NCAA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT : Arkansas, Duke Feel Mile High : East Regional: Laettner’s shot at the buzzer in overtime ends UConn’s dream season, 79-78. Blue Devils reach Final Four for third year in a row.

Maybe the eighth time is the charm for the Duke Blue Devils, whose seven previous trips to the Final Four ended in deep Duke blue funk.

But there is cheering today in Durham, N.C., where Blue Devil faithful are probably willing to put their Duke up against anybody.

As it turns out, Arkansas, which defeated Texas, 88-85, in the Midwest Regional final, will play a 28-8 Duke team that is making a habit of putting itself in college basketball’s biggest showdown.

In a surprise ending to the season of college basketball’s most surprising team, 6-11 Duke forward Christian Laettner sank a 14-foot jump shot at the buzzer to defeat Connecticut, 79-78, in overtime of the East Regional final. The victory put Duke into the Final Four for the third consecutive time and fourth time in five years.

Laettner, who scored 23 points and was named the East Regional most valuable player, made seven of eight shots, but saved the biggest for last.

After a timeout with 2.6 seconds left, Laettner threw the ball inbounds, got it back, dribbled once, shook off defender Lyman De Priest, pumped once, then sent the ball swishing through the net as the sound of the buzzer reverberated through Brendan Byrne Arena, where Duke’s record is 10-1.

Once this series of events was completed, Connecticut players stood in mute disbelief while Laettner’s teammates swarmed over him.

“It was like the most fun I’ve had in my whole life,” Laettner said. “I just can’t believe it.

“I haven’t been in the situation where I take the last shot that often, but sure, I’ll try.”

Beaten by a last-second jump shot, Connecticut could only think back to its last game when it beat Clemson, 71-70, Thursday night with a length-of-the-court pass and game-winning shot at the buzzer.

The Huskies finished 31-6 and came within one victory of reaching the Final Four after being picked for eighth place in the Big East.

Connecticut Coach Jim Calhoun said he was proud of his players, regardless of how their storybook season had ended.

“You don’t get to write all your scripts in life,” Calhoun said.

Duke’s quick revision of the final inbounds play gave it another chance at the Final Four.

Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski, who had drawn a play in the huddle, noticed that Laettner was not being guarded at the sideline and called an audible.

Instead of trying to find Phil Henderson with a pass on the wing, getting the ball to Bobby Hurley at the top of the circle or lobbing to Alaa Abdelnaby underneath the basket, Krzyzewski wanted Laettner to take the last shot.

Laettner anxiously paced the sideline before the play.

“I got kind of an anxiety feeling in my stomach,” said Laettner, a sophomore. “There was fear and anxiety then, but once the play started, I was ready.”

Brian Davis broke free of Connecticut defender Nadav Henefeld and took Laettner’s inbounds pass. Davis gave the ball back to Laettner, who dribbled once, brushed away De Priest, pumped and fired.

“It went in,” Laettner said. “I can’t believe it went in.”

The Huskies, who lost a five-point lead in regulation when they scored only three points in the last 3:51, were clutching a 78-77 lead with 11 seconds to go.

Tate George, whose shot at the buzzer beat Clemson, stepped in front of Henderson and got his hands on Hurley’s pass but couldn’t control the ball. George fumbled it out of bounds.

If George had held on, Laettner’s shot at fame would not have occurred.

“It trickled out of my hands,” George said. “That was it.”

Krzyzewski said he was yelling at the officials as George fell in front of him in front of the Duke bench.

“I called for a walk,” Krzyzewski said. “He probably didn’t walk, but you call for anything at that point. You call for help.”

Nothing helped Duke’s cause more than its powerful inside game of Laettner and Abdelnaby.

“Our inside people were the difference in the game,” Krzyzewski said. “We’re a good basketball team all the time, but we’re an excellent team when they play well.”

The 6-10 Abdelnaby led all scorers with 27 points and 14 rebounds and established the area beneath the basket as the place where the East would be won.

Calhoun identified another area--the free-throw line. Duke shot 32 free throws, 20 more than the Huskies, whose vaunted press proved to be of little consequence. Calhoun said that was true because of the way the officials called the game.

“Everything we did was a foul,” he said.

Everything else seemed even. The Huskies lost forward Scott Burrell to fouls; Duke forward Robert Brickey injured his hamstring and sat out the second half.

Hurley had eight assists and two turnovers as the principal press-breaker, but he missed all nine of his shots. Connecticut’s Chris Smith hit a three-pointer with nine seconds left in regulation to tie the game, 72-72, but missed 12 of the other 15 shots he took.

Henefeld had 15 points and scored the Huskies’ last four points in overtime. But if Abdelnaby had somehow rolled in a shot on an inbounds pass from Hurley with three tenths of a second left, the game would have never gone into overtime.

All that was left was George’s near-steal that would have won the game and Laettner’s shot that did win the game. Krzyzewski sighed with relief.

“There were an incredible amount of big plays in the game and fortunately for us we made the last one,” Krzyzewski said. “Thank God when (Laettner) hit it, it was over because they probably would have done something incredible after that.

“We were kind of like brothers in war,” Krzyzewski said of Connecticut. “I think either team that lost would be in the locker room crying. We were crying in victory.”