2000–01 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team

2000–2001 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball
National Champions,
ACC Tournament Champions,
ACC Regular Season Co-Champions
NCAA National Championship Game
vs. Arizona, W, 82–72
Conference Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches #1
AP #1
2000–2001 record 35–4 (13–3 ACC)
Head coach Mike Krzyzewski
Assistant coach Johnny Dawkins
Assistant coach Chris Collins
Assistant coach Steve Wojciechowski
Home arena Cameron Indoor Stadium
Seasons
« 1999–2000 2001–2002 »

The 2000–01 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team was a Division I college basketball team that competed in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Under the leadership of All-American duo Shane Battier and Jason "Jay" Williams, coach Mike Krzyzewski's Blue Devils won their third national championship in program history.

Contents

Roster

No. Position Year Player
3 F So Nick Horvath
4 C So Carlos Boozer
5 G Sr Ryan Caldbeck
12 G/F Fr Andre Sweet
13 G Sr J.D. Simpson
14 F/G Sr Nate James
15 G So Andre Buckner
20 C So Casey Sanders
No. Position Year Player
21 G Fr Chris Duhon
22 G So Jason Williams
31 F Sr Shane Battier
34 G/F So Mike Dunleavy, Jr.
40 F/C Fr Andy Borman
41 F Jr Matt Christensen
42 F Fr Reggie Love

Expectations

Shane Battier entered his senior season as the remaining member of Duke's heralded recruiting class of 1997 which included Elton Brand and William Avery and had nearly led Duke to a championship two years earlier. (Brand and Avery, along with Corey Maggette would become the first Duke underclassmen to leave early for the draft that year.) Despite losing the reigning ACC Player of the Year Chris Carrawell to graduation, the Blue Devils still retained sophomores Jason Williams, Mike Dunleavy, Jr., and Carlos Boozer and welcomed the addition of freshman Chris Duhon to their lineup.

Regular season

On January 27, 2001, the second-ranked Blue Devils played at eighth-ranked Maryland Terrapins in what would become the first of four contests between these two ACC rivals that year. With Duke trailing by 10 points with 54 seconds left in regulation, Williams scored eight points, including two three-pointers, in a 13-second span and James hit two free throws to send this game into overtime. In overtime Battier blocked a layup by Juan Dixon at the baseline with 4 seconds left to preserve a 98–96 victory.[1]

However, the Blue Devils stumbled in the next game at home against their archrival, fourth-ranked North Carolina by a score of 85–83.[2] A month later, Maryland would avenge their previous home loss to Duke when the No. 16 Terrapins defeated the No. 2 Blue Devils 91–80 on Shane Battier's Senior Night in Cameron Indoor Stadium. After center Carlos Boozer had to leave with a foot injury in that game[3], coach Krzyzewski decided to change his game strategy, favoring a smaller, quicker lineup by having Duhon start at point guard and moving Williams over to shooting guard. His plan was successful in his next game at North Carolina, when Duke defeated the No. 4 Tar Heels 95–81 to claim a share of the regular season championship.[4] With many pundits having written Duke off after Boozer's injury, the new-look Blue Devils in fact went on to win all 6 of its following games before Boozer rejoined the team in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.

Conference Tournament

Duke finished the regular season with a 26–4 record entering the ACC Tournament as a No. 2 seed. In the tournament semifinals, they met Maryland for the third time this season. In another thrilling contest, after Maryland had rallied from a 14-point, second-half deficit, the Blue Devils defeated the Terrapins 84–82 when Nate James tipped in the game-winner with 1.3 seconds left[5] to advance to the title game against North Carolina. In the third game between Duke and UNC that season, the Blue Devils emerged victorious as ACC Tournament champions by the score of 79–53[6] and received a No. 1 seed in the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament.

NCAA tournament

The Blue Devils would travel the same path they took nine years ago when they claimed their last championship in 1992, from Greensboro to Philadelphia to Minneapolis, where they met Maryland for the fourth time that season, this time in the Final Four with a berth in the championship game at stake. 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.[7]

Facing fifth-ranked Arizona led by Gilbert Arenas and Richard Jefferson and coached by Lute Olson, who had lost his wife to cancer earlier during the season, Duke was able to stave off a comeback attempt in the second half and clinch the title by a final score of 82–72. With his third national championship, coach Mike Krzyzewski tied his mentor Bob Knight for third place behind Adolph Rupp (4) and John Wooden (10). Battier was named the NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player.[8]

2000–01 schedule and results

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Record
November 14, 2000* 9:00 PM Princeton #2 Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC ESPN W 87–50  1–0
November 17, 2000* 7:00 PM Villanova #2 Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC ESPN W 98–85  2–0
November 22, 2000* 9:00 PM vs. Texas #2 Madison Square GardenNew York, NY
(Preseason NIT)
ESPN W 95–69  3–0
November 24, 2000* 9:00 PM vs. Temple #2 Madison Square Garden • New York, NY
(Preseason NIT)
ESPN W 63–61  4–0
November 25, 2000* 9:00 PM Army #2 Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC HTS W 91–48  5–0
November 28, 2000* 9:00 PM vs. #9 Illinois #1 Greensboro ColiseumGreensboro, NC
(ACC–Big Ten Challenge)
ESPN W 78–77  6–0
December 2, 2000* 7:00 PM at #17 Temple #1 First Union CenterPhiladelphia, PA ESPN W 93–68  7–0
December 5, 2000* 7:00 PM Davidson #1 Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC FSS/HTS W 102–60  8–0
December 9, 2000* 9:00 PM Michigan #1 Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC ESPN W 104–61  9–0
December 19, 2000* 10:00 PM at Portland #1 Rose GardenPortland, OR W 97–64  10–0
December 21, 2000* 9:00 PM vs. #3 Stanford #1 The Arena in OaklandOakland, CA
(Pete Newell Challenge)
FSN/HTS L 83–84  10–1
December 30, 2000* 1:30 PM North Carolina A&T #3 Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC RJ W 108–73  11–1
January 4, 2001 7:00 PM at Florida State #3 Tallahassee-Leon County Civic CenterTallahassee, FL ESPN2 W 99–72  12–1
January 7, 2001 1:30 PM Clemson #3 Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC RJ W 115–74  13–1
January 10, 2001 9:00 PM at NC State #2 RBC CenterRaleigh, NC ESPN W 84–78  14–1
January 13, 2001 3:30 PM #10 Virginia #2 Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC ABC W 103–61  15–1
January 16, 2001* 7:30 PM #25 Boston College #2 Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC ESPN2 W 97–75  16–1
January 20, 2001 12:00 PM at Georgia Tech #2 Alexander Memorial ColiseumAtlanta, GA ESPN W 98–77  17–1
January 24, 2001 9:00 PM #9 Wake Forest #2 Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC RJ W 85–62  18–1
January 27, 2001 8:00 PM at #8 Maryland #2 Cole Field HouseCollege Park, MD ESPN W 98–96 OT 19–1
February 1, 2001 9:00 PM #4 North Carolina #2 Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC ESPN2 L 83–85  19–2
February 4, 2001 1:00 PM Florida State #2 Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC RJ W 100–58  20–2
February 7, 2001 9:00 PM at Clemson #3 Littlejohn ColiseumClemson, SC ESPN W 81–64  21–2
February 11, 2001 3:30 PM NC State #3 Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC ABC W 101–75  22–2
February 14, 2001 7:00 PM at #12 Virginia #3 University HallCharlottesville, VA ESPN L 89–91  22–3
February 18, 2001* 12:00 PM at St. John's #3 Madison Square Garden • New York, NY CBS W 91–59  23–3
February 21, 2001 7:00 PM Georgia Tech #4 Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC ESPN W 98–54  24–3
February 24, 2001 1:00 PM at #24 Wake Forest #4 Lawrence Joel ColiseumWinston-Salem, NC CBS W 82–80  25–3
February 27, 2001 8:00 PM #16 Maryland #2 Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC RJ L 80–91  25–4
March 4, 2001 3:30 PM at #4 North Carolina #2 Dean Smith CenterChapel Hill, NC ABC W 95–81  26–4
March 9, 2001 7:00 PM vs. NC State #3 Georgia Dome • Atlanta, GA
(ACC Tournament Quarterfinals)
ESPN W 76–61  27–4
March 10, 2001 4:15 PM vs. #11 Maryland #3 Georgia Dome • Atlanta, GA
(ACC Tournament Semifinals)
ESPN W 84–82  28–4
March 11, 2001 1:15 PM vs. #6 North Carolina #3 Georgia Dome • Atlanta, GA
(ACC Tournament Finals)
ESPN W 79–53  29–4
March 15, 2001* 7:45 PM vs. Monmouth #1 Greensboro Coliseum • Greensboro, NC
(NCAA East First Round)
CBS W 95–52  30–4
March 17, 2001* 1:15 PM vs. Missouri #1 Greensboro Coliseum • Greensboro, NC
(NCAA East Second Round)
CBS W 94–81  31–4
March 22, 2001* 7:30 PM vs. #15 UCLA #1 Wachovia Center • Philadelphia, PA
(NCAA East Regional Semifinal)
CBS W 76–63  32–4
March 24, 2001* 7:00 PM vs. USC #1 Wachovia Center • Philadelphia, PA
(NCAA East Regional Final)
CBS W 79–69  33–4
March 31, 2001* vs. #11 Maryland #1 Hubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeMinneapolis, MN
(NCAA National Semifinal)
CBS W 95–84  34–4
April 2, 2001* vs. #5 Arizona #1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome • Minneapolis, MN
(NCAA National Championship)
CBS W 82–72  35–4
*Non-Conference Game. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll.

Accomplishments

See also

References

External links