Lucas: Duke Rapid Reactions – University of North Carolina Athletics

1. I can’t believe that just happened.

2. But somehow, it did. The Seth Trimble three-pointer will go down in Carolina-Duke history, but don’t forget that Derek Dixon made an incredible play to find him for the wide-open shot that gave Carolina a 71-68 win. It is currently believed to be the latest Tar Heel game-winner in UNC-Duke history.

3. The ensuing moments, featuring a pair of court-stormings, have never happened before at the Smith Center. First, the students filled the court after what looked like a walk-off win. But with the officials putting 0.4 seconds on the clock, the students had to be cleared. Duke didn’t score, and then they got to storm the court again. Next on the agenda: Franklin Street.

4. A long time ago, UNC trailed 64-58 with 2:20 left. The Heels then proceeded to go on a 13-4 run. In addition to Dixon’s seeing-eye assist, the freshman also hit a giant three-pointer with two minutes left. Dixon didn’t have a great overall line, but Carolina doesn’t win the game without him.

5. There will be much more about this in the postgame column, but the home tunnel after the game was a microcosm of what makes Carolina Basketball different. Alums and current players mixed together in sheer joy. 

6. A sequence of two of the best timeouts in Smith Center history late in the game. Theo Pinson and Justin Jackson danced during one of them, and then Roy Williams went with the classic Coach Williams “Get a stop!” stance when Duke had the ball in a tie game, sending 22,000 people into a frenzy and setting the stage for Trimble’s three-pointer. It was just an amazing Carolina Basketball night.

7. Great performance from Caleb Wilson (23 points, including 17 points in the first half), and Henri Veesaar joined him in the second half. Wilson had 23 points and four rebounds and Veesaar had 13 points and 11 rebounds. On one of the best nights of his life, Trimble finished with 16, his career high against Duke.

8. Carolina’s poor start put the Heels in a hole. Duke built an 18-5 lead on the back of great offensive execution. The visitors scored on every possession until Cameron Boozer was called for a travel with 12:50 left in the first half. 

9. Duke dominated the glass early. At the 11 minute mark, every single Tar Heel had the same number of rebounds as Wanda. The only Carolina rebound to that point had been a team board.

10. Wilson eventually single-handedly brought the Heels back into the game (17 points in the first half), but that wasn’t enough to overcome an 18-4 Duke edge in points in the paint in the first half, as the Devils had a 41-29 lead at the break. But the Heels wouldn’t have been in position for the epic finish without Wilson’s effort in the first half. After Duke scored 18 points in the paint in the first half, the Heels answered with 18 of their own in the second half. 

11. Part of that late first half drought was due to Duke tightening down on Wilson. After he took a questionable three-pointer facing a 23-22 deficit with seven minutes left in the half, the Tar Heels attempted ten field goals over the remainder of the half. Only one of those shot attempts was by Wilson, a made pullup jumper. Of the nine non-Wilson shot attempts, UNC made one of them. Add in a couple Duke three-pointers, and that’s why the Devils had a bigger edge at halftime.

12. Saturday’s pregame included recognition of the passing of James Spurling, a lifelong Tar Heel and longtime director fo Kenan Stadium. Mr. Spurling, one of the most loyal Tar Heels you could ever meet, would have been astonished–and quietly proud–that a sellout crowd took a moment to recognize a boy from Granville County who grew up to be an essential and irreplaceable part of the athletic department. 

13. We’re now officially into the more difficult back half of the Atlantic Coast Conference season. Entering Saturday, Carolina’s remaining opponents have a combined ACC record of 60-29 (.674). The Tar Heels travel to Miami on Tuesday night.