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CHAPEL HILL — With his first Carolina-Duke game slipping away from the Tar Heels in the first half, Caleb Wilson wasn’t about to let the Blue Devils coast to victory. He scored 13 points during a key first-half run, including 11 in less than 3½ minutes, that steadied the game. That put No. 14 UNC on a path toward finally beating No. 4 Duke 71–68 on Seth Trimble’s last-second 3-pointer Saturday night at the Smith Center.
CHAPEL HILL — Carolina’s fifth Quad 1 win of the season sent the Tar Heels rising in the NET rankings, five weeks away from Selection Sunday. No. 14 UNC (19–4, 7–3 ACC) moved up three spots in the NET to 24 after its 71–68 victory Saturday at the Smith Center over No. 4 Duke (20–4, 10–1), which stayed at 3.
CHAPEL HILL — Seth Trimble felt the truth of it before anyone else did. As the ball lifted off his fingertips, tilted just slightly by what he later called his “little old man fade away,” a calm certainty settled over him in a rivalry defined by anything but calm. “I knew it was good,” he said. “I knew it was good the second it left my hand.”
CHAPEL HILL — Carolina led for less than a half-second, but that’s all the Tar Heels needed to add a legendary game to the history books. Derek Dixon drove inside and fired a laser skip pass to Seth Trimble, who sank the shot of his life. The senior’s corner 3-pointer with 0.4 of a second left gave No. 14 North Carolina a thrilling 71–68 victory over No. 4 Duke, leading to a pair of court-storming celebrations.
Here’s a look at Saturday’s big matchup between No. 4 Duke and No. 14 North Carolina at the Smith Center.
CHAPEL HILL — Caleb Wilson has been waiting for this week for a long time, even if he didn’t always say it out loud. The first UNC–Duke game on your schedule isn’t just another matchup. It’s a moment you grow up hearing about, watching on TV, imagining yourself inside. And for Wilson, it was part of the dream before he wore Carolina blue.
CHAPEL HILL — Courtney Banghart has never dealt with a loss to Clemson, but the latest victory over the Tigers was anything but easy. No. 25 North Carolina leaned on another sterling defensive performance to overcome intermittent offensive sloppiness. The Tar Heels rode a third-quarter scoring surge and held on for a less-than-artistic 53–44 victory Thursday at Carmichael Arena to extend their win streak to six.
DURHAM — Jon Scheyer knows that it doesn’t matter that Duke is ranked No. 4 and is rolling on a 10-game win streak. The third-year Duke coach has been around the rivalry for enough years to know that the Blue Devils’ 21–1 record will be irrelevant when his team arrives at the Smith Center for Saturday night’s 6:30 game (ESPN) against No. 14 North Carolina (18–4, 5–3 ACC).
CHAPEL HILL — Hubert Davis has spent the week trying to keep North Carolina’s preparation like any other game ahead of Saturday’s showdown with No. 4 Duke, even when everyone around the program knows “the circus” is coming. Davis, who has lived the rivalry from nearly every angle imaginable, acknowledged the unique spotlight that comes with the matchup and the challenges it creates.
North Carolina’s recent defensive growth hasn’t been about reinventing the Tar Heels’ approach but making adjustments. After some recurring struggles for much of the season, especially with giving up too many open shots from outside the arc, No. 14 UNC has made clear strides in how it defends ball screens.
Coby White is coming home to North Carolina. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Wednesday afternoon that the Chicago Bulls have traded White and Mike Conley Jr. to the Charlotte Hornets for Collin Sexton, Ousmane Dieng and three second-round draft picks.
CHAPEL HILL — After coming a win away from back-to-back trips to Omaha, North Carolina coach Scott Forbes has once again rebuilt a roster that looks capable of competing on the national stage, even after losing seven starters and the national pitcher of the year.
CHAPEL HILL — It all seemed to be coming together for North Carolina before it nearly fell apart. With a 32-point lead, the No. 14 Tar Heels slipped into cruise control with 10 minutes left, lost focus and put the brakes on most of what they had done to build the lead.
RALEIGH — North Carolina had enough answers at convenient times and that gave the Tar Heels a memorable outcome Monday night.
Caleb Love keeps stacking good games in his rookie season in Portland, including one of his most efficient nights of the season on Sunday.
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