsetting UNLV in 1991...

tomorrow is the 30 year anniversary of Louisville with Never Nervous Pervis Ellison winning it all....

wow, some great memories there....

I'm old enough to remember watching on TV the UCLA-Houston game in the Astrodome.

Exactly what I was thinking! These guys calling themselves old because of something that happened 25 years ago? Remembering when Reagan was shot? Heck I saw the UCLA-Houston game too, remember what I was doing when I heard Kennedy was shot and saw the Yankees play a doubleheader with the Kansas City Athletics when the Yankees still had Mantle AND Maris. Bunch of young whippersnappers... GET OFF OF MY LAWN!!

(03-30-2016 08:46 PM)goofus Wrote:  

(03-30-2016 08:01 PM)billyjack Wrote:  Trivia on Duke-UNLV:

Duke and UNLV made the national final together 2 straight years, in 90 and 91.

In 1989, the same team had eliminated both schools in the NCAA tourney, by 23 over UNLV (outscored UNLV 50-31 in the 2nd half), then by 17 over Duke (outscored Duke 62-40 in the 2nd half). Can anyone name the school?

That Duke-UNLV game in 91 was not the final. It was a semi-final.

Oh, and the answer to your trivia question. Seton Hall. Who beat UNLV and Duke in 1989 before losing in the NCG to Michigan in OT.

Yes Seton Hall!

And wow, I'm getting old too, since i didn't remember the 91 game being a semifinal... the 12 brain cells i have left thank you for the correction!

It for all intensive puproses (yes, all intensive purposes), was the final that year. It happens like that sometimes, like in 1968, 1996 and 1983... oh wait.

(03-30-2016 10:33 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  

#1 seed UNLV crushed #3 seed Duke 103-73 in the 1990 championship game. Duke was a #2 seed when they beat #1 UNLV the following year by TWO points. I know on paper it was an upset but it really was about UNLV losing their first game after going 34-0 up to that point which is absolutely incredible by any standard. It's a shame it had to end for UNLV in that manner but that's life in the the single elimination game tournament format. On the other hand, Duke went on to win back to back national championships after the 1990 finals embarrassment. That speaks to their HOF coach, talent, motivation and resolve to win showing they belonged.

Its not any bigger upset than Kentucky losing to Wisconsin last year. Its one game and UNLV and UK lost to a very good team.