YouTube Gold: Duke Destroys Kentucky In 1988

In the 1988-89 season, Duke and Kentucky were headed in very different directions. Kentucky was embroiled in scandal after an envelope with $1,000 to Chris Mills’ father came open en route. The carrier, Emery Worldwide, investigated, and when it went public, Kentucky was in big trouble. This was compounded when it was discovered that Eric Manuel cheated on a college entrance exam.

Soon enough, the scandal exploded, and it would ultimately cost Wildcats coach Eddie Sutton his job.

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Duke meanwhile had been to the Final Four in 1986, the Sweet 16 in 1987, the Final Four again in 1988, and was a couple of years away from back-to-back championships.

So when the teams met in the 1988 Tip-Off Classic, it didn’t end well for Kentucky. Duke ran over them.

Led by Danny Ferry, and with an unknown freshman named Christian Laettner, Duke powered its way to an 80-55 win.

At the beginning of the broadcast, Dick Vitale called for Kentucky and Sutton to go their separate ways, and in March, they did.

This was an undeniable low point for Kentucky basketball, but Sutton’s replacement, Rick Pitino, would revive the program quickly, and in 1992, the teams would meet for a legendary Elite Eight Game that Duke won when Laettner, then a senior, hit a shot at the buzzer that is still being talked about.

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/youtube-gold-duke-destroys-kentucky-101400665.html

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Publish date : 2026-06-08 10:14:00

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