2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game

The 2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game was the finals of the 2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and it determined the national champion for the 2000-01 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The game was played on April 2, 2001, at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota and featured the East Regional Champion, #1-seeded Duke versus the Midwest Regional Champion, #2-seeded Arizona.

2001 NCAA tournament championship Game
National championship game
Arizona Wildcats Duke Blue Devils
Pac-10 ACC
(28–7) (34–4)
72 82
Head coach:
Lute Olson
Head coach:
Mike Krzyzewski
1st half2nd half Total
Arizona Wildcats 3339 72
Duke Blue Devils 3547 82
DateApril 2, 2001
VenueHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
MVPShane Battier, Duke
FavoriteDuke by 3.5
RefereesScott Thornley, Frankie Bordeaux, Ed Corbett
Attendance45,944
United States TV coverage
NetworkCBS
AnnouncersJim Nantz (play-by-play)
Billy Packer (color)
Bonnie Bernstein and Armen Keteyian (sideline)
← 2000
2002 →

Participants

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Arizona Wildcats

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Featuring future NBA stars Richard Jefferson and Gilbert Arenas along with Wake Forest transfer Loren Woods, future NBA player and coach Luke Walton and future Harlem Globetrotter Eugene "Wildkat" Edgerson, Arizona entered the season ranked #1 and entered the tournament as the #2 seed in the Midwest Regional.

The Wildcats would crush Eastern Illinois and Butler to reach the Sweet 16. Arizona would beat #3 Ole Miss 66-56 and #1 Illinois to reach the Final Four.

In an emotional season in which coach Lute Olson suffered the loss of his wife Bobbi, he would be just 40 minutes away from a second national championship after his Wildcats blew out defending national champion Michigan State. The game was close at halftime with Arizona leading by just 2. However, Arizona outscored Michigan State 48–31 in the second half en route to the 19-point victory.[1]

Duke Blue Devils

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Featuring Carlos Boozer, Jay Williams and national and Defensive Player of the Year Shane Battier, the Blue Devils would travel the same path they took nine years ago when they claimed their last championship in 1992 and became the first team since UCLA in 1972 and 1973 to repeat as national champions, from Greensboro to Philadelphia to Minneapolis. In their first four games of the tournament, Duke bested Monmouth, Missouri (coached by Duke player and assistant and future NBA coach Quin Snyder) and Los Angeles rivals UCLA and USC all by double digits.

In the Final Four, they met ACC rival Maryland for the fourth time that season after both road teams won during the ACC regular season before Duke won 84–82 in the ACC tournament semifinals in Atlanta en route to winning the tournament. 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.[2]

Starting lineups

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Arizona Position Duke
Gilbert Arenas 2 G Chris Duhon 2
Jason Gardner G Jay Williams 1
Michael Wright 2 F Mike Dunleavy Jr. 1
Richard Jefferson 1 F Shane Battier 1
Loren Woods 2 C Casey Sanders
2001 Consensus First Team All-American
 Players selected in an NBA draft  (number indicates round)

Source[3]

Route to the game

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Arizona Wildcats (#2 Midwest) Round Duke Blue Devils (#1 East)
Opponent Result Regionals Opponent Result
#15 Eastern Illinois Panthers Win 101–76 First round #16 Monmouth Hawks Win 95–52
#10 Butler Bulldogs Win 72–53 Second round #8 Missouri Tigers Win 94–81
#3 Ole Miss Rebels Win 66–56 Regional semifinal #4 UCLA Bruins Win 76–63
#1 Illinois Fighting Illini Win 87–81 Regional final #6 USC Trojans Win 79–69
Opponent Result Final Four Opponent Result
Michigan State Spartans (#1 South) Win 80–61 National semifinal Maryland Terrapins (#3 West) Win 95–84

Game Summary

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The second-ranked team coming into the NCAA Tournament would leave giving both the school and coach Mike Krzyzewski their third national championship. Arizona cut Duke's lead to 39–37 early in the second half, but Mike Dunleavy Jr. – with his father, NBA coach Mike Dunleavy Sr., in the stands – connected on three consecutive three-pointers during an 11–2 Duke run on his way to a team-high 21 points. The Wildcats got back within 3 four times, including twice inside the four-minute TV timeout. However, Battier proved himself too much for the Wildcats to handle as he hit two critical shots to keep the Blue Devils comfortably ahead. Jay Williams, despite a poor shooting night, iced the game with a three-pointer from the top of the key off a Battier screen that gave give Duke an 80–72 lead with under 2 minutes to play.

Following the season, Krzyzewski was also inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Earlier in the season, the court at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham had been named Coach K Court after the Blue Devils' second game of the year, a victory over Villanova in the second round of the NIT Season Tip-Off (then the Preseason NIT) that was Krzyzewski's 500th victory as Duke head coach.

CBS
April 2nd, 2001
#E1 Duke Blue Devils 82, #MW2 Arizona Wildcats 72
Scoring by half: 35–33, 47–39
Pts: Mike Dunleavy Jr. 21
Rebs: Carlos Boozer 12
Asts: Shane Battier/Chris Duhon 6
Pts: Loren Woods 22
Rebs: Loren Woods/Michael Wright 11
Asts: Gilbert Arenas/Luke Walton 4
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 45,944
Referees: Scott Thornley, Frankie Bordeaux, Ed Corbett

References

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  1. ^ "2001 NCAA National Semifinals: (MW2) Kansas 80, (S4) Michigan State 61". CNN Sports Illustrated. CNNSI.com. Archived from the original on April 13, 2001. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
  2. ^ "Duke Comes Back, Trips Up Terps, 95–84". Archived from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  3. ^ "Duke vs. Arizona Box Score (Men), April 2, 2001". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
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