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1992 NCAA Tournament

1992 Sports: An Epic Shot & A Repeat Barrage

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This article offers a snapshot of 1992 sports, a year defined by an epic shot in the NCAA Tournament, and a parade of teams either closing repeat titles, getting close to doing such, or starting repeat runs.

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The Shot Heard ‘Round The World: To a previous generation this phrase means Bobby Thomson’s walkoff home run to win the 1951 National League pennant for the New York Giants. To another generation it’s the dramatic end to the Duke-Kentucky regional final in the NCAA Tournament.

Duke was the #1 seed in the East and the favorite to win repeat national titles, a feat not done since the UCLA dynasty. Kentucky was back in the limelight, after a brief stretch in the NCAA doghouse, and rebuilt by Rick Pitino. The Wildcats were the #2 seed, and the two teams squared off in Philadelphia.

For forty minutes of regulation and then 4:58 of overtime, the game already earned a special place in college basketball lore. Bobby Hurley scored 22 and dished 10 assists for Duke. Jamal Mashburn scored 28 and grabbed 10 rebounds for Kentucky. It was the Wildcats that took a 103-102 lead with two seconds left. Then came the play that’s now shown on highlight reels every March.

Duke’s Grant Hill, already with six assists to go with ten rebounds,  took the ball under his own basketball and rifled a three-quarters court bullet pass that national Player of the Year Christian Laettner caught, as the Kentucky defenders did not contest the pass. Laettner was 9-for-9 from the floor when he caught the pass and had scored 29 points. By the time he finished coming down, spinning and putting up a turnaround jumper from the foul line, you could make that 10-for-10 with 31 points and one of college basketball’s great finishes.

The Final Four was still ahead and it was a good one, as Duke turned back a stiff challenge from Indiana, and had to pull away from Michigan in the second half to win their second straight national title. But the play, and the game everyone remembers took place in Philadelphia. Click here to read a complete account of the 1992 Final Four.

The Fab Five: Michigan reached the NCAA final, and doing it as a 6-seed made it surprising, but not necessarily historic on its face. Kansas, after all, had won a national title in 1988 out of the 6-hole and N.C. State did the same in 1983. But those teams had senior leadership. Michigan was different—they started five freshman, the first team ever to do so and reach the national championship game.

Chris Webber and Jalen Rose would go on to have solid NBA careers, and Juwan Howard a pretty good one. Jimmy King and Ray Jackson didn’t have an impact at the pro level, but were solid college players. Together, they made history in Ann Arbor.

Michigan had to beat the top two seeds in the Southeast Regional at Lexington, ironically the same site the Wolverines had to go through en route to the 1989 NCAA title. Rose scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while holdover Eric Riley put up a 15/10 in the win over 2-seed Oklahoma State.

Then it was overtime against top seed Ohio State, the biggest non-football game these two archrivals have ever played. Rose was again strong, with 20 points and he was the regional’s Most Outstanding Player. Webber posted a 23/11 and Michigan survived, 75-71.

At the Final Four, the Wolverines survived Cincinnati, and led Duke by a point at the half before the dream finally ended. But what a historic ride it was.

Jordan Goes Back-To-Back: Repeat championships were the order of the day in basketball, not just in college, but at the NBA. Michael Jordan’s Bulls had joined Duke in making 1991 their breakthrough year, and now the Bulls joined the Blue Devils in ratifying their place in history in 1992.

Chicago dominated the regular season with 67 wins, thanks to Jordan’s 30 ppg and he won his third MVP award. The Bulls got one stiff challenge in the playoffs, when Pat Riley’s New York Knicks took them to seven games in the second round, but otherwise, Chicago was mostly in control and sealed their second straight title by beating Portland four games to two. Click here to read a complete account of the 1992 NBA Finals.

Seven-Game Battles In The East: We mentioned Chicago and New York going at it for the full seven games in the NBA’s Eastern Conference semi-finals. They weren’t the only ones. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics also went the distance, as the Eastern semis provided the 1992 NBA postseason its strongest element of drama.

The Knicks had been taken over Pat Riley, the head coach of the Showtime-era Los Angeles Lakers. They were built around Patrick Ewing in the middle, who’d averaged 24 points/11 rebounds a game, and a good point in now-Golden State head coach Mark Jackson, who distributed eight assists a night. Xavier McDaniel, Gerald Wilkins and John Starks filled in the gaps, and the Knicks relied heavily on a physical brand of defense.

Jordan did not have a deep supporting cast around him. Scottie Pippen averaged 21 ppg and was an excellent defender, but beyond Horace Grant’s rebounding, the Bulls were dependent on their star. New York got 34 points/11 rebounds from Ewing in the opener, as the Knicks swiped Game 1 and took homecourt advantage.

Chicago won Game 2 and then reclaimed homecourt edge with a 94-86 win in Game 3, as Jordan and Pippen were too much for Ewing, who didn’t get any help. The Knicks turned around and dominated the fourth quarter of Game 4 though, tying up the series.

The Bulls’ defense contained Ewing in Game 5 and Jordan lit up Chicago Stadium for 37 points in a eight-point win, but New York again owned the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden, pulling away to win Game 6.

Game 7 was tight for the first half and Chicago only led by five. But it was Jordan’s day, and he racked up 42 points, with the Bulls pulling away to a 110-81 win.

Cleveland had the misfortune of being in Jordan’s conference at the time of his rise, but this was a good 57-win basketball team that had Brad Daugherty in the post, Larry Nance at forward and sharpshooter Mark Price on the perimeter.

Boston was at an in-between point in their history. They still got contributions from Robert Parish and Kevin McHale, and when Larry Bird’s back allowed him on the floor, the Legend averaged 20 ppg. The Celtics were led though, by up-and-comer Reggie Lewis and his 21 ppg, and other new faces like Kevin Gamble, Dee Brown and current Denver Nuggets coach Brian Shaw.

Bird’s back was ailing badly by this point in the season and he was coming off the bench for limited minutes. Daugherty slapped up a 26/17 game in the opener, keyed a big Cleveland rebounding edge and a 101-76 rout. But behind the mix of the old and new—27 from Parish and 26 from Lewis—the Celts took Game 2, 104-98.

Boston nearly took complete control of the series back at the Garden. Parish and Ed Pinckney led a decisive rebounding effort that resulted in a 110-107 win. Game 4 went to overtime, but the Cavs got a combined 78 points from Nance, Price and Daugherty and escaped, 114-112.

Daugherty’s 28/9 performance led Cleveland to an easy rout in Game 5. Then Bird came into the starting lineup and gave his team 37 minutes in Game 6, as the Celts came back with a rout of their own.

It was time for another Game 7 and Bird did start and give 30-plus minutes. But Daugherty again had a 28/9 game on his home floor and Cleveland’s fast start held, en route to a 122-104 win.

Cleveland gave Chicago a fight, but the Bulls were able to close out in six games, with the security of a home Game 7 still in their back pocket. It was the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs where the drama was in 1992.

How Bout ‘Dem Cowboys: The Dallas Cowboys considered themselves the NFL’s proudest franchise, but they hadn’t won the Super Bowl since 1977, nor been there since 1978. They hadn’t even played for the NFC Championship since 1982, when they lost a great battle in San Francisco. Perhaps it was appropriate then, that the signature moment on the way back to glory came in Frisco.

Dallas had reached the second round of the playoffs in 1991 and they opened ’92 by sending a loud and clear message to the rest of the league, with a 23-10 thumping of defending Super Bowl champion Washington on Monday night football, a game not nearly as competitive as the score makes it sound.

The Cowboys were 6-1 and playing a key regular season game against Philadelphia the only team to beat them in the early going. An Eagle win would pull them into a tie for first and give them the tiebreaker. Dallas trailed 7-3 in the third quarter and it was tied 10-10 in the final period, but behind 163 rushing yards from Emmitt Smith, Dallas churned out a 23-10 win and they never looked back in the division. They finished the season 13-3 and got the #2 seed in the NFC.

Philadelphia awaited again in the second round of the playoffs, after Dallas rested up with a first-round bye. Troy Aikman threw two first-half touchdown passes , the Cowboys built up a 17-3 lead and coasted 34-10.

That set up the battle with top-seeded San Francisco in a battle between the two teams considered the best in football. The two offenses alone combined for 13 Pro Bowlers and each was in the top five of the NFL defensively.  In the first half, the battle looked even as the teams went to the locker room tied 10-10.

It was the Cowboys who delivered the blows coming out in the second half, driving for a touchdown immediately after kickoff and taking a 24-13 lead into the early part of the fourth quarter. But San Francisco came back with a short touchdown pass from Young to Jerry Rice, and when the Cowboys were pinned back inside their own 20, the Bay Area crowd still had hope.

Aikman threw a simple slant over the middle to Alvin Harper. The receiver broke through and turned it into a huge play, taking it all the way down inside the 49er 10-yard line. A short touchdown pass by Aikman sealed the 30-20 victory. Ultimately, turnovers were the difference, with Dallas playing mistake-free while San Francisco gave it away four times.

The Cowboys were favored to win the Super Bowl over the Buffalo Bills and they did just that. After a somewhat rocky start, the turnover edge from the NFC Championship Game turned into the turnover landslide of the Super Bowl. Dallas forced a Super Bowl record nine, and rolled to a 52-17 win. They were back atop the NFL world, and it wouldn’t be for the last time with this cast of characters. Click here to read a complete account of the 1992 Super Bowl.

Toronto Breaks Through: The World Series trophy had yet to live the confines of the United States. The Montreal Expos spent the first half of the 1980s knocking on the door, but never breaking through. The Toronto Blue Jays took up the mantle of Canada starting in 1985, but hadn’t made it over the top.

The Blue Jays got unexpectedly tough battles in the AL East, with both the Milwaukee Brewers and Baltimore Orioles overachieving and hanging in the race to the final week. Toronto went out and acquired starting pitcher David Cone at the trade deadline to shore up the weakest area of their team, and they hung on.

Toronto faced Oakland in the American League Championship Series, but the A’s weren’t quite as awe-inspiring as the team that beat the Blue Jays in the 1989 ALCS. The big moment came in Game 4. The Blue Jays lead the series 2-1, but were trailing this game by a 6-1 count after six innings and the A’s had MVP closer Dennis Eckersley awaiting.

Instead, it was second baseman Roberto Alomar who took over. He doubled to start a three-run rally in the eighth. Then he beat Eckersley with a two-run homer in the ninth to tie it. Toronto won 7-6 in eleven innings and eventually closed it out in six games. Alomar hit .423 for the series and was named ALCS MVP.

The World Series was now in Canada for the first time, and this close to the prize, the Blue Jays didn’t let it slip from their grasp. They beat the Atlanta Braves in six games to bring home the championship. Click here to read a game-by-game account of the 1992 World Series.

NLCS Epic: It was the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 7, and the Atlanta Braves trailed the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-0. How it gotten to this point, the Braves must have surely wondered.

It was a rematch of the previous year’s NLCS, where Atlanta had upset Pittsburgh with consecutive road wins in Games 6 & 7. Now the Pirates were trying to return the favor.

Atlanta had gotten off to a great start in this NLCS, winning the opener 5-1 behind John Smoltz and then routing Pittsburgh 13-5 in Game 2. It was a then-unknown knuckleballer named Tim Wakefield who settled things down for the Pirates, winning Game 3 by a 3-2 count. Atlanta took Game 4 thanks to four hits from Otis Nixon, but Pittsburgh stayed alive with a 7-1 in Game 5. Ironically, that was the same score by which the Pirates won Game 5 of the 1979 World Series, another elimination setting that still sent them on the road needing two more.

The Pirates looked ready to wake up the echoes of ’79, when they blasted Tom Glavine for eight second-inning runs in Game 6, making Wakefield’s second series win an easy one. Then Pittsburgh ace Doug Drabek took that 2-0 lead into the ninth inning the next night and the comeback was just about complete.

But Terry Pendleton opened with a double down the line. An error and a walk loaded the bases and got Drabek out of the game. A sac fly and another walk had the bases reloaded and the score now 2-1. Pittsburgh closer Stan Belinda got Brian Hunter to pop out, and now all that was left was unknown pinch-hitter Francisco Cabrera.

Cabrera lashed a single to left, and Barry Bonds, playing his final year in the Steel City came up throwing. But his arm wasn’t good enough to throw out slow-footed Sid Bream who came around from second base with the game’s winning run. Atlanta was going back to the World Series. Pittsburgh hasn’t back to the postseason—nor even had a winning season—since.

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Alabama Returns To The Top: The Alabama football program hadn’t won a national title in the post-Bear Bryant era and only occasionally had they even challenged for one. That finally changed under Gene Stallings. Though the Tide didn’t have a demanding schedule, they kept winning, and when that included a victory over a good Florida team in the first-ever SEC Championship Game—the first conference championship game in college football history, Alabama got a crack at top-ranked Miami in the Sugar Bowl.

‘Bama  shocked the nation by not simply beating Miami, but routing the ‘Canes, 34-13. Under the leadership of Gene Stallings, and a stalwart defense, they were back atop the college football world. Click here to read a complete account of the 1992 Sugar Bowl.

The Penguins Join The Repeat Barrage: We’ve seen that Duke and the Chicago Bulls both repeated. The Toronto Blue Jays and Dallas Cowboys set the stage for doing the same in 1993. Miami football came within one game of doing so. With this seemingly as the theme for 1992, should we be surprised that it extended to the NHL?

Pittsburgh was led by the goal-scoring trio of Mario Lemieux, Kevin Stevens and Joe Mullen, and though they started the playoffs slow, the Pens eventually got postseason fire. They won their final 11 games, including a sweep of the Chicago Blackhawks to hoist the Cup.  Click here to read a more complete account of the 1992 Stanley Cup Finals and the playoff ride of the ’92 Penguins. 

The Road To The 1992 Final Four

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The city of Minneapolis had been the epicenter of the sports world from late 1991 to the end of March in 1992. The Twins had made—and won—the World Series the previous October. The Super Bowl, won by the Washington Redskins, was held there in January. Finally, the Metrodome would host the 1992 Final Four. Duke, Indiana, Michigan and Cincinnati came to the Twin Cities. Here’s a look at the road they all took to get there…

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DUKE

Mike Krzyzewski was old hat at the Final Four by 1992. This was the sixth time in seven years he had brought Duke to this stage and for the first time he was a defending NCAA champion. Duke was looking to become the first team since the UCLA Dynasty in 1973 to win a repeat championship.

The Blue Devils were loaded, with the key players of the 1991 title team back in tow. Christian Laettner averaged 22 points/8 rebounds per game and won National Player of the Year honors. Bobby Hurley ran the offense, averaging seven assists per game and he could also shoot the rock—42% from three-point range and 13ppg.

Sophomore Grant Hill was coming into his own as an all-around player and averaged 16 points/6 rebounds/4 assists. Brian Davis and Thomas Hill rounded out a lineup where everyone hit a double-figure average in points. Duke opened the season ranked #1 in the country. They held that ranking wire-to-wire, went 28-2 and won the ACC’s regular season and tournament titles. Duke was an easy choice to be the #1 seed in the East Regional.

The Blue Devils opened March Madness with an 82-56 tuneup win over Campbell, where the Devil defense only gave up 16 points in the first half. They did a similar number on Iowa in the Round of 32, jumping out to a 48-24 lead at intermission. Brian Davis finished with 21 points/10 rebounds in a 75-62 win. Duke was on its way to Philadelphia for the regionals.

It was a chalk bracket, with the top four seeds all advancing. Duke beat Seton Hall 81-69 in the Sweet 16 on the strength of free-throw shooting—the Blue Devils went 24/31 from the line compared to only 8/14 for the Hall. On the other half of the bracket, 2-seed Kentucky got 30 points from Jamal Mashburn in an 87-77 win over a Massachusetts team coached by John Calipari.

The stage was set for a regional final that would take its place on the short list on the greatest college basketball games of all time. Duke shot a sizzling 65 percent and got 28 points at the foul line. Kentucky answered by shooting 57 percent and drilling twelve treys. Hurley dished ten assists and scored 2. Thomas Hill knocked down 19. Mashburn went off for 28/10 and Wildcat guard Sean Woods scored 21—including a jumper that put Kentucky ahead 103-102 with two seconds left in overtime.

Duke looked finished, but Grant Hill rifled a perfect three-quarters court pass to Laettner who caught it at the foul line. He then capped his 31/7 night with a turnaround jumper at the buzzer to win 104-103. Laettner was named the region’s Most Outstanding Player and the Blue Devils were back in the Final Four.

MICHIGAN

Michigan basketball had started to slip after their improbable run to the 1989 NCAA title. They went out in the Round of 32 in 1990 and then had a losing season in 1991. Head coach Steve Fisher had to prove he could get the job done and he brought in the most heralded recruiting class in college basketball history. Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson were called the “Fab Five” and it wasn’t long before they formed an all-freshman starting lineup.

Webber was the best player, averaging 16/10, with Rose not far behind posting an 18/4/4 line. Howard joined Webber as a strong post presence with an 11/6. Michigan had the ups and downs of youth, but they still finished the season 20-8, took third in a competitive Big Ten and were a 6-seed in the Southeast Regional.

Rose led the way past Temple with 19 points/8 assists as the Wolverines won 73-66. Then they caught a big break when 3-seed Arizona was upset by East Tennessee State. Michigan took advantage, getting 30 from Webber, another 19-point game from Rose, who added 10 assists, and 14 from King. The win was easier than the 102-90 final made it appear.

There were no bracket breaks in Lexington. The Wolverines would have to go the region’s top two seeds to get to Minneapolis. Rose had another big game against Oklahoma State, with 25 points/11 assists. Webber was quiet, but Eric Riley came off the bench to grab ten rebounds and Michigan’s edge on the glass was key to their 75-72 win.

A familiar foe awaited in the regional final. Ohio State had won the Big Ten and in the Sweet 16 ousted North Carolina behind 21/9 from Lawrence Funderburke. The 80-73 win set up the biggest basketball game in the storied history of the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry.

Webber bounced back with a 23/11 game. Ohio State’s star Jim Jackson scored 20 points, but only shot 9-for-21. Michigan’s 54%-43% edge in shooting from the floor was the difference in a thrilling 75-71 overtime win. Rose delivered another solid performance, with a 20/6/4 line and secured Most Outstanding Player honors. The freshmen were going to the Final Four.

INDIANA

Indiana was seeking its first Final Four since their national championship season of 1987. Bob Knight’s program won Big Ten titles in 1989 and 1991 and came into 1992 with big expectations. They were ranked #2 in the preseason polls and were led by Calbert Cheaney, who averaged 18 points/5 rebounds per game from his small forward spot.

Cheaney was supported by four other starters who all scored in double-figures. Eric Anderson, a senior, and freshman Alan Henderson rounded out a three-forward frontline. Damon Bailey and Greg Graham led the way in the backcourt. The regular season didn’t quite meet expectations—a late hiccup cost the Hoosiers the Big Ten title—but they still finished 23-6 and were seeded #2 in the West for the NCAA Tournament.

Henderson controlled an overmatched Eastern Illinois team with 19 points/11 rebounds in the 94-55 win that opened the Dance. That set up a big battle with 7-seed LSU, who was led by Shaquille O’Neal in the low post. Shaq was unstoppable in the Round of 32 game, with 36 points/12 rebounds. But he was also alone. Cheaney knocked down 30 to answer. Hendeson added another 19. Indiana outscored LSU from the free throw line, 23-12. That was the difference in the 89-79 win that sent to the Hoosiers to Albuquerque.

One year earlier, Indiana had knocked out Florida State in the Round of 32. This time, the Hoosiers and Seminoles met in the Sweet 16. Third-seeded FSU had a future pro in the backcourt with Sam Cassell, and he got 19 points in this game. Once again, Indiana’s balance trumped the lonely battle of an opposing star. Anderson poured in 24 points and Graham added 19. Cheaney, steady as she goes was good for 17/11. Another big free-throw scoring advantage, this time 25-10, was again key to the 85-74 win.

Indiana opened the regular season by losing to UCLA. They took full advantage of the chance for revenge against the region’s top seed. Cheaney and Bailey combined for 45 points, while Henderson grabbed twelve rebounds. Anderson capped off his Most Outstanding Player weekend with 17 more. It was no contest, as the Hoosiers led 44-29 by halftime and coasted into the Final Four with a 106-79 win.

CINCINNATI

Cincinnati was the outlier among the 1992 Final Four teams. While the other three programs all had recent Final Four appearances, the Bearcats had not been on this stage since a 1959-63 run that included the great Oscar Robertson. Cincy hadn’t even made the NCAA Tournament since 1977.

A tough head coach, Bob Huggins, got the program turned around and his fourth year saw the results. Herb Jones was the best player, with an 18/7 average. Nick Van Exel, a guard with the NBA in his future, averaged 12. Anthony Buford added 15 more and 6’9” Corie Blount was the top rebounder, with six per game. The Bearcats went 25-4, although they only got a 4-seed in the Midwest Regional as reward.

The road started close to home in Dayton, and the swarming defense that Huggins-coached teams have become known for in the ensuing years, was on display. They forced an astounding 33 turnovers in an 85-47 rout of Delaware. Cincinnati showed its rebounding muscle in a Round of 32 win over Michigan State. The Bearcats overcame 27 points from Spartan star Shawn Respert with a 36-25 edge on the glass. The 77-65 win sent Cincy to Kansas City for the regionals.

Cincinnati arrived to a gutted bracket. The Midwest’s top three seeds—Kansas, USC and Arkansas—had all failed to survive the opening weekend. The Bearcats were suddenly the region’s top remaining seed. Jones went for 24/6 in leading Cincy past feisty 9-seed UTEP, 69-67. The other Sweet 16 game in KC saw Memphis and Georgia Tech go to overtime. Afernee Hardaway poured in 32 for the Tigers. Jon Barry, a future ESPN analyst, hit 29 for the Yellow Jackets. It was Memphis who survived, 83-79.

After the excitement of the regional semis, the final was no contest. Cincinnati held Memphis to 36 percent shooting, while hitting 60% of their own shots. Jones was dominant, with a 23/13 line. Hardaway could only get off twelve shots for the Tigers. Behind Jones’ MOP performance, Cincy rolled to an 88-57 win and the Final Four.

THE 1992 FINAL FOUR

Michigan and Cincinnati were the undercard game that opened play on Saturday. Van Exel knocked down 21 and Buford added 18 more for the Bearcats, who led by three at the half. But the Wolverines were too strong underneath. Webber’s 16/11 line keyed a 45-27 rebounding edge. King added 17 more and Michgan pulled out a 76-72 win.

Another good game followed in the marquee Indiana-Duke game. The Hoosiers were ahead, 42-37 at halftime. But Duke got 26 from Hurley and they were getting to the free throw line while Indiana was not. The Blue Devils went 28/42 on the line compared to 12/16 for the Hoosiers. Duke appeared to have the game in hand until a flurry of three-point shots by Indiana’s Todd Leary cut the lead to 81-78 and IU got the ball back. Duke finally kept the ball out of Leary’s hands, made the stop and won the game.

History was going to be made on Monday night—either a repeat champion or an all-freshman startling lineup would prevail. Webber had another good game, with 14/11 and the freshmen led by a point at the half. But for the third time in this Final Four, the team trailing at halftime ultimately won the game. In this case, quite easily. Laettner finished with 19/7. Hill added 18 and Hurley’s seven assists helped seal his MOP weekend. Duke rolled to a 71-51 win and college basketball had its first repeat champ of the post-John Wooden era.