March Rewind: Defending Champs End Campbell's 15 Minutes of Fame

What's March without Duke Tournament basketball? With this year's ACC and NCAA Tournaments cancelled, we'll go back in time to look at the top Blue Devils postseason games from each date in March and early April. Special thanks to SportsReference.com for boxscores and the Duke Library for the newspaper archive.

The 1992 NCAA title defense got off to a fast start as Duke beat Campbell, 82-56 in Greensboro. Campbell coach Billy Lee made the most of his 15 minutes of fame, chewing scenery hard while in the national spotlight by dropping home-spun one-liners every chance he could.

“We’re shaking like a wet dog in the wind,” he said of the prospect of facing the top-seeded Blue Devils, as well as, “I'd like to say I have all the answers, but I've been as nervous as a cricket in a hen house.”

There was also, “We’re definitely in a sword fight with a pocketknife … “If we win, we would definitely be the tallest hog in the trough.”

Lee hailed from Mount Olive, NC. “Pickle country,” as he called it. He said he’d stay with Campbell, “Until they run out of barbecue.”

Lee said he watched Hoosiers instead of game film and promised to run “the ol’ picket fence play.”

When students held up signs saying, “We want Duke,” at the conference tournament, he said, ““Hey, there’s a fine line between guts and ignorance. I’d rather play the Lakers than Duke. (Duke) ought to be No. 1 and No. 2.”

Lee admitted to tearing up a bit as he walked onto the floor to face the champs. Mike Krzyzewski then shook his hand and said, “Congratulations on being here.”

“I’m just a little shaver trying to make it with the big boys,” Lee said. “For him to say that meant a lot.”

Then the game started, and Lee had plenty of time to write his blowout material.

Duke scored the first eight points of the game and led 25-9 at one point.

"We knew the train was coming, but we just couldn't stop it," Lee said.

The Fighting Camels shot just 18 percent in the first half.

“Did they have seven guys out there?” Lee asked.

Campbell trailed by 20 at the half but hit a series of long three-pointers in the second half to keep things respectable. Christian Laettner scored 22, and Thomas Hill added 20. Bobby Hurley had a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists.

Mark Mocnik scored 29 with 10 rebounds for Campbell, hitting 7-of-13 from three.