December 22, 1998
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – It didn’t have the importance of the last twomeetings between Duke and Kentucky. For the Blue Devils, though, it matteredmost that it didn’t have the same outcome.
Second-ranked Duke held onto a big lead Tuesday night and beat No. 3Kentucky 71-60 in the Jimmy V Classic.
In last March’s South Regional final, the Blue Devils blew a 17-point leadover the final 9 1/2 minutes as the Wildcats went on to their second nationalchampionship in three years.
Duke (11-1) won its sixth straight game with some strong defense and ananswer for even any thought the Wildcats (10-2) had of a comeback.
The Blue Devils scored the first 11 points of the second half to take a50-34 lead with 15:53 to play. Kentucky, which had won its last six gamesoverall and the last 11 it had played against ranked teams, just couldn’t getany kind of offense untracked in front of a sellout crowd of 20,029 atContinental Airlines Arena.
When the Wildcats did get within 56-48 with 8:47 to play, Duke’s EltonBrand, who finished with 22 points and eight rebounds, came up with athree-point play.
A 3-pointer by Heshimu Evans had Kentucky within 62-53 with 5:45 left, butChris Carrawell laid in a loose ball with 4:30 left to get Duke’s lead back to11.
Brand, who was 9-for-12 from the field, had another three-point play 1:10later, this one with a layup from a nice pass by William Avery.
Avery, who was one of the guards on the court last March in St. Petersburgas the big lead and a Final Four berth slipped away, punched the air for effectas the ball dropped through.
Trajan Langdon had 18 points for the Blue Devils and Carrawell had 10points.
Evans and Scott Padgett each had 13 points for the Wildcats, who shot 35percent (22-for-63). Padgett had 10 rebounds as the Wildcats outrebounded theBlue Devils 45-36.
The only other meeting between these schools this decade was the 1992 EastRegional final when Christian Laetner hit a turnaround jumper off athree-quarter court pass at the buzzer for a 104-103 victory. The Blue Devilswent on to their second straight national championship.
Duke is 13-2 in Continental Airlines Arena, including 4-for-4 in regionalfinals, while Kentucky dropped to 3-1 in the building where it won the 1996national title.
