Rivalry restored

By Calvin Connors Posted March 1, 2012

College basketball’s greatest rivalry didn’t disappoint as the Duke and North Carolina (NC) game was a thriller, filled with excitement and disappointment for Tar Heel fans.

The Blue Devils and the Tar Heels face off twice every year, one game is held at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and the other game is held at Duke University in Durham. These two Campuses are only eight miles apart and have been in a heated rivalry since January 24, 1920. North Carolina leads the series 36-25.

This year’s game was at Chapel Hill, it was the first game of the two-game series this season. Before the NC game, Duke lost to the University of Miami in overtime. This loss snapped Duke’s 45-game home winning streak. The Duke-NC game was dominated by the Tar Heels up until the end of the second half. Crazy events occurred within the last three minutes of the second half. North Carolina’s Tyler Zeller went up to get a rebound but the ball rolled off of his hand into the basket. Crucial shots made by Seth Curry and Ryan Kelly put the Blue Devils into a position to put pressure on the Tar Heels.

Zeller was put on the free-throw line to ice the game for the Tar Heels. He didn’t come through and missed two free throws that could have put them up by four points instead of only two. Austin Rivers brought the ball up the floor in the closing seconds and made a three-point shot at the buzzer to win one of the greatest rivalries in college basketball for the Blue Devils.

Leave a Reply