Duke wasn't supposed to win the national title in 1991. The polls, the experts, and the fans all agreed--the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Runnin' Rebels, the undefeated defending national champions, would become the first team in more than two decades to win back-to-back championships.

So the odds were stacked heavily against Duke when they took the court against UNLV in the national semifinals. Duke had an extra reason to play hard: the Runnin' Rebels had defeated Duke in the 1990 title game. But led by Christian Laettner's 28 points, the Blue Devils pulled off a miracle, sending the national champions home with their only loss of the season.

Kansas defeated the University of North Carolina in the other semifinal game, destroying the chance of an all-ACC final. Laettner and Bill McCaffrey led the Devils in scoring in the title game, and Hurley dished out 12 assists as Duke won 72-65. Finally, Coach K had done what no other coach in Duke history had: won the national title.

The following year, Duke was no longer the underdog. This time, the experts all agreed--the Blue Devils were the odds-on favorite to win the 1992 national title.

The Devils cruised through much of the NCAA tournament. Laettner became the tournament's all-time leading scorer and Hurley became the tourney's all-time leader in assists as the Blue Devils became the first school since UCLA to repeat as national champion. Hurley took up the slack with 26 points when Laettner was limited to eight points in an 81-78 decision over Indiana in the national semifinals. Laettner closed out his college career with a game-high 19 points in the championship game against Michigan, which became the only school to ever lead an NCAA final at halftime and end up losing the game by at least 20 points.

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