Laettner

PHILADELPHIA -- Duke was a little more than two seconds away from the end of its magnificent run as college basketball's latest dynasty. Sean Woods was a little more than two seconds away from becoming Kentucky's newest legend.But Christian Laettner didn't let either happen last night.Taking a 75-foot inbounds pass from Grant Hill at the foul line, Laettner dribbled once, faked twice and shot a 16-footer that sent the defending champion Blue Devils to a heart-pounding, mind-boggling, 104-103 overtime victory over the Wildcats in the NCAA East Regional final at The Spectrum.

PHILADELPHIA -- Bonnie Laettner can remember the first time she entered Cameron Indoor Stadium, the celebrated, 52-year-old home of the Duke basketball team."

Duke center Christian Laettner was named the 1992 Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year yesterday by The Associated Press.Laettner, also named All-American by the AP on Monday, was an overwhelming winner of the ACC award in his senior season. He received 81 of 107 votes from members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Writers Association.Walt Williams of Maryland finished second with 23 votes. North Carolina State's Tom Gugliotta, Virginia's Bryant Stith and Wake Forest's Rodney Rogers got one each.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Forget, for a moment, all the talk about repeating. For yesterday, as throughout this year's Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, all the Duke basketball team seemed concerned with was re-peaking.Though they never lost their No. 1 ranking this season, the Blue Devils appeared to slip noticeably after losing Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill last month to injuries. Hurley and Hill are back, and so apparently is Duke.If victories here over Maryland and Georgia Tech weren't convincing enough, maybe the way the top-seeded Blue Devils routed 20th-ranked North Carolina, 94-74, in the tournament's championship game at Charlotte Coliseum was evidence that the best team in the country is back on its game.

In some of yesterday's editions, it was reported incorrectly that Duke University's basketball team has been to three Final Fours. Duke has reached the national semifinals nine times, including the past four in a row. Also incorrect was that Duke's Atlantic Coast Conference tournament victory Sunday was its first. Duke had won eight previous ACC tournaments.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Forget, for a moment, all the talk about repeating. For yesterday, as throughout this year's Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, all the Duke basketball team seemed concerned with was re-peaking.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke retired Christian Laettner's number and rediscovered Bobby Hurley all in the same passionate and bittersweet night.The top-ranked Blue Devils got an unexpected lift from Hurley's early return to action last night as they slammed their way past Virginia 76-67 in hot and loud Cameron Indoor Stadium.It was a critical victory for the Blue Devils (22-2, 12-2), who clinched at least a tie for the ACC regular season championship. They forged the triumph under a smothering set of conflicting emotions that swirled around Laettner's honor, Hurley's comeback, the loss of Grant Hill (sprained ankle)

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- For months now, North Carolina had been reading this and hearing that about Duke. How the Blue Devils were college basketball's next dynasty. How the Tar Heels had slipped a notch or two in the hierarchy of the Atlantic Coast Conference.North Carolina put an end to those notions last night, as well as to Duke's unbeaten season and its 23-game winning streak. Before a surprisingly nasty crowd of 21,572 at the Smith Center and a national television audience, the ninth-ranked Tar Heels shocked the nation's No. 1 team, 75-73.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- For months now, North Carolina had been reading this and hearing that about Duke. How the Blue Devils were college basketball's next dynasty. How the Tar Heels had slipped a notch or two in the hierarchy of the Atlantic Coast Conference.North Carolina put an end to those notions last night, as well as to Duke's unbeaten season and its 23-game winning streak. Before a surprisingly nasty crowd of 21,572 at the Smith Center and a national television audience, the ninth-ranked Tar Heels shocked the nation's No. 1 team, 75-73.

TC TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Not yet, Florida State. Not quite yet.Coach Pat Kennedy's Seminoles, newcomers to the Atlantic Coast Conference's basketball wars, proved to the nation last night that they are ready for prime time. They just aren't yet ready for Duke. Who is?The Blue Devils, 16-0 and ranked No. 1, showed why by scoring the final 14 points and shaking off the Seminoles, 75-62, before a pulsating record crowd of 13,610 in the Leon County Civic Center and a national ESPN television audience.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The smell of the recently departed circus filled Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center. So did the largest crowd in Florida State basketball history, the 13,610 in attendance more than 1,200 above capacity.But just when the Seminoles, the surprise team in the Atlantic Coast Conference this season, seemed poised to make it a night to remember, Duke's defense and sophomore forward Grant Hill seized center stage, enabling the top-ranked Blue Devils to escape with a 75-62 win.The win pushed Duke's record to 16-0, matching the best start in school history.