Duke-Ky. was the topper in college hoops

Mike Krzyzewski lied to his team.

Rick Pitino got lost in a fog.

Grant Hill made the pass, and Christian Laettner made the catch, dribble, spin and shot.

It was the greatest game in the history of the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, according to rankings done recently by USA Today and Sports Illustrated.

It was March 28, 1992, and it was Duke vs. Kentucky in the championship game of the NCAA East Regional before 17,848 spectators in the Spectrum.

"I thank God I was part of it," Krzyzewski said during the press conference after Duke's 104-103 overtime victory.

The Spectrum was the site of lots of great college basketball: Indiana's national championships in 1976 and 1981; Iowa's 81-80 victory over Georgetown in the 1980 East Regional final; Villanova's big-time Big East battles, including a galvanizing, one-point victory over St. John's on a last-second jumper by John Pinone in 1983.

But nothing could top Duke and Kentucky in 1992.

The game was a speeding bullet. It was 93-93 at the end of regulation, and it only got better in overtime.

For the game, the teams combined to shoot 61 percent from the field. And in the final 25 minutes, as the pressure mounted through the second half and overtime, they combined to shoot 63.2 percent.

"Greatest game I ever was part of," Duke point guard Bobby Hurley said that night.

Kentucky's Jamal Mashburn scored 28 points. Laettner led Duke with 31, going 10 for 10 from the field (one three-pointer) and 10 for 10 from the foul line. He also earned the game's only technical foul, for stepping on Kentucky freshman Amino Timberlake's chest.

Hurley scored 22 with 10 assists and eight turnovers. Thomas Hill scored 19 and Grant Hill 11 for Duke.

Woods gave Kentucky a 103-102 lead when he banked in a 13-footer with 2.1 seconds remaining in overtime.

During the ensuing time-out, Krzyzewski played fast and loose with his convictions. "I just said, 'We're going to win,'" Krzyzewski said. "Whether you completely believe it or not, you have to have the expression on your face and the words in your mouth."

Unguarded, Grant Hill threw a perfect 75-foot pass to Laettner, who was just outside the foul line with his back to the basket. Showing remarkable poise, Laettner dribbled once, faked right, spun left, rose up, and swished the 17-foot jumper - his 20th make in 20 attempts.

In the news conference, Pitino at first explained his decision not to have a defender on Hill by claiming the ball was inbounded from the sideline, not the end line.

Corrected, he asked reporters to direct their questions to his players, sat back, and pressed his fingers on his closed eyes.

"My mind is in a total fog," Pitino said.