INDIANAPOLIS (AP) a Mike Krzyzewski and Rick Pitino are ultimately doing an encore. For the very first time since the greatest game was played perhaps by their teams in the real history of the NCAA tournament, Krzyzewski and Pitino can meet in the NCAA tournament Sunday when top-seeded Louisville people Duke. In the regional finals, no less. Never mind that handful of their recent players were also born in 1992. Or that Pitino isn't any longer at Kentucky, having switched sides in the state's civil war after his brief trip to Boston and the NBA ended poorly. Krzyzewski and Pitino are forever linked by this 1 sport in Philadelphia, immortalized by Christian Laettner's unbelievable opportunity. "It is one of those moments in time that helped establish our sport," Krzyzewski said Saturday. "When I have talked to Rick about it, we know we were the lucky men. We'd various roles at that time, but we were both lucky to be there." Said Pitino, "It was like being in Carnegie Hall and seeing the best artist or the best musician. Just sitting there in wonder of the basketball court." what these were doing out Krzyzewski and Pitino are two of the best coaches of their generation, with five NCAA titles and 1,618 advantages between them. Yet for all their success, and for as good a friends because they are, Krzyzewski and Pitino rarely play one another. When Louisville (32-5) and Duke (30-5) played in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in November a Duke won a' it was the very first time Krzyzewski and Pitino had played one another since '92. Sunday's sport is going to be their next meeting ever. "That is why we got them in the meeting. Got to begin carrying this out a little bit more," Krzyzewski joked, referring to Louisville's upcoming go on to the ACC. But next to nothing can top that first meeting between them. The Blue Devils, led by Laettner and Grant Hill, were defending national champions in 1992. Kentucky was on the rise again after 2 yrs on probation. It was a showdown of the 1 and 2 seeds, a game worth a national title, once they met in the old Spectrum for the East Region finals. "It was such a high-scoring game with therefore much efficiency in how people passed and shot the ball. That is what caused it to be stand the test of time," Pitino said. "It was a game where two coaches could settle-back and watch good players perform at the highest level." After via 10 down in regulation, Kentucky seemed to have the overall game won when Sean Woods made a working bank shot in the lane with 2.5 seconds left in overtime. Duke called a, and gave the ball to Grant Hill to inbound. The Wildcats knew the ball was going to Laettner, a 6-foot-11 heart who'd built a against Connecticut in the regional finals 2 yrs earlier. But without Jamal Mashburn a'he'd fouled out a Pitino pulled John Pelphrey and Deron Feldhaus aside and warned them to not foul. "I said, 'Whatever you do, don't foul him. He has maybe not missed a shot,'" Pitino remembered. "I should not have inked that. That was the mistake I made. I ought to have said, 'Anything you do, bat down the ball. I actually do not care what the contact is, go for the basketball.' "You found my folks freeze a little bit." As anybody who's ever watched the NCAA tournament in the last 21 years knows, Hill put a from the far standard and found Laettner at the strong line along with his back again to the basket. Laettner faked right, spun to his left and his 15-footer hit nothing whilst the buzzer but net sounded. "I do not think you are able to understand the significance at that time," Krzyzewski said. "I will always remember the huge difference in feeling. Since, right before me, Richie Farmer collapsed. I see our folks jump and I see him fall. And actually, I was more taken by Richie. I understood by looking at him... So just how tough that was." It absolutely was agonizing for the initial twenty four hours, Pitino said. However when he popped a tape of the game within the next day, it was seen by him in another light. "I just sat straight back and said, 'Darn, that was some hell of a baseball game,'" he said. "I got the inventors together and I mentioned, 'Man, that has been an excellent sport.' To be real a fantastic game, especially playing without Mash." Duke might go on to win its second straight title, beating Michigan in the ultimate. Its revival would be completed by kentucky four years later when the Wildcats beat Syracuse due to their sixth NCAA title and first since 1978. But it is that game that everyone remembers, and the years did nothing to diminish it. Movies of the play are on repeat throughout the contest every year. And as the NCAA remembers 75 years of March Madness this season, the Laettner play has been among the features. "I do contemplate it often," Pitino said. "Not from the vengeance understanding, but as a fantastic game that I was pleased to participate. "To me, it is one of many best losses I have ever had," he said. "A poor loss is where your guys play horrible, you do not play. It absolutely was a fantastic loss because a perfect game was played almost by my guys and we only had the incorrect ending for people. But it was among the greatest hockey games ever played because it was so high-powered with great play. One good play after another. That was fun to be part of."
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