UCONN CAN! HUSKIES STUN DUKE FOR TITLE : UCONN 77, DUKE 74.Byline: Jon Wilner Daily News Staff Writer The pursuit of history ended here Monday night with a brilliant collision, leaving a state in ecstasy and the nation's No. 1 team without the crown required to validate its dominance. In a frantic, fabulous 40 minutes, Connecticut did what few thought possible and no one had done in four months: It stopped the Duke machine with an airtight game plan, smothering smothering death by asphyxiation. Occurs where poultry are carelessly herded into a corner where they cannot escape and where they are piled four or five birds deep; they will die of asphyxia very quickly. See also crowding. defense and a little help from a guy named Rip. Behind 27 points from All-American Richard ``Rip'' Hamilton, the Huskies won their first national title - and wrote the greatest chapter in the state's sporting history - with a marvelous 77-74 victory over Duke before 41,340 at Tropicana Field • • [ . ``This was one of the greatest games I've ever been involved with,'' Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun James A. Calhoun (born May 10, 1942 in Braintree, Massachusetts) is the head coach of the University of Connecticut's men's basketball team. He has won two national championships, the 1999 and 2004 NCAA titles, as well as the 1988 NIT championship. said. ``The kids were saying they wanted Duke instead of Michigan State. I said maybe the wiser head knows better. But the kids knew better.'' The buzzer sounded with Blue Devils senior guard Trajan Langdon Trajan Shaka Langdon (born May 13, 1976 in Anchorage, Alaska) is an American professional basketball player. A 6' 3" shooting guard, he gained fame in the U. S. while playing college basketball at Duke University. (25 points) sprawled on the court; his last-gasp, full-court charge had ended with a turnover. Calhoun, whose decision to play Duke at warp speed warp speed n. Informal An extremely rapid speed or state of activity: "A young pronghorn antelope teased a yearling wolf, shifting into warp speed and leaving the wolf in the dust when it tried to pursue" worked to perfection Adv. 1. to perfection - in every detail; "the new house suited them to a T" just right, to a T, to the letter , embraced his assistants and then hugged Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski Michael William Krzyzewski (ʃəʃɛfˈskiˌ; in American English transliteration "shuh-shef-skee"; born February 13, 1947 in Chicago, Illinois), often referred to as Coach "K" . Scheduled for hip replacement surgery next week, Krzyzewski then left the court with a stern expression - one he had seen before. Eight years ago today, Duke stunned supposedly unbeatable Nevada-Las Vegas in an equally riveting Final Four duel in Indianapolis. Once again, a team that couldn't be beaten had fallen one game short of securing its place among the greatest. ``They were good, and we were good,'' Krzyzewski said. ``They did things better than we did at the end, and they won.'' Connecticut (34-2) not only avenged NCAA Tournament NCAA Tournament can mean: Men's Sports
``We were 10-point underdogs, and we thought that was ridiculous,'' point guard Khalid El-Amin Khalid El-Amin (born April 25, 1979 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American professional basketball player. He was a member of the 1999 UConn men's basketball team that won the NCAA championship. He is originally from Minnesota where he played for North High School in Minneapolis. said. ``We wanted to prove everyone wrong.'' Realizing it was no match for Duke in a half-court game, Connecticut did whatever it could to generate pace. The Huskies opened the game with full-court pressure, swarmed Duke center Elton Brand Elton Tyron Brand (born March 11, 1979 in Peekskill, New York) is an American All-Star professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Clippers and the USA National Team. (15 points), and pushed their fastbreak at every opportunity. They have a deep bench, superb athletes and players who thrive in open-court situations. It was the way they like to play, the only way they could play. Instead of backing down from the Durham bully, the Huskies attacked. They spread Duke's defense and used their speed to slash into the lane. Senior guard Ricky Moore shed his reputation as a defensive specialist and scored nine of Connecticut's first 15 points, but the main man was Hamilton. He was too quick for Duke, and his jumper was right all night. Hamilton hit 10 of 22 shots, then gave way to El-Amin, whose short jumper from the left side with 1:05 left gave Connecticut a 75-72 lead and proved to be the winning shot. Duke's best chance collapsed when Langdon, matched against Moore, traveled on his way through the lane with five seconds left. ``Absolutely, positively, I want Trajan to take that shot,'' Krzyzewski said. ``I'll win or lose with Trajan. I'll walk down any road with Trajan.'' The Huskies edged to a 36-32 lead late in the half when Langdon singlehandedly changed the momentum. He buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key, then drained a 3-pointer from the left wing as Moore fouled him. The rare four-point play gave Duke a narrow lead at halftime. Langdon kept his rhythm through intermission and scored five quick points to open the second half. When William Avery William Avery may refer to:
But Connecticut reserve Connecticut Reserve: see Western Reserve. Albert Mouring slowed Duke's momentum with a 12-footer from the lane, and Connecticut scored on its next six possessions. The final basket was Mouring's, as he slashed the left baseline for a nifty layup that gave the Huskies a 57-53 lead. Their margin expanded to 65-59 on Hamilton's jumper from the left wing with nine minutes left. Duke responded immediately. Brand blocked a Hamilton shot, then raced downcourt down·court adv. & adj. Sports To, into, or in the far end of the court, especially in basketball. to receive Avery's pass for a layup. Two possessions later, Carrawell's mid-range jumper trimmed Connecticut's lead to 65-63, and he tied it with 4:50 remaining. The final minutes were riveting, beginning with Hamilton's 3-pointer from the left wing that gave Connecticut a 73-68 lead. Two minutes later, Battier grabbed an improbable rebound and fed Langdon for a 3-pointer - right wing, 1:40 left - that brought Duke within one point. BY THE NUMBERS A statistical look at the NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association championship game: 1: NCAA titles and Final Four appearances for Connecticut. 2-6: Duke's all-time record in championship games. 10-0: Connecticut's record this season when trailing at the half. 25.4: Duke's average margin of victory, tops in the nation this season. 32: Consecutive wins by the Blue Devils before Monday's loss to UConn. 41: Duke's shooting percentage in the final, its lowest this season. 145: MVP (Multimedia Video Processor) A high-speed DSP chip from Texas Instruments, introduced in 1994. Officially introduced as the TMS320C80, it combines RISC technology with the functionality of four DSPs on one chip. Richard Hamilton's point total in six tournament games. LARGEST UPSETS Biggest underdogs to win the NCAA championship since 1961, with point spread, year and score: 9-1/2: 1985, Villanova 66, Georgetown 64 9-1/2: 1999, Connecticut 77, Duke 74 8-1/2: 1983, North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. St. 54, Houston 52 8-1/2: 1988, Kansas 83, Oklahoma 73 8: 1961, Cincinnati 70, Ohio State 65 (OT) 7: 1997, Arizona 84, Kentucky 79 (OT) 6-1/2: 1966, Texas Western 72, Kentucky 65 NCAA CHAMPIONS 1939: Oregon 1940: Indiana 1941: Wisconsin 1942: Stanford 1943: Wyoming 1944: Utah 1945: Oklahoma A&M 1946: Oklahoma A&M 1947: Holy Cross 1948: Kentucky 1949: Kentucky 1950: CCNY CCNY City College of New York (obsolete) CCNY Collector's Club of New York (philatelic group) 1951: Kentucky 1952: Kansas 1953: Indiana 1954: La Salle La Salle, city (1990 pop. 9,717), La Salle co., N Ill., on the Illinois River; settled 1830, inc. 1852. It forms a tricity unit with Peru and Oglesby. Corn, wheat, and soybeans are grown, and cattle and hogs are raised. 1955: San Francisco 1956: San Francisco 1957: North Carolina 1958: Kentucky 1959: California 1960: Ohio State 1961: Cincinnati 1962: Cincinnati 1963: Loyola, Ill. 1964: UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX 1965: UCLA 1966: Texas Western 1967: UCLA 1968: UCLA 1969: UCLA 1970: UCLA 1971: UCLA 1972: UCLA 1973: UCLA 1974: North Carolina State 1975: UCLA 1976: Indiana 1977: Marquette 1978: Kentucky 1979: Michigan State 1980: Louisville 1981: Indiana 1982: North Carolina 1983: North Carolina State 1984: Georgetown 1985: Villanova 1986: Louisville 1987: Indiana 1988: Kansas 1989: Michigan 1990: UNLV UNLV University of Nevada, Las Vegas 1991: Duke 1992: Duke 1993: North Carolina 1994: Arkansas 1995: UCLA 1996: Kentucky 1997: Arizona 1998: Kentucky 1999: Connecticut TOURNAMENT MVPs 1939 - None selected 1940 - Marvin Huffman, Indiana 1941 - John Kotz, Wisconsin 1942 - Howie Dallmar, Stanford 1943 - Ken Sailors, Wyoming 1944 - Arnold Ferrin, Utah 1945 - Bob Kurland, Oklahoma A&M 1946 - Bob Kurland, Oklahoma A&M 1947 - George Kaftan kaf·tan n. Variant of caftan. kaftan or caftan Noun 1. a long loose garment worn by men in eastern countries 2. , Holy Cross 1948 - Alex Groza, Kentucky 1949 - Alex Groza, Kentucky 1950 - Irwin Dambrot, CCNY 1951 - None selected 1952 - Clyde Lovellette, Kansas 1953 - B.H. Born, Kansas 1954 - Tom Gola, La Salle 1955 - Bill Russell, San Francisco 1956 - Hal Lear, Temple 1957 - Wilt Chamberlain, Kansas 1958 - Elgin Baylor, Seattle 1959 - Jerry West, West Virginia 1960 - Jerry Lucas, Ohio State 1961 - Jerry Lucas, Ohio State 1962 - Paul Hogue, Cincinnati 1963 - Art Heyman, Duke 1964 - Walt Hazzard, UCLA 1965 - Bill Bradley, Princeton 1966 - Jerry Chambers, Utah 1967 - Lew Alcindor, UCLA 1968 - Lew Alcindor, UCLA 1969 - Lew Alcindor, UCLA 1970 - Sidney Wicks, UCLA 1971 - (x) Howard Porter, Villanova 1972 - Bill Walton, UCLA 1973 - Bill Walton, UCLA 1974 - David Thompson, North Carolina State 1975 - Richard Washington, UCLA 1976 - Kent Benson, Indiana 1977 - Butch Lee, Marquette 1978 - Jack Givens, Kentucky 1979 - Earvin Johnson, Michigan State 1980 - Darrell Griffith, Louisville 1981 - Isiah Thomas, Indiana 1982 - James Worthy, North Carolina 1983 - Akeem Olajuwon, Houston 1984 - Patrick Ewing, Georgetown 1985 - Ed Pinckney, Villanova 1986 - Pervis Ellison, Louisville 1987 - Keith Smart, Indiana 1988 - Danny Manning, Kansas 1989 - Glen Rice, Michigan 1990 - Anderson Hunt, UNLV 1991 - Christian Laettner, Duke 1992 - Bobby Hurley, Duke 1993 - Donald Williams, North Carolina 1994 - Corliss Williamson, Arkansas 1995 - Ed O'Bannon, UCLA 1996 - Tony Delk, Kentucky 1997 - Miles Simon, Arizona 1998 - Jeff Sheppard, Kentucky 1999 - Richard Hamilton, Connecticut (x) - subsequently ruled ineligible CAPTION(S): 3 Photos, Box PHOTO (1--Color) Connecticut's Khalid El-Amin, whose short jumper with 1:05 left proved to be the winning shot, leaps into the arms of teammate Jake Voskuhl. Eric Draper/Associated Press (2) Khalid El-Amin, right, and Rashamel Jones savor UConn's victory. ``We wanted to prove everyone wrong,'' El-Amin said. Ed Reinke/Associated Press (3--Color) no caption (Connecticut Coach Jim Calhounn) Ed Reinke/Associated Press BOX: LARGEST UPSETS (see text) |
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