2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game
National championship game | |||||||||||||
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Date | April 2, 2001 | ||||||||||||
Venue | CBS | ||||||||||||
Announcers | Jim Nantz (play-by-play) Billy Packer (color) Bonnie Bernstein and Armen Keteyian (sideline) | ||||||||||||
The 2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game was the finals of the
Participants
Arizona Wildcats
Featuring future NBA stars Richard Jefferson and Gilbert Arenas along with Wake Forest transfer Loren Woods, future NBA player and coach Luke Walton and future Harlem Globetrotter Eugene "Wildkat" Edgerson, Arizona entered the season ranked #1 and entered the tournament as the #2 seed in the Midwest Regional.
The Wildcats would crush Eastern Illinois and Butler to reach the Sweet 16. Arizona would beat #3 Ole Miss 66-56 and #1 Illinois to reach the Final Four.
In an emotional season in which coach Lute Olson suffered the loss of his wife Bobbi, he would be just 40 minutes away from a second national championship after his Wildcats blew out defending national champion Michigan State. The game was close at halftime with Arizona leading by just 2. However, Arizona outscored Michigan State 48–31 in the second half en route to the 19-point victory.[1]
Duke Blue Devils
Featuring
In the Final Four, they met ACC rival Maryland for the fourth time that season after both road teams won during the ACC regular season before Duke won 84–82 in the ACC tournament semifinals in Atlanta en route to winning the tournament. Finding themselves down 39–17 with 6:57 to play in the first half and down 49–38 at the half, Duke went on to stage a comeback against the Terrapins and win 95–84 to advance to the championship game. Duke's 22-point deficit and 11-point halftime deficit marked the largest comeback in Final Four history.[2]
Starting lineups
Arizona | Position | Duke | ||
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Gilbert Arenas 2 | G | Chris Duhon 2 | ||
Jason Gardner | G | † Jay Williams 1 | ||
Michael Wright 2 | F | Mike Dunleavy Jr. 1 | ||
Richard Jefferson 1 | F | † Shane Battier 1 | ||
Loren Woods 2 | C | Casey Sanders | ||
† 2001 Consensus First Team All-American | ||||
Players selected in an NBA draft (number indicates round) |
Source[3]
Route to the game
Arizona Wildcats (#2 Midwest) | Round | Duke Blue Devils (#1 East) | ||
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Opponent | Result | Regionals | Opponent | Result |
#15 Eastern Illinois Panthers | Win 101–76 | First round | #16 Monmouth Hawks | Win 95–52 |
#10 Butler Bulldogs | Win 72–53 | Second round | #8 Missouri Tigers | Win 94–81 |
#3 Ole Miss Rebels | Win 66–56 | Regional semifinal | #4 UCLA Bruins | Win 76–63 |
#1 Illinois Fighting Illini | Win 87–81 | Regional final | #6 USC Trojans | Win 79–69 |
Opponent | Result | Final Four | Opponent | Result |
Michigan State Spartans (#1 South) | Win 80–61 | National semifinal | Maryland Terrapins (#3 West) | Win 95–84 |
Game Summary
The second-ranked team coming into the NCAA Tournament would leave giving both the school and coach
Following the season, Krzyzewski was also inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Earlier in the season, the court at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham had been named Coach K Court after the Blue Devils' second game of the year, a victory over Villanova in the second round of the NIT Season Tip-Off (then the Preseason NIT) that was Krzyzewski's 500th victory as Duke head coach.
CBS
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April 2nd, 2001
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#E1 Duke Blue Devils 82, #MW2 Arizona Wildcats 72 | ||
Scoring by half: 35–33, 47–39 | ||
6 | Pts: Loren Woods 22 Rebs: Loren Woods/Michael Wright 11 Asts: Gilbert Arenas/Luke Walton 4 |
Minneapolis, Minnesota Attendance: 45,944 Referees: Scott Thornley, Frankie Bordeaux, Ed Corbett |
References
- CNN Sports Illustrated. CNNSI.com. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
- ^ "Duke Comes Back, Trips Up Terps, 95–84". Archived from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
- ^ "Duke vs. Arizona Box Score (Men), April 2, 2001". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
External links
- Full game replay on YouTubefrom NCAA March Madness
- Final 5 minutes on YouTubefrom NCAA March Madness