In a finish eerily similar to the one six years ago in Philadelphia,
Duke (32-4) trailed in the final seconds and had a chance to win
it with
a buzzer-beater. But freshman William Avery couldn't match Christian
Laettner's shot-heard-round-the-world jumper that ended Duke's
104-103
victory in '92, missing a running 30-footer off the backboard
as time
expired.
"We didn't worry about 1992 at the end of the game," said Scott
Padgett,
whose 3-pointer put Kentucky ahead 84-81 with 40 seconds left.
"We were
worried only about playing good defense."
None of the players were around for that 1992 game, but the Wildcats'
fans had never quite gotten over it. Last week, Wildcat fans jeered
Duke
throughout its two subregional victories in Lexington.
Avery, who had scored only four points, was only Duke's third
option on
the final play. But Shane Battier, who took the ball out from
the far
baseline, couldn't find anyone open on the wings. Avery took off
up the
court and, guarded closely by Jeff Sheppard, launched a running
3-pointer from well beyond the arc. The shot was on line, but
ricocheted
high off the glass.
"It was kind of hard to defend him when he's got the whole court
to work
with, but he probably had to shoot a longer shot than he wanted,"
Sheppard said.
For a split-second, some Blue Devils thought Avery had sunk a
shot far
longer and more difficult than Laettner's memorable game-winner.
"William is our quickest guy going up the court," Duke coach Mike
Krzyzewski said. "He (Sheppard) turned him around at least once,
but he
still got off a great shot. When he took the shot, I thought he
might
have hit it."
Avery couldn't call a timeout because Roshown McLeod had taken
Duke's
last one with 5:21 remaining, at the end of a pivotal 17-3 Kentucky
run.
Kentucky (33-4), the No. 2 seed in the South, now plays Stanford
in the
Final Four on Saturday in San Antonio. A win would send the Wildcats
to
their third consecutive national championship game, this time
against
either Utah or North Carolina, but their first under new coach
Tubby
Smith. With Duke joining top-seeded Arizona and Kansas on the
sideline,
North Carolina is the only remaining top seed.
The hottest team in college basketball with 11 consecutive victories,
the Wildcats, playing the Blue Devils for the first time since
their '92
matchup, fell behind 38-20 after a 17-0 Duke run and trailed 69-52
with
just over 10 minutes left.
"I've never been part of a comeback like that," Kentucky's Heshimu
Evans
said. "But I knew we wouldn't give up. We have too much character
and
heart for that."
Wayne Turner, outplayed badly by gritty Duke point guard Steve
Wojciechowski in the first half, led the comeback, scoring 11
of his 16
points in the second half. Playing on his birthday, he was chosen
as the
MVP. Sheppard had 18 points and 11 rebounds and Padgett had 12
points.
Duke, led by Roshown McLeod's 19 points and Trajan Langdon's 18,
scored
only 13 points in the final 9:38.
(2) Kentucky 86, (1) Duke 84
KENTUCKY (86)
fg ft tp
-- -- --
Edwards 4-8 1-2 11
Padgett 4-10 1-2 12
Mohammed 4-10 0-2 8
Turner 5-14 6-8 16
Sheppard 5-11 7-9 18
Smith 0-0 0-0 0
Evans 5-8 2-2 14
Mills 1-1 2-2 5
Magliore 1-1 0-0 2
---------------------------------
Totals 29-63 19-27 86
DUKE (84)
fg ft tp
-- -- --
McLeod 7-20 3-7 19
Carawell 5-11 2-2 12
Brand 1-4 2-4 4
Wojciechowski 3-5 1-3 10
Langdon 6-14 3-4 18
Avery 2-4 0-0 4
Chappell 2-2 0-0 6
Battier 3-6 5-6 11
Burgess 0-1 0-0 0
---------------------------------
Totals 29-67 16-26 84
Halftime-Duke 49, Kentucky 39. 3-Point goals-Kentucky 9-17,
(Padgett 3-5, Evans 2-2, Edwards 2-5, Mills 1-1, Sheppard 1-3,
Turner 0-1), Duke 10-25, (Wojciechowski 3-5, Langdon 3-8,
Chappell 2-2, McLeod 2-7, Avery 0-1, Carawell 0-2). Fouled
out-Brand. Rebounds-Kentucky 46 (Sheppard, Evans 11), Duke 43
(McLeod, Battier 8). Assists-Kentucky 14 (Turner 8), Duke 14
(Wojciechowski, Langdon 4). Total fouls-Kentucky 21, Duke 22.
A-40,589.