1991 College Basketball Recap

Updated August 5, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

Fourth time was a charm for coach Mike Krzyzewski and his Duke Blue Devils. After eight consecutive tournament invitations and four consecutive NCAA Final Four appearances, Duke finally took home the pot of gold with a 72-65 win over Roy Williams' Kansas Jayhawks.

Duke rode the performances of Final Four Most Outstanding Player Bobby Hurley who ran the show with 12 points and nine assists, All-American Christian Laettner and a freshman Grant Hill who showed signs of what was to come with his all-around game. Roy Williams and his scrappy Jayhawk team defeated his teacher Dean Smith and North Carolina in the semifinal game 79-73 without any major stars but was really never close in the championship game with Duke.

Coach K. had to do all he could to prevent a Duke letdown after their stunning semifinal upset over defending champion and previously undefeated UNLV. The Runnin' Rebels pounded Duke by 30 points in the 1990 championship game and looked invincible this year as well behind All-Americans Larry Johnson and Stacey Augmon and guards Greg Anthony and Anderson Hunt. But Duke held on to win 79-77 in a nip and tuck affair that ended with Hunt missing a possible game-winning shot just before the buzzer went off.

Despite not winning consecutive championships, Johnson could take some solace in being voted the consensus player of the year, no small feat in a year that included Laettner, Georgia Tech star Kenny Anderson and LSU's Shaquille O'Neal. Ohio State's Randy Ayers was voted consensus coach of the year, leading the Buckeyes to a Big Ten championship and a 27-4 overall mark, until they were eventually upset by St. John's in the “Sweet Sixteen”.