“Hold on, wait a minute. Y’all thought I was finished?”
After the nightmare that was Carolina’s first game against the Duke Blue Devils in Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels might have felt like they were dreaming after the final buzzer sounded in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
UNC used a decisive 24-12 run to end the second half Saturday night in Durham, pulling away for a 94-81 win in Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s last home game. For Tar Heel fans, it may have been the sweetest regular-season win in program history.
𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐍 ✌️#CarolinaFamily | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/pzApqikDC4
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) March 6, 2022
“We just talked about our competitive fight, and that we had to do three things,” said head coach Hubert Davis. “We had to plant our feet, we had to stand our ground, and we had to fight. And if we did those three things, it would put us in a position to do something that a lot of people didn’t think we had a chance to do.”
Carolina did not wilt within the first five minutes as they did in the Smith Center. Instead, the Tar Heels came out on the front foot, opening the game on an 11-4 run thanks to baskets from Armando Bacot, Brady Manek and R.J. Davis. It was the start of big nights for each of them.
Duke responded with big buckets from future NBA lottery pick Paolo Banchero, who willed his team back into the game. The six-foot, ten-inch freshman capitalized on his size advantage for layups and dunks all night long, finishing with 23 points to lead the Blue Devils.
But it was a three-pointer from Banchero which keyed a 14-0 from Duke in the late first half, turning what had been a 28-23 UNC lead into a 37-28 Duke advantage. It appeared Duke might take a sizable lead into the half, but two missed one-and-one opportunities at the foul line allowed UNC to stay in the game. A layup from Bacot then gave way to a trio of Carolina three-pointers to end the half, including one from Davis to beat the buzzer. Just like that, Carolina entered the locker rooms down just 41-39. They ended the half on another 11-4 run.
“We know the work we put in. HD coached a phenomenal game, and we played a great game,” said Davis. “We executed the plays he said, we were able to get the loose balls. I think our toughness showed today.”
The teams traded baskets to begin the second half, but another driving layup from Banchero gave Duke a seven-point lead at 56-49 with 12:50 to go. It would be their largest lead of the second half.
The Tar Heels got back into the game on the strength of baskets from Love, who started the game cold but still ended with 22 points. A jumper from the sophomore, a free throw from Bacot and a steal and layup from Love cut Duke’s lead down to 56-54. Krzyzewski called timeout, but could not quell the UNC tide. The Tar Heels ripped off an 11-5 run after the timeout to take a 65-61 lead, powered by more buckets from the quartet of Love, Davis, Bacot and Manek. Carolina would not relinquish the lead for the rest of the game.
Duke came close, edging back to 70-69 on a pair of free throws from Trevor Keels with 6:05 to go, but Davis responded with a wide open three-pointer. Leaky Black scored his first points of the night on an acrobatic layup, followed by more points from Davis and Manek. Manek answered a three from Wendell Moore with a corner triple of his own, giving Carolina an 82-74 lead with 2:33 left. Duke would not make another basket until 24 seconds remained on the clock, and by then it was academic. A two-handed dunk from Bacot gave the Tar Heels a 10-point lead with under a minute to play, effectively sealing the game and sending UNC students to Franklin Street. Love converted six of six free throws down the stretch and 12 of 12 for the game. Despite his 4-17 shooting night, Love’s 22 points tied a season-high.
Bacot finished with 23 points and seven rebounds, Davis with 21 and Manek with 20 on 5-10 three-point shooting. Manek also tied a season-high with 11 rebounds to secure a double-double. It’s the first time in program history four different Tar Heels scored 20 or more points in a game.
“I’ve been fired up. I’ve seen all the stuff on social media,” said Bacot, who drew calls for ACC Player of the Year from both his teammates and Krzyzewski. “People saying this, saying that about me. I just knew I was gonna come out here today and kick ass.”
Carolina’s five starters each played all 20 minutes in the second half, in which the Tar Heels outscored the Blue Devils 55-40. UNC shot 59 percent in the half, compared to just 42 percent from Duke. It was a dominant performance down the stretch, and gave Carolina its second Quad 1 win of the year. But it’s safe to say UNC doesn’t have to worry about its NCAA Tournament resume anymore.
The Tar Heels have won three of their last four games in Cameron Indoor Stadium, but perhaps no regular-season win in program history compares to this one.
“I think it’s probably one of the greatest Carolina wins that was not a national championship game,” said Bacot.
After all the pomp and circumstance surrounding Krzyzewski before the game, Carolina came in with a business-like attitude and, as Hubert Davis emphasized during the week, just played.
A month ago, it would’ve been hard to imagine a result like this for this group of Tar Heels, but it happened all the same.
“They continue to hear stories and testimonies and memories from me and Coach [Jeff] Lebo and Coach [Sean] May,” said Davis. “And one of the things that I desperately wanted, I wanted them to have their own memories, their own testimonies, their own stories of making big shots, being in moments in a Carolina uniform. They’re gathering that now. So as a coach, that’s just really neat to see them have their own experiences. It’s just a lot of fun.”
Featured image via The Daily Tar Heel/Helen McGinnis
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