Darren Bunkley

March 30, 1991 —📍RCA Dome Duke 79, UNLV 77 • Christian Laettner: 28 pts, 7 reb • Bobby Hurley: 12 pts, 7 ast • Brian Davis: 15 pts Duke took down the defending champion and previously unbeaten UNLV in one of the biggest upsets in tournament history #Duke

@SethDavisHoops Are you EVER allowed to touch an official? What does the rule book say? If not, then why do we bother having rules? They must be enforced regardless of game time situation.

Just for context ... the referee is Roger Ayers, who has worked multiple Final Fours. Known for his toughness and also sense of humor. This struck me as Hurley messing with a buddy more than intimidating a ref. This is after Mullins' shot, so Hurley was obviously not mad at the refs.

It's rare that sports fans agree on anything. But everyone seems to be in agreement today: Duke got robbed this weekend. Dan Hurley and UConn have been flagrantly ignoring the rules for the entirety of the NCAA Tournament. Sunday was no exception. There were still 0.4 seconds on the clock. The game was live. Dan Hurley walked toward a referee on the sideline. He got in the official’s face. Then he pressed his forehead directly into the ref’s forehead. SI called it a “menacing forehead tap.” No technical foul was called. If it had been, Duke shoots two free throws. Down one. With an 86% free throw shooter at the line. Here's what actually happened and why this should be a much bigger story than it is. Braylon Mullins hit a 35-foot three to give UConn a 73-72 lead with 0.4 seconds left. It was the shot of the tournament. Nobody is disputing that. But in the seconds after the shot, Hurley walked toward a referee, got in his face, and pressed his forehead directly into the official's forehead. Sports Illustrated described it as a "menacing forehead tap." The clock still showed 0.4 seconds. The game was not over. A technical foul on a head coach for making contact with an official during a live ball is one of the easiest calls in basketball. There is no gray area. Contact with a game official is a technical. If it's called, Duke's Isaiah Evans steps to the free throw line, trailing 73-72. He shot 86% from the stripe this season. Makes both? Duke wins 74-73. Makes one? Overtime. That wasn't the only violation. When Mullins' shot went in, UConn bench players ran onto the court to celebrate before the game was over. They caught themselves and ran back, but they had already entered the playing area during a live ball. Duke's radio announcers immediately called for a technical. That wasn't called either. Two separate technical foul violations. Zero calls. In the span of 0.4 seconds. And here's what makes the Hurley part impossible to ignore. Three weeks ago, on March 7, Hurley was ejected from UConn's game at Marquette in the final second for getting in a referee's face. He was chest-to-shoulder with the official. Double technical. Ejected. The Big East fined him $25,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct. In the Sweet 16 against Michigan State on March 27, Hurley challenged an out-of-bounds call, got it overturned, and then sarcastically offered his glasses to the ref who got it wrong. Lip readers caught him asking about Lasik. Nothing was called. Two days later against Duke, Hurley was officially "warned" during the game for leaving his coach's box. Told to stay put. Then after the buzzer beater, he went forehead-to-forehead with a ref. Ejected and fined $25,000 at Marquette. Taunted a ref to his face at Michigan State with no consequences. Warned during the Duke game for leaving his coach's box. Then physical contact with a referee in the biggest moment of the tournament. The full breakdown of every missed call and what would have happened if any of them were made is here: itsgame7.com/news/duke-got-… UConn came back from 19 down. Mullins hit one of the greatest shots in tournament history. That part was earned. But two technical foul violations in 0.4 seconds, and neither one called, on a coach who was ejected for the same thing three weeks ago? That's not intensity. That's a pattern. And last night, it changed the outcome of a game.

From a rules perspective you can't even explain how baffling Duke's decision to throw the ball away was... 1.) Shot Clock off 2.) Exactly 10 Seconds left - a 10 second violation is meaningless 3.) 5 Seconds doesn't apply in the BC ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS HOLD THE BALL

Connecticut vs Duke is the only NCAA Tourney matchup to produce three one-point games (1990, 2004, 2026). All three came in the Elite 8 or later and have come in five meetings since 1990. One of the other meetings was UConn's 3-point win in the 1999 Championship Game. #Drama

Duke’s peak in-game win probability in its last four losses: 2025 Final Four vs Houston: 97.5% December 2025 vs. Texas Tech: 97.8% February 2026 vs UNC: 95.1% Today vs. UConn: 98.7%, per ESPN 🤯🤯🤯

Just a thought here…maybe we work on late game / end of game inbounding and situations. Just for the, you know, fuck of it so we don’t blow it all at the end of a tournament game #Duke

Today in 1992: Arguably the greatest basketball game ever played concludes with one incredible play…

The Shot.

DUKE BUZZER-BEATER VS. LSU TO ADVANCE TO THE ELITE EIGHT 🚨 WHAT AN ENDING 😱

Caleb Foster was the first player to commit to Jon Scheyer when Scheyer took over. Tonight the junior willed Duke back from double figures against a tough opponent to earn an Elite 8 bid. He did it less than 3 weeks after breaking his foot.

Caleb Foster has no business to even be moving on his foot right now, let alone checking into a basketball game. He undoubtedly changed this game and saved Duke’s season with his effort tonight, and in doing so, earned a full page in the history book of the Duke program.

I’m not crying. Really 😢

I was at this game. Incredible. #JeffFryer was on 🔥

Will never forget watching this game in stunned silence as Loyola ran Michigan off the court in the highest scoring game in tournament history. Michigan was defending national champions and started three NBA 1st round picks but Loyola was on a mission, playing for Hank Gathers.

@ktomassoni1 THE CALEB FOSTER GAME. FOREVER. 😢 WOW

Scheyer’s crying were all crying what a game omg

THE CALEB FOSTER GAME @DukeMBB

The Fn ❤️ of Caleb Foster!!! #goduke

It is a F@&$ing YEAR LATER and we still cannot inbound the ball vs the press!? Come on #Duke 🤯🤦

The @laettnerbball shot before The Shot 🤩 On this day in 1990, Christian Laettner lifted Duke past UConn with this buzzer-beater 🚨 #MarchMadness