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Sunday, January 12, 2025

Greatest Game Ever Played – Duke vs. Kentucky 1992 in the Elite Eight


In honor of March Madness, we’re detailing the most influential college games of all time. The shot, the pass. Joy, nausea. The greatest game ever took place on March 28, 1992 between Duke and Kentucky in the Elite Eight. Tap into the nostalgia with brand new pieces from our Greatest Game Ever Played collection, available now. Shop here.


Okay, let’s take a collective moment and dig into the memories. Think of the greatest game you’ve ever seen. Michael Jordan’s “last shot” against the Utah Jazz in the 1998 Finals. Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals. How about Syracuse and UConn’s six overtime games in 2009? The question is frankly subjective. Those are all fair answers, but if we’re talking about star power and pulse, it has to be the 1992 Elite Eight matchup between Duke and Kentucky.

Two legendary coaches, two legendary teams and a host of future NBA recruits. Last week we profiled the game that jumped on the appeal of March Madness. This week, we dive into two teams that embodied the glory, excitement and thrills of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson’s start.

But this game wasn’t just any game. It was an epic, weighty showdown, as if Hov and Biggie were fighting cryptography. Shot for shot, bar for bar. 104-103, Dx.

The image of Christian Lettner spinning and soaring over Deron Fieldhouse is ingrained in the minds of Dukies, Kentucky diehards and basketball fans spanning generations.

After going 26-6 and securing the No. 2 seed in the East Region, Kentucky swept Old Dominion, Iowa State and No. 3 UMass en route to the matchup of the century. Led by sophomore Jamal Mashburn and the Unforgettables, four seniors in John Pelphrey, Feldhouse, Richie Farmer and Sean Woods; In fact, they will steamroll you.

Across the hall, Mike Krzyzewski had assembled one of his most prized lists. Senior center Christian Leitner, sophomore Grant Hill and two juniors in Bobby Hurley and Thomas Hill were seemingly unstoppable outside of those two scrappy losses on their record. The reigning national champions had hardware on the brain.

The tension inside The Spectrum in Philadelphia, now known as the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, could be cut with the dullest of knives. Duke in their home whites, Kentucky in their away blues.

With eight minutes to go, Duke had taken complete command at 79-69. Yeah, Kentucky didn’t have it. In just two minutes, the Wildcats went on an emphatic 12-2 run to tie the game at 81 points. The catalyst. Back to Pitino’s man-to-man defense that stretched the entire 94 feet of the court.

The Cats attacked, clawing their way back into the game. Duke’s frustration boiled over and then boiled over when Lettner pointedly stomped on the chest of Kentucky’s Aminu Timberlake. Expulsion. Up to you. Technical? Definitely. Game changer. Kind of.

The last five minutes of the game turned into a slugfest. I mean, yes, it was physical. Physical to frustrated hits. But the greatness of the contest lies in both teams giving up shots outright. Both teams shot 63 percent from the field in the final 25 minutes of the game.

“It was like being in Carnegie Hall and just seeing the best musician or the best singer and just sitting there wondering what they’re doing on the basketball court,” Pitino told the media before Louisville’s game against Duke in March. 2019

When the buzzer sounded, Kentucky had knocked down 57 percent of their attempts and 54.5 percent from downtown. Duke, meanwhile, came away shooting over 65 percent from the field and a clean 50 percent from deep. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, there’s still time on the clock. Exactly one minute.

Thomas Hill just tied the game at 93 on a walk-off floater. Now it was time for Kentucky to take advantage of its powerful run in the second half. The play was initially fumbled, but Deron Feldhaus recovered the fumble that ultimately sent the game into its imminent and notable overtime.

John Pelfrey, a 6-7 forward, missed a layup four minutes from the rim, giving Kentucky the slimmest of three points, before running down the other end and making a significant charge to Brian Davis. All-American Bobby Hurley responded in kind with a box of his own. Meanwhile, Kentucky’s top player, Jamal Mashburn, came on midway through the period. Sochi had 23 points, 10 boards and two steals. And one after another, the Blue Devils and Wildcats answered buckets with buckets.

With 7.8 seconds left, Shaun Woods took the sideline inbounds, quickly double-crossed Hurley, drove into the paint and made a contested layup over Leitner’s outstretched arms. Glass, then mesh. 103-102 Kentucky. 2.1 seconds left.

“I’ve always been a playmaker. I was popular and good at getting people the ball. At this particular moment, it was just my time to go get a shot,” Woods told the NCAA in 2017.

That was until Grant Hill and Christian Lettner combined for one of the most spectacular drives in basketball history.

In the thick of it, Pitino developed a strategy based on Clemson’s loss to UConn in an eerily similar situation during the 1990 tournament. No one would protect an immigrant. Send two Laettners instead. In the end it didn’t matter. We all know what happens next.

Honestly, the pass was as tough as the hit that ended many a college career. We’ve seen too many full-court misses to take for granted the accuracy with which Grant Hill hit that 75-footer. Kashi perfectly met the palms of Lettner, who faked his right before turning his left foot to meet his right. The most hated 6-11 man in America towered over the Feldhouse and led the Blue Devils back to the Final Four.

Antonio Lang immediately fell to the paint. Thomas Hill was crying. And Lettner was attacked with a pile of blue and white streaks in front of the Wildcats’ bench.

“The Shot” and Laettner were immortalized along with Duke’s eventual national championship. And while there have been plenty of battle buzzers since ’92, even for the chip, nothing can really touch the magic of the Duke-Kentucky matchup all those years ago. Hell, we’re still writing about it 32 years later.

Photos via Getty Images.





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