On March 28, 1992 Duke’s Christian Laettner Wins
1992: Duke’s Christian Laettner shows he’s not perfect when, with eight minutes left in the second half of the East Regional final, he stomps on the chest of a fallen Kentucky player, drawing a technical. But when it comes to shooting in the game, Laettner is perfect.
The shot that will be remembered as long as the game is replayed is Laettner’s last one, the one that just beats the overtime buzzer in Philadelphia. Kentucky had just taken a one-point lead on Sean Woods’ bank shot with two seconds left.
After a timeout, Duke’s Grant Hill is left unguarded (Kentucky coach Rick Pitino’s decision) and he flings the inbounds pass some 80 feet to a leaping Laettner, who’s near the foul line with his back to the basket. The 6-foot-11 senior takes one dribble, fakes right, turns to his left and hits a 17-foot jumper to give Duke a 104-103 victory and its fifth consecutive trip to the Final Four.
Laettner, who makes two field goals and four foul shots in the final two minutes, finishes with 31 points on 10-for-10 shooting from both the field (including one 3-pointer) and the foul line.
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