Well, it was fun while it lasted.
The Dean Dome was electric for UNC basketball’s regular season finale against Duke in a way that might have had Sam Cassell – he of the “cheese and wine crowd” label – biting his lip. The record crowd was roaring after Carolina rallied from a first-half deficit of 15 points to trail by just one at the half.
They came from all over the state to say farewell to five-year star R.J. Davis – who, after scoring 15 points in that first half, looked like he might replicate the magic Senior Night of long-ago legend Phil Ford. Ford’s 34 points with an injured wrist stunned the Final Four-bound Blue Devils in 1978 at the Tar Heels’ former home, Carmichael Auditorium.
This Duke team is one of the biggest in the country and first in the ACC to ever lead the league in scoring offense (83 points a game) and scoring defense (allowing just over 61). The Blue Devils are the top seed in the ACC tournament next week in Charlotte, the regular season conference champion, and will be a No. 1 NCAA seed the following week.
Duke, now 28-3, hammers opponents by an average of 22 points and looked on the way to matching that margin when it led 36-21 after 12 minutes of the first half while their freshman star Cooper Flagg languished on the bench in foul trouble.
But with Davis canning three of his four 3-point attempts, Carolina forged a gallant comeback to eventually trail by only one at the half as the fans about blew a hole in the Teflon dome. The second half began even better with back-to-back bombs by Davis and fellow graduate senior Jae’Lyn Withers to outscore the Dukies 14-6 and take a seven-point lead after five minutes as the Dean Dome totally exploded.
UNC guard R.J. Davis celebrates after hitting a shot in the second half against Duke on Saturday, Mar. 8. Davis’ first-half heroics were enough to give the Tar Heels some momentum going into the second frame, but he was then stifled by the Blue Devils’ defense and scored just five more points. (Photo by Todd Melet/Chapel Hill Media Group.)
But that was UNC’s high-water mark as their blue blood rival used a 12-0 run to take back control of the game amid a handful of Tar Heel mistakes. UNC got no closer than four points on Elliot Cadeau’s only three ball of the game. The desperate home team wilted to a 29-10 run to the final buzzer against Duke’s athletic and long-armed defense and lightning-strike offense. R.J. took himself out with cramps and a touch of exhaustion as he failed to score over the last 17 minutes of the game.
Carolina had trouble getting a good look and made only 32 percent in the second half, its worst since shooting 30 percent in the first half of the blowout at Duke in February.
Hubert Davis called a timeout with about five minutes left and his team down by 11 points, conjuring up another cherished moment in the rivalry when Roy Williams told his 2005 team that was trailing by nine points, “If you do exactly what I say we are going to win this game.” Those Heels completed the rally by holding Duke scoreless and winning on the famous offensive put-back by freshman Marvin Williams, helping vault Carolina to Williams’ first and the school’s fifth national championship.
These battles of the blues have had so many such moments over the decades — but this one completed a regular season sweep for Duke a year after the Tar Heels pulled off the same trick at Cameron Indoor Stadium, won the ACC crown and drew the No. 1 NCAA seed.
In both showings against Carolina, Duke simply played at a higher level. Going 19-1 in the ACC — a record for the expanded conference — augurs well for the Blue Devils’ chances to bring home the school’s sixth NCAA championship.
Duke’s Cooper Flagg was stymied with foul trouble, but Carolina could not manage to earn a fourth or fifth foul against the star freshman. He helped finished Duke’s win with a pair of highlight plays — a block of UNC’s Ven-Allen Lubin and a dunk. (Photo by Todd Melet/Chapel Hill Media Group.)
The loss leaves Carolina in a perilous position of likely missing an NCAA bid for the second time in three years. The Heels needed a major victory to win over the NCAA selection committee, and the uneven ACC scheduling doesn’t seem to present that opportunity in Charlotte. UNC now holds the fifth seed playing Wednesday against either Notre Dame or Pitt, and neither is the so-called Quad 1 opponent Carolina has to beat to boost its shaky NCAA resume. Even a win over fourth-seeded Wake Forest on quarterfinal Thursday won’t do it since the Deacons are likely to miss the NCAA tournament draw as well.
Two victories would mean facing Duke again in the Friday semifinals and almost a sure loss to the deep and talented Devils, who would be more heavily favored on a neutral court than the 10-point pick they were in Chapel Hill. If all that were to transpire, Carolina and its fans will further bemoan early season losses against one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country. The 82-69 decision to Duke is added to the list of “good losses.”
The same fate faced the Tar Heels two years ago, and they turned down an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) as Coach Davis went about retooling his roster with transfers. Besides losing R.J., “J-Wit” and reserve senior center Ty Claude, the futures of sophomore point guard Cadeau and freshmen phenoms Drake Powell and Ian Jackson are also unknown.
Former stars and possible future stars were on site Saturday, including 2025-26 signees 5-star forward Caleb Wilson and 4-star combo guards Isaiah Denis and Derek Dixon. The big video boards showed national champions and ACC Players of the Year Tyler Hansbrough and Justin Jackson in attendance along with football heroes Drake Maye, Sam Howell, Julius Peppers and even Lawrence Taylor.
ESPN covered all the action, starting in the morning with Game Day co-hosted by former Duke stars Jay Bilas and Jay Williams and, of course, featured an interview with UNC’s new football coach Bill Belichick — who was friendly if not forthcoming about his first Tar Heel team. Bilas, especially, had a nuanced opinion of Carolina’s chances for the Big Dance by pointing out that they lost to more top ten teams than any school outside of the star-studded SEC.
While promoting the rivalry he played in, including the grand opening game at the Smith Center in 1986, Bilas said of the Tar Heels: “Granted, they are 1-10 against Quad 1 teams, which doesn’t look good. But what does look good is that six of those losses were to top 10 teams, a number on the road and on neutral courts. And if you look at how they’ve played in winning the last six games with the lineup that Hubert has figured out, that’s the Carolina team we expected before the season started.”
Yes, since the NCAA does like teams that end the season on a roll rather than in a tailspin, there might be wiggle room for some maneuvering by UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham, who is chair of the selection committee. But on paper, this Carolina team’s season is not far from where many assumed it would be about a month ago: coming down to their performance in Charlotte. We will have to see how many games UNC can win at the ACC tournament and how the backroom bargaining goes when the committee convenes next week.
If that doesn’t go the Tar Heels’ way, one other consideration about accepting an NIT bid is that winning three probable home games would send them to Madison Square Garden for the semifinals and finals. Dean Smith — for whom Saturday’s raucous arena was named the night before it opened and Hubert Davis’ worshipped mentor — took every opportunity to play in the Big Apple and his 1971 team brought home the title. Hubert loves to play in New York — and R.J., Cadeau and Jackson could get another chance to show off in their native region, which Carolina always holds sacred. Would they continue to play for the sake of pride and the program?
At least that would be something to show for a team that has grown significantly in its last seven games — even with another loss to Duke that is difficult to stomach.
Featured image by Todd Melet/Chapel Hill Media Group.
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
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