In honor of March Madness, we’re detailing the most impactful college games of all time. The shot, the pass. The joy, the heartbreak. The greatest game ever took place on March 28th, 1992 between Duke and Kentucky in the Elite Eight. Tap into the nostalgia with all-new pieces from our “Greatest Game Ever Played” collection, which is available now. Shop here.
Alright, let’s take a collective moment and rummage through the memories. Think of the greatest game you’ve ever seen. Michael Jordan’s “last shot” over the Utah Jazz for the 1998 Finals? Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals? How about Syracuse and UConn’s six-overtime bout in 2009? The question is honestly subjective. These are all fair responses, but if we’re talking star power and buzzer-beaters, it’s got to be the 1992 Elite Eight matchup between Duke and Kentucky.
Two legendary coaches, two legendary squads and a litany of future NBA staples. Last week we chronicled the game that jump-started the allure of March Madness. This week, we’re diving into the two teams that epitomized the glory, emotions and thrills of what Larry Bird and Magic Johnson started.
But this game wasn’t just a game. It was an epic, a heavy-weight showdown, like if Hov and Biggie battled in a cypher. Shot for shot, bar for bar. 104-103, Duke.
The image of Christian Laettner spinning and rising over Deron Feldhaus is seared into the minds of Dukies, Kentucky diehards and basketball fans alike spanning generations.
After putting together a 26-6 record and securing the No. 2 seed in the East region, Kentucky ran through Old Dominion, Iowa State and No. 3 UMass leading up to the matchup of the century. Led by sophomore Jamal Mashburn and “The Unforgettable’s” – four seniors in John Pelphrey, Feldhaus, Richie Farmer and Sean Woods – Rick Pitino and the Kentucky Wildcats weren’t to be trifled with. Matter of fact, they’d steamroll you.
On the other side of the aisle, Mike Krzyzewski had assembled one of his most treasured rosters. Senior center Christian Laettner, sophomore Grant Hill and two juniors in Bobby Hurley and Thomas Hill were seemingly unstoppable, aside from those two measly losses on their record. The reigning national champions had hardware on the brain.
The tension inside of The Spectrum in Philadelphia – now known as the South Philadelphia Sports Complex – could have been cut with the dullest of knives. Duke in their home whites, Kentucky in their away blues.
With just under eight minutes to go, Duke had assumed complete command with a 79-69 lead. Yeah, Kentucky wasn’t having that. In just over two minutes, the Wildcats had enacted an emphatic 12-2 run to tie the game at 81 a-piece. The catalyst? Returning to Pitino’s pressure man-to-man defense that extended the full 94 feet of the court.
The Cats attacked, clawing their way back into the game. Duke’s frustrations mounted and then boiled over when Laettner emphatically stomped on the chest of Kentucky’s Aminu Timberlake. Ejection? Up to you. Technical? For sure. Game changer? Kind of.
The final five minutes of the game turned into a slugfest. I mean yes, it was physical. Physical to the point of frustrated stomps. But the greatness in the contest lies in both teams’ complete refusal to simply miss shots. The last 25 minutes of the game saw both teams shoot a scintillating 63 percent from the field.
“It was like being in Carnegie Hall and just seeing the best musician or the best singer, and just sitting there in amazement at what they were doing out on the basketball court,” Pitino said to the media ahead of Louisville’s matchup against Duke in March of 2019.
When the buzzer had sounded, Kentucky knocked down just under 57 percent of their attempts and a whopping 54.5 percent from downtown. Meanwhile, Duke went OFF, hitting over 65 percent from the field and a clean 50 percent from deep. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, there’s still time on the clock. Precisely one minute.
Thomas Hill had just tied the game at 93 with a step-through floater. Now was the time for Kentucky to capitalize on their forceful second-half run. The play was discombobulated from the start, but Deron Feldhaus came through with a put-back that eventually sent the game into its impending, and illustrious, overtime.
6-7 forward John Pelphrey knocked the lid off the rim with four minutes to go, giving Kentucky a narrow three-point lead before racing back to the other end and drawing a momentous charge against Brian Davis. All-American Bobby Hurley responded in kind with a trey of his own. Meanwhile, Kentucky’s best player – Jamal Mashburn – had fouled out midway through the period. 23 points, 10 boards and two steals were sitting on the pine. And one after another, the Blue Devils and Wildcats answered buckets with buckets.
With 7.8 seconds left, Sean Woods caught the sideline inbound, immediately deployed a rapid double cross against Hurley, drove into the paint, and cast up a contested floater over the outstretched hands of Laettner. Glass then net. 103-102 Kentucky. 2.1 seconds left.
“I was always the playmaker. I was known for and good at getting people the ball. At this particular time, it was just my time to go get a shot,” Woods told the NCAA in 2017.
That was until Grant Hill and Christian Laetner connected on one of the most spectacular passes in basketball history.
In the huddle, Pitino devised a strategy based on Clemson’s loss to UConn in an eerily similar situation during the 1990 tournament. No one would defend the inbounder. Send two on Laettner instead. In the end, it didn’t matter. We all know what happens next.
To be honest, the pass was just as tough as the shot that ended numerous collegiate careers. We’ve seen far too many failed full-court heaves to not acknowledge the precision with which Grant Hill threw that 75-foot dot. The leather met Laettner’s palms perfectly, who faked to his right before pivoting his left foot to meet his right. The most hated 6-11 man in America rose over Feldhaus and sent the Blue Devils back to the Final Four.
Antonio Lang immediately dropped to the paint. Thomas Hill was in tears. And Laettner was mobbed by a pile of blue and white threads in front of the Wildcats bench.
“The Shot” and Laettner were immortalized along with Duke’s eventual national championship. And while there’ve been plenty of March buzzer beaters since ‘92, even ones for the chip, nothing can really touch the magic between Duke and Kentucky’s matchup all those years ago. Hell, we’re still writing about it 32 years later.
Photos via Getty Images.