It’s time to review the best all-time Duke Blue Devils Final Fours. Will the Duke Blue Devils basketball team win this season’s national championship? As March Madness looms, let’s review the team’s best all-time Final Four appearances. We’ll briefly summarize each team’s season, remarking on the coach and top players. Then, we’ll recap their tournament journey, highlighting pivotal moments leading up to the Final Four.
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Table of Contents
Duke Blue Devils Final Fours
The following are the best Duke Blue Devils Final Fours of all-time. We’ll discuss each Final Four result, touching on the team’s season leading up to their tournament appearance.
1991 Final Four
- Final Four Result – 79-77 victory vs. UNLV (national semifinal), 72-65 victory vs. Kansas (championship)
- Coach – Mike Krzyzewski
- Top Players – Grant Hill, Bobby Hurley, and Christian Laettner
- Final Standing – 32-7 Overall, 11-3 ACC
The 1990-91 Duke Blue Devils had plenty of NBA talent, as they had eight NBA players on the squad. Mike “Coach K” Krzyzewski led the team to the top spot in the ACC regular season championship, but the Blue Devils only won one game in the conference tournament. After winning against NC State by 21 points, Duke bowed out of the ACC Tournament against rival North Carolina, 96-74.
Coach K had yet to win a national title, so this was the time for his Blue Devils to prove themselves. After falling in the ACC Tournament, Duke received a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The team’s first-round matchup was Louisiana-Monroe of the Southland Conference.
The Blue Devils did not waste any time as they started the NCAA Tournament with plenty of double-digit wins. Duke beat Louisiana-Monroe by 29 points and then handily beat Iowa, UConn, and St. John’s. Next up was a date with the best team in the country, #1 UNLV, in the Final Four. Jerry Tarkanian’s defending champion UNLV Rebels had seniors Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon, and Greg Anthony. At RCA Dome, Duke narrowly beat UNLV, 79-77, behind Christian Laettner’s 28 points. Then in the championship game, Duke took on #3 Kansas. A balanced scoring attack of Christian Laettner, Billy McCaffrey, Bobby Hurley, and Grant Hill led the way to 72-65, and the Blue Devils were crowned as national champions for the first time.
1992 Final Four
- Final Four Result – 81-78 victory vs. Indiana (national semifinal), 71-51 victory vs. Michigan (championship)
- Coach – Mike Krzyzewski
- Top Players – Grant Hill, Bobby Hurley, and Christian Laettner
- Final Standing – 34-2 Overall, 14-2 ACC
In college basketball, the sequel can be even better than the original, and that is what happened with the 1991-92 Duke Blue Devils. Coach K’s squad was truly unbelievable, and Duke quickly became a juggernaut of college basketball. The team steamrolled through the season, only losing two games. Duke began the season as the top team in the AP poll and they finished in the exact same spot.
During the regular season, the Blue Devils had notable victories against St. John’s, Georgia Tech, and UCLA. Duke easily won the ACC regular season title again, and they made it look easy in the ACC Tournament. The Blue Devils won three straight games to the conference tournament championship.
Then, the NCAA Tournament was next up, and of course, they were not going to be able to steamroll their way to the Final Four. The first couple of rounds were relatively easy, with wins over #16 Campbell and #9 Iowa. Then, at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, the first contest was a 12-point win over #4 Seton Hall. The second was a tough contest against #2 Kentucky, and what a game that was. It was the game that “The Shot” occurred – Grant Hill threw a three-quarter-court pass to Christian Laettner, who made the game-winning shot at the overtime buzzer to give Duke the 104-103 win. Then, the national semifinal was another impressive game: an 81-78 win over Bob Knight’s #2 Indiana Hoosiers. Duke then made it look easy in the national championship, as the Blue Devils beat #6 Michigan, 71-51, to capture back-to-back titles.
2001 Final Four
- Final Four Result – 95-84 victory vs. Maryland (national semifinal), 82-72 victory vs. Arizona (championship)
- Coach – Mike Krzyzewski
- Top Players – Shane Battier, Jason Williams, and Carlos Boozer
- Final Standing – 35-4 Overall, 13-3 ACC
How good was Coach K as a coach? Well, he won double-digit ACC regular season titles, achieved double-digit ACC tournament titles, and made double-digit Final Fours. He was so impressive that any time his Duke Blue Devils contended — and they contended very often — there was no one better to have on the sidelines. In 2000-01, his team was a well-balanced and mighty young one.
Led by the likes of Jay Williams, Shane Battier, Mike Dunleavy, Nate James, Carlos Boozer, and Chris Duhon, the Dukies were just that impressive. They scored more than 90 points per game en route to an ACC regular season title, an ACC Tournament title, and yet another Final Four.
In the ACC Tournament, Duke had just one close game, and it was the semifinal: an 84-82 win vs. Maryland at the Georgia Dome. Then, Battier and company destroyed rival North Carolina in the ACC title game, 79-53. Next up was the NCAA Tournament, and of course, Duke was a No. 1 seed. #16 Monmouth was an easy opponent, and then #9 Missouri made it a bit more difficult, but Duke won, 94-81. Then, the tough opponents were next up: #4 UCLA and #6 USC were among the top 15 teams in the country, but they were no match for Duke. Then in the Final Four, it was unbelievable that Duke got to face #3 Maryland again. Juan Dixon and the Terrapins were no match, as Duke got 25 points from Battier and 23 from Williams in an 11-point win. Then, in the National Championship against Arizona, Dunleavy stepped up with 21 points on 5-for-9 shooting from deep in the 82-72 win.
2015 Final Four
- Final Four Result – 81-61 victory vs. Michigan State (national semifinal), 68-63 victory vs. Wisconsin (championship)
- Coach – Mike Krzyzewski
- Top Players – Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow, and Tyus Jones
- Final Standing – 35-4 Overall, 15-3 ACC
There was somewhat of a youth movement in Coach K’s fourth championship team in 2001, but that was nothing compared to his squad in 2015. He had three double-digit freshman scorers — Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow, and Tyus Jones — to go along with senior Quinn Cook, who averaged 15 points of his own.
However, this Duke team did not do as well in the ACC Tournament. After a 77-53 win over NC State, the Devils lost to a battle-tested Notre Dame team that was one of the best in the country. Notre Dame was not a deep team, but the Fighting Irish’s bench outshined Duke’s bench in the 74-64 win.
Spirits were not high heading into the NCAA Tournament, but Coach K had been through this before. He knew that he would have to motivate his freshmen, who were not battle-tested. After #1 Duke cruised through the first weekend with big wins over #16 Robert Morris and #8 San Diego State, it was time to buckle up. In the Sweet Sixteen, Winslow began his onslaught, as he scored 21 points in a 63-57 win over #5 Utah. He and sophomore guard Matt Jones had 16 apiece in a 66-52 victory over #2 Gonzaga. Then, in the Final Four, it was Winslow again, as he put up 19 in the 81-61 win over #7 Michigan State. In the Championship Game, #1 Wisconsin played a tough contest, but it was Tyus Jones who scored 23 as the Blue Devils cut down the nets once again.
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Duke Blue Devils Game Odds
The following are the latest point spread, total, and moneyline odds for the next Duke Blue Devils basketball game, including any NCAA March Madness or Final Four tournament game.
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Duke Blue Devils Standings
Have a look at Duke’s current and past regular season standings before their next big matchup. Performance trends can often indicate the best way to bet on a game. Don’t forget to handicap the opposing team, too.
| Team | W-L | Win% | Home | Away | Conf | CGB | Conf% | Strk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #2 Duke | 27-3 | 0.900 | 17-0 | 9-1 | 18-1 | - | 0.947 | W7 |
Tournament Resources
March Madness
- March Madness Betting Bonuses – See our recommendations for the best new and existing customer betting bonuses.
- March Madness Bracket Betting – Learn to bet on the March Madness tournament bracket, plus pick up some invaluable tournament betting strategies.
- March Madness Point Spreads – Review the latest point spreads for upcoming March Madness events.
- March Madness Moneylines – We’ve got the latest March Madness moneylines, plus a handy tutorial explaining how to place this simple bet.
- March Madness Prop Bets – We’ve got the latest March Madness prop bets and handy betting tutorial all in one article.
- March Madness Final Four Appearances – See which teams have made the most Final Four appearances in recent history.
- March Madness Bracket Busters – Have a look back at the best all-time bracket busting teams.
- March Madness Underdogs to Bet On – We’ve preselected a list of moneyline underdogs worth betting on.
- March Madness Over Under Trends – Our classic study looks at over-under total betting trends for the tournament broken down by seed and conference to identify unique betting opportunities.
Final Four
- Odds to Make the Final Four – See current futures odds to make the Final Four.
- Best Final Four Overtime Games – Review the best Final Four overtime games in history, including game results and summaries.