1985

“Never Nervous” Pervis Ellison scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead No.7 Louisville to a 72–69 victory over top-ranked Duke in the NCAA Final. The title was the Cardinals' second of the decade. As tourney MVP, Ellison was the first freshman to win the honor since Utah's Arnie Ferrin in 1944.

No.3 St. John's had the Player of the Year for the second straight season (last year Chris Mullin, this year Walter Berry), but exited the NCAAs in the second round.

This was also the year the NCAA adopted the 45-second clock and started awarding two shots and possession of the ball for an intentional foul.

45-second shot clock introduced. The NCAA approves a 45 second clock for all men's game

1. Duke
2. Kansas
3. Kentucky
4. St. John's
5. Michigan
6. Georgia Tech
7. Louisville
8. North Carolina
9. Syracuse
10. Notre Dame

1. Duke
2. Kansas
3. St. John's
4. Kentucky
5. Michigan
6. Georgia Tech
7. Louisville
8. North Carolina
9. Syracuse
10. UNLV

		Before NCAAs	Head Coach	Final Record
1	Duke	32–2	Mike Krzyzewski	37–3
2	Kansas	31–3	Larry Brown	35–4
3	Kentucky	29–3	Eddie Sutton	32–4
4	St. John's	30–4	Lou Carnesecca	31–5
5	Michigan	27–4	Bill Frieder	28–5
6	Georgia Tech	25–6	Bobby Cremins	27–7
7	Louisville	26–7	Denny Crum	32–7
8	North Carolina	26–5	Dean Smith	28–6
9	Syracuse	25–5	Jim Boeheim	26–6
10	Notre Dame	23–5	Digger Phelps	23–6
11	UNLV	31–4	Jerry Tarkanian	33–5
12	Memphis St.	27–5	Dana Kirk	28–6
13	Georgetown	23–7	John Thompson	24–8
14	Bradley	31–2	Dick Versace	32–3
15	Oklahoma	25–8	Billy Tubbs	26–9
16	Indiana	21–7	Bob Knight	21–8
17	Navy	27–4	Paul Evans	30–5
18	Michigan St.	21–7	Jud Heathcote	23–8
19	Illinois	21–9	Lou Henson	22–10
20	UTEP	27–5	Don Haskins	27–6

First Round
#1 Kentucky 75, #16 Davidson 55
#8 Western Kentucky 67, #9 Nebraska 59
#5 Alabama 97, #12 Xavier 80
#4 Illinois 75, #13 Fairfield 51
#11 Louisiana State 94, #6 Purdue 87 (2ot)
#3 Memphis State 95, #14 Ball State 63
#10 Villanova 71, #7 Virginia Tech 62
#2 Georgia Tech 68, #15 Marist 53
#1 St. John's 83, #16 Montana State 74
#8 Auburn 73, #9 Arizona 63
#5 Maryland 69, #12 Pepperdine 64
#4 UNLV 74, #13 Northeast Louisiana 51
#6 UAB 66, #11 Missouri 64
#3 North Carolina 84, #14 Utah 72
#7 Bradley 83, #10 Texas-El Paso 65
#2 Louisville 93, #15 Drexel 73
#1 Duke 85, #16 Mississippi Valley State 78
#8 Old Dominion 72, #9 West Virginia 64
#12 DePaul 72, #5 Virginia 68
#4 Oklahoma 80, #13 Northeastern 74
#6 St. Joseph's 60, #11 Richmond 59
#14 Cleveland State 83, #3 Indiana 79
#7 Navy 87, #10 Tulsa 68
#2 Syracuse 101, #15 Brown 52
#1 Kansas 71, #16 North Carolina A&T 46
#9 Temple 61, #8 Jacksonville 50 (ot)
#5 Michigan State 72, #12 Washington 70
#4 Georgetown 70, #13 Texas Tech 64
#6 North Carolina State 66, #11 Iowa 64
#14 Arkansas-Little Rock 90, #3 Notre Dame 83
#7 Iowa State 81, #10 Miami (Ohio) 79 (ot)
#2 Michigan 70, #15 Akron 64
Second Round
Kentucky 71, Western Kentucky 64
Alabama 58, Illinois 56
Louisiana State 83, Memphis State 81
Georgia Tech 66, Villanova 61
Auburn 81, St. John's 65
UNLV 70, Maryland 64
North Carolina 77, UAB 59
Louisville 82, Bradley 68
Duke 89, Old Dominion 61
DePaul 74, Oklahoma 69
Cleveland State 75, St. Joseph's 69
Navy 97, Syracuse 85
Kansas 65, Temple 43
Michigan State 80, Georgetown 68
N.C. State 80, Ark.-Little Rock 66 (2ot)
Iowa State 72, Michigan 69
Regional Semifinals
Kentucky 68, Alabama 63
Louisiana State 70, Georgia Tech 64
Auburn 70, UNLV 63
Louisville 94, North Carolina 79
Duke 74, DePaul 67
Navy 71, Cleveland State 70
Kansas 96, Michigan State 86 (ot)
North Carolina State 70, Iowa State 66
Regional Finals
Southeast: Louisiana State 59, Kentucky 57
West: Louisville 84, Auburn 76
East: Duke 71, Navy 50
Midwest: Kansas 75, N.C. State 67
National Semifinals
Duke 71, Kansas 67
Louisville 88, Louisiana State 77
Championship Game
Louisville 72, Duke 69

Louisville leaders: Billy Thompson, Sr., F; Milt Wagner, Sr., G; Pervis Ellison, Fr., C; Herbert Crook, So., F; Jeff Hall, Sr., G; Tony Kimbro, Fr., F

Leaders
Team
Offense: U.S. International, 90.8
Defense: Princeton, St. Peter's, 55.0

Individual Scoring

• Navy’s David Robinson set a season NCAA record with 207 blocked shots, including 14 vs. North Carolina-Wilmington.

• Houston coach Guy Lewis retired after 32 seasons of coaching, leaving with a 592-279 record.

For the seniors on Duke's 1986 basketball team, a humiliating defeat inflicted by Louisville three years earlier was the best gauge of the strides they had made as a team since their freshman year.

"We found out why they were called the 'Doctors of Dunk,' " Duke forward David Henderson said. "They put on a clinic."

Louisville -- tabbed "Doctors of Dunk" in its national championship season of 1980 and was en route to its second consecutive Final Four appearance in 1983 -- demolished the Blue Devils, 91-76, on Duke's own court. But it wasn't just the score; it was the manner in which the Cardinals manhandled the Blue Devils that made the game unforgettable.

"They really put on a show for the fans," said Mark Alarie, the Blue Devils' other starting forward, "and we were intimidated by their athletic display."

Of the five starters for the 1986 Blue Devils, four were seniors who had suffered through that losing experience as freshmen and gained stature as well as confidence in the intervening years. Henderson, Alarie, guard Johnny Dawkins and center Jay Bilas helped the Blue Devils improve from an 11-17 record that first season to a 37-2 mark and the top ranking in the wire-service polls three years later.

On the eve of the 1986 NCAA championship game, Duke already had won more games in one season than any other team in NCAA history.

"As we've gone through the last four seasons, we've come to realize a dunk is just two points," Alarie said. "We're such a confident group that I don't think athletic skill can intimidate us."

That statement was significant because the next evening, Duke was scheduled to meet none other than Louisville for the national title in Dallas' Reunion Arena. Of course, the Louisville team the Blue Devils were facing wasn't the same one that had overpowered them in 1983.

But the Cardinals had plenty of talent, including a strong senior class that featured 6-foot-7 forward Billy Thompson and guards Milt Wagner and Jeff Hall.

The Cardinals had started the season slowly, as was their custom, but had qualified for the title game with their 16th consecutive victory, an 88-77 triumph over Louisiana State in the national semifinals. And they had been devastating in the NCAA Tournament, outscoring opponents by a 99-50 margin over the last six minutes of their previous five games.

Duke had cleared a more difficult obstacle in the semifinals, squeezing past Kansas, 71-67. And for all the Blue Devils' experience, it was the work of a freshman, 6-10 reserve forward Danny Ferry, that ensured their 21st consecutive victory.

With the score tied, Ferry nabbed a key defensive rebound that gave the Blue Devils a chance to move in front. He then rebounded an Alarie miss and put it in the basket for a 69-67 lead. He also took a charge with 11 seconds left that spoiled the Jayhawks' last good scoring opportunity.

As it developed, a tall freshman would play a major role in the 1986 championship game, but it would not be Ferry.

At the center of the Louisville offense and defense was a 6-9 youngster named Pervis Ellison. In the course of his high school career in Savannah, Ga., Ellison had acquired a nickname that was both unusual and marvelously appropriate: Never Nervous.

"I'm sure I get nervous at times," he said, "but you've got to get me off the court to get me nervous."

Ellison was 18. He wore braces on his teeth. It seemed almost unfair to send him out against the likes of the 6-8 Bilas and the 6-8 Alarie, who had the shoulders and arms of lumberjacks.

"People say they're not very big," Louisville coach Denny Crum said, "but stand next to Alarie and Bilas and tell me they're not big. They're men."

It was, however, the smallest of Duke's senior starters who most concerned Crum. The 6-2 Dawkins, a two-time consensus All-American, was an explosive offensive force quick enough to play outstanding man-to-man pressure defense. In the team's five previous NCAA Tournament games, Dawkins had scored no fewer than 24 points while making 61.5 percent of his field-goal attempts.

He never had been better. And that was fortunate for the Blue Devils because Dawkins' teammates had been mired in a shooting slump. But they continued to play aggressive defense and exercise good judgment on offense. And Dawkins always was there to take control in crucial moments.

The outset of the championship game was one such instance. Dawkins was spectacular. He scored 11 of his team's first 15 points as Duke opened a seven-point gap.

In addition, he and junior point guard Tommy Amaker wreaked havoc on defense. They helped force 14 turnovers in the first half (Amaker was credited with five outright steals) as the Blue Devils built a 37-34 lead.

It might have been larger but for the inability of the other Duke players to hit their shots with any consistency and for the persistent inside play of Ellison, whose three baskets late in the half kept the Cardinals within reach.

With the play of Wagner and Hall thoroughly disrupted by the Duke backcourt and Thompson fortunate to earn a standoff against Alarie, the freshman suddenly was thrust into the role of leading man.

Ellison responded superbly. He helped the Cardinals gain a 42-41 advantage early in the second half, Dawkins answered that challenge by scoring the next seven points to put Duke ahead, 48-42.

Louisville countered by implementing a 1-3 zone defense, with Hall assigned to chase Dawkins around the floor and try to deny him the ball.

"I was happy to see that," Dawkins said. "That leaves other guys open. We've always won in that situation."

In this instance, however, the other guys did not make the open shots. Duke made only 40.3 percent of its shots from the floor in the game. Discounting Dawkins, the other Blue Devils shot a combined 34.9 percent.

Nevertheless, the Blue Devils' defense was consistent enough to maintain a lead for the better part of the second half. Duke's defense drove Wagner, Louisville's senior leader, to the bench and into an impassioned lecture from Crum.

The Cardinals trailed, 61-55, with 7:19 left and appeared incapable of mounting a serious offensive when Ellison began to assert himself.

"I don't think I took charge," he said later in a matter-of-fact tone. "It just came my way. There was pressure on Milt and Jeff. That left me mostly man-to-man with my man. They got the ball to me and I just turned and did it."

Smooth and relaxed, Ellison did it to Bilas, who spent much of the game in foul trouble, and Alarie, who eventually fouled out. He made a key layup to pull Louisville within one point, and after the Cards finally inched ahead-at 64-63 on Wagner's backdoor layup and at 66-65 on Thompson's jump shot from the lane with 2:49 remaining -- the freshman made the most significant play of the game.

It occurred after Duke had misfired on seven consecutive field-goal attempts. Midway through that stretch, Henderson, who sank only 5-of-15 floor shots in the game, missed a jumper and Dawkins mysteriously -- almost heroically -- rose above the bigger bodies to snare a vital offensive rebound.

But his shot also rolled off the rim. Of his team-high 24 points, Dawkins managed only a pair of free throws in the final 15 minutes.

With Louisville in possession and 48 seconds left to play, Crum called a timeout and diagrammed a play for the senior shooters, Wagner or Hall. But once again, Duke's tenacious backcourt forced an ugly shot. Hall's jumper was so far off it didn't even graze the rim. That appeared to confound the Blue Devils' big men, but not the Cardinals' fabulous freshman.

Indeed, he plucked the shot out of the air and put the ball in, boosting the Louisville lead to 68-65. And when Henderson's driving layup rimmed the basket seconds later, Ellison collected another rebound, drew the foul that disqualified Alarie and then sank both ends of a one-and-one with 27 seconds left and only the national title at stake.

The free throws boosted Ellison's game-high total to 25 points. He also grabbed 11 rebounds, second only to teammate Herbert Crook's 12, while leading the Cardinals to a 72-69 victory.

"It's unbelievable a freshman can handle that kind of pressure and play as well as he did," Crum said.

Ellison was so dominating, in fact, that he became the first freshman since Arnie Ferrin of Utah in 1944 to be selected the Final Four's outstanding player. The youngster accepted the award with his usual display of nonchalance.

"I like to take things in stride," he said. "I try not to get too excited because you get too emotional. That tends to wear you down."

It was Duke's seniors who wore down instead. Despite 24 turnovers and only 13 points by Thompson and nine by Wagner, Louisville annexed its second NCAA basketball championship under Crum. The Cards and their coach had a freshman to thank for that.