Howard Bryant on Duke vs UNLV 1991: The Upset That Changed College Basketball | 03.31

On Time Machine Tuesday, Bomani Jones and Howard Bryant go back to the 1991 Final Four and the stunning upset that turned Duke into college basketball’s ultimate villain. From Jerry Tarkanian’s renegade UNLV program and Larry Johnson’s rock-star Runnin’ Rebels to Christian Laettner’s rise and Coach K’s defining moment, they unpack the racial, cultural, and class tensions that made this more than just a game.

They revisit how UNLV “blackened” the sport, why Duke was seen as the clean-cut “Southern Ivy,” the NCAA’s war on Tark, Prop 48 and Prop 42, and why this loss hit so hard for Black America. Plus: was it really fixed, or did Duke just finally stand up to the bully?

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