One of the nation’s biggest rivalries put on an absolute masterpiece over the weekend. Another instant classic between these two teams that went from dominance to disbelief. The North Carolina Tarheels stunned Duke in Chapel Hill with a 71-68 victory after hitting a game-winning buzzer beater, but it wasn’t just about the shot that sealed the deal. It was about the Tarheels refusing to go away after trailing the whole game until the final shot, not letting the moment define who they are as a team.
For most of the night, it looked like Duke had come to dominate and prove to the rest of the country that they are legit national title contenders. The Blue Devils put on an absolute beating in the first half, shooting 50 percent from the field with a 13-point lead. The first half of the game was all about Duke’s balanced scoring and being the more physical team, going into the lockerroom with a 41-29 lead. Duke was looking to put on a performance to send UNC fans home early by outscoring the Tarheels 18-4 in the paint and 13-4 in second-chance points. Most of UNC’s production came from the highly talented true freshman Caleb Wilson, while the rest of the team struggled to get anything going.
The second half, however, was a completely different story, as UNC looked to turn things around. The Tarheels’ offense started catching fire, hitting over 60 percent of their shots, and the defense found a way to make Duke uncomfortable the rest of the night. With three minutes left, the Blue Devils still held the lead 68-62, looking to leave Chapel Hill with a statement road win. The final minutes of the game are what make this rivalry so special, as UNC held Duke scoreless in the final 2:25 and found a way to tie the game. Then all it took was one last stop for UNC’s defense to get the final possession with under 10 seconds left on the clock.
As the final possession was being taken out, you could feel it in your bones that something magical was about to happen, as this rivalry has always delivered in the past. The Tarheels were able to get the final shot off with 0.4 seconds left on the clock, with the senior guard Seth Trimble nailing the game-winner. The scenes were immaculate, and it was absolute chaos as fans stormed the court with time still left, but the game was over. North Carolina had pulled off the unimaginable, and it felt like Chapel Hill was going to literally burn down over the weekend. It’s these types of games that make the college basketball regular season just as great as the tournament in March. As the saying goes, “If you aren’t here in February, don’t show up in March.”