4/2/2001 Final Four Championship Game, Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN


 20 years ago today...

April 2, 2001 - Minneapolis, MN

Coach K won his third National Championship with Duke when the Blue Devils defeated the Arizona Wildcats 82 - 72 at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.
Final Four friend Gary, a UofA alum from Tucson, lived in Minneapolis at the time. I scored tickets in the Wildcats fan section from a local alum in a deal brokered by my barber.
UofA beat Michigan State and Duke defeated Maryland in the Final Four to set up the final. We were able to buy more tickets for the Championship game from fans of the losing teams, and bring the rest of Gary's family.
We had several celebrity sightings at this Final Four, meeting Coaches Roy Williams and Jerry Tarkanian in a hotel lounge. Steve Fisher sat next to us in a tiny Italian restaurant and talked college hoops with us. I was introduced to Minneapolis classic watering holes Nye's Polonalse Room and The Loon.
Years later after Arizona Coach Lute Olson retired, he autographed my championship game ticket at a book signing for his biography.



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