Rivalry Edition 2024

the chronicle rivalry issue

february 2, 2024

TIPPING POINT

graphic by dom fenoglio & morgan chu

REVENGE

UNMATCHED

HISTORIC

ENMITY

PRESTIGE

ADRENALINE

LOATHING EPIC

REVENGE

CLASSIC

ICONIC FIERCE

ADRENALINE

WAR

INTENSE

PRESTIGE

INTENSE LOATHING

WAR

EPIC

CLASSIC

SENSATIONAL

ICONIC

LEGENDARY

DUEL

ADRENALINE

EXCELLENCE

DUKE PASSION

HISTORIC WAR

FIGHT LOATHING

ADRENALINE

EPIC

ADRENALINE DEVOTION FIERCE

FUN

EVERYTHING

DEVOTION

SENSATIONAL

ICONIC

UNMATCHED

REGAL EPIC

PASSION LOATHING FUN FIERCE

TRADITION

UNC PRESTIGE

REVENGE

LEGENDARY

REVENGE

CLASSIC ADRENALINE INTENSE

WAR EPIC EXCELLENCE DEVOTION

SENSATIONAL

DELIVERS

PERFORMANCE

ADRENALINE

DELIVERS DEVOTION

EVERYTHING

PASSION

UNRIVALED TRADITION

TRADITION

PERFECT FIGHT REGAL

EXCELLENCE

LOATHING

SENSATIONAL

DUEL PASSION

EVERYTHING

FIERCE SENSATIONAL LEGENDARY INTENSE

CLASSIC

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2 | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2024

SIDELINE

L E R A P P A

OUTH A D U LT & Y

GIFTS

ADULT & YOUTH

jerseys

HEADWE AR

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SEASON TWO

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2024 | 3

BACK TO BASICS

With new roles and expectations, Duke’s Column: Dukesophomore trio is leading the charge UNC is a battle of

By Sophie Levenson

Sports Features Editor

B

y Duke standards, Kyle Filipowski, Mark Mitchell and Tyrese Proctor are practically old and gray.

For the first time in a long time, Duke is stacked with returning talent. Junior Jaylen Blakes and senior Jeremy Roach provide the team stability while graduate Ryan Young contributes the kind of level-headedness and schematic know-how that only comes after playing six years of college basketball. And Mitchell, Proctor, Filipowski — these sophomores are the heart of the team.

Think back to Duke’s Jan. 2 performance against Syracuse. Game five of the Blue Devils’ eight-game win streak saw a team emerging from ashes of doubt and proving itself worthy of the ACC’s highest ranks. That win against the Orange was the first in a four-game series of Duke figuring out how to get past conference foes — including the Georgia Tech squad that had taken the Blue Devils down once before.

Head coach Jon Scheyer put much of that game in the hands of Filipowski, Mitchell, Proctor, Roach and Jared McCain. The five of them took care of the ball with a level of comfort on the court that radiated throughout Cameron Indoor Stadium, reminding faithful onlookers that Duke is talented. But for the first time in a while, that talent is not concentrated primarily in a freshman class.

That’s not to say the Blue Devils don’t have freshman talent. McCain’s 41.5% 3-point shot is no joke. But how high would that number be without the support of his older teammates?

The triumvirate of sophomores has faced challenges this season, but has proved in the early days of ACC play that it is more than capable of taking those challenges head-on.

At the helm On Jan. 23 at Louisville, Proctor put up 24 points to define his career-high: He shot 9-for16 from the field, lodging four 3-pointers and sinking two free throws to boot. Stats-wise, 2-for-5 from the stripe wasn’t Proctor’s best work, but his scoring output elsewhere made up for that.

Twenty-four points is seven more than the Sydney native ever scored last season. That improvement serves as something of a perfect metaphor for Proctor in the last few months, as the sophomore has increased notably in strength and comfort on the court. His role as starting point guard was essentially sealed Feb. 4, 2023, when he took over for Roach and orchestrated a feisty offense that enabled Duke to secure its first of two wins that season against the Tar Heels.

In the near-year since that day, Proctor (who was supposed to be a freshman this year before he reclassed) hasn’t changed as much as he has simply developed. His transition to sophomore year has been evident in the way he carries himself behind the ball and communicates with his teammates. Being a point guard is all about leading the charge, and therefore requires an awareness and understanding that naturally

strengthens with time. In the 2023-24 season thus far, it has been clear that familiarity truly enhances Proctor’s game.

“We played a whole season together last year and have been in situations where the game was neck-and-neck,” Proctor said after the Syracuse matchup. “I think just having that trust … was a really big thing.”

An injury tried to get in the way of Proctor’s progress. He missed three games — including against then-No. 10 Baylor in New York — and didn’t start for four more. In the four games between his injury in the first Duke-Georgia Tech matchup and his revival in the second, he averaged just 6.5 points. In his first four games back in the throes of it, Proctor’s point average soared to a remarkable 17.5.

He was back and quite literally better than ever.

Laura Cai | Staff Photographer “After everything, all the coaches trusted me, Mark Mitchell hangs off the rim during my teammates did too,” he said after the Blue Devils Duke’s win against Syracuse. bested the Yellow Jackets at home Jan. 13. points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

In his sophomore season thus far, even with At the rim Moving from power forward to center in an injury keeping him on the bench for three the wake of Dereck Lively II’s departure for the games, the Sunrise Christian alumnus has NBA is no small task, especially for someone upped his season averages to 12.8 points and who so clearly excelled as a forward and built 6.0 rebounds. His shooting arm, at least inside the arc, has never looked better; he’s knocking his reputation on doing so.

But Filipowski has done it, and he has done down 51.5% from the field and has already made 64 shots from the stripe on 87 attemps. it well.

It wasn’t the smoothest start to the season Last year, by the end of the postseason, that for the Westtown, N.Y., native, despite a high number was 71 total from 93 tries.

On top of bettering his stat line, Mitchell has scoring average. He did well with scoring but wasn’t as prolific on the boards as the bettered his name.

“Mark Mitchell is a winner,” Scheyer said Blue Devil faithful might expect from their after Duke’s win against Syracuse. “That dude is Preseason All-American. a winner, competitor, connector.”

The sophomore has started every game he has played in with the sole exception of the first Georgia Tech matchup (and look what happened then). He has led Duke’s scoring in three games, which makes him the third most common points leader on the roster behind Filipowski and McCain.

He is earning, finally, some of the respect that was hard to come by last season in the shadow of his more celebrity teammates.

“It’s not easy playing here,” Scheyer said after the Syracuse game. “There’s a lot of criticism and all that, but I think Mark has really stayed the course.”

Abigail Bromberger | Photography Editor

Kyle Filipowski reaches to block a shot in the first half of Duke’s clash with Clemson.

Since Duke faced Pittsburgh the first time, however, Filipowski has roared back. At Notre Dame, three days before the Blue Devils beat the Panthers, Filipowski scored seven points (his second-lowest total of the season) and grabbed six rebounds (his third-lowest). Then he scored 26 points in Pittsburgh and a career-best 30 in Durham against the Yellow Jackets while also snatching 13 boards. He has averaged a ridiculous 20.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game since Jan. 9.

“We’re a completely different team from the beginning of the year,” Filipowski said after Duke’s win against Georgia Tech. “I think we’re one of the best teams in the country.”

Basically, he became used to playing center.

At this point, Filipowski is not just back at the powerhouse level he maintained all of his freshman season — he surpassed it. His points-per-game numbers went from 15.1 last season to 17.7 this season. He also has 56 assists and 37 blocks. In his rookie campaign, in contrast, he totaled 56 assists and 26 blocks after all 36 games.

“I’ve been flirting with 30 points for a little bit,” he said after he broke his career-high at home against Georgia Tech. “So I think I finally just said enough’s enough.”

In the middle Mitchell’s role on Duke’s roster was hazy last season; the Kansas City, Kan., native clearly Abigail Bromberger | Photography Editor excelled at defense but was less valuable — at Tyrese Proctor walks back up the court least ostensibly — playing in the shadow of during Duke’s win against Clemson.

Lively. As a freshman, Mitchell averaged 9.1

Stepping up At Louisville, the sophomores fought valiantly to win the game for Duke. In the press conference after the Blue Devils pulled out their road victory, Scheyer talked about them stepping up in place of captain Roach, whose rolled ankle kept him on the bench for most of the second half.

“Going through last season, we were in moments like this last year, and the wheels fell off a little bit,” Scheyer said. “Jeremy has been … that guy to provide poise and confidence.”

“The three of those guys [Mitchell, Proctor and Filipowski] stepped up in a big way,” Scheyer continued. “They’ve done a great job playing through adversity and fighting through.”

Louisville was not the blowout victory many Duke fans hoped it would be, but it was a show of excellence from the Blue Devil sophomores, who combined for 61 of the team’s 83 points. Proctor had four assists and Filipowski had five. Mitchell and Filipowski collected 27 rebounds between them.

On Saturday, a mighty game hangs in the balance. This one matters not just for the rivalry but also for both schools’ records. The triad of sophomore talent might mean everything, especially when the Tar Heels are returning so much veteran excellence of their own.

On Feb. 4 last year, Filipowski scored 14 points, Proctor 11 and Mitchell six. Sure, these rivalry games are wildly unpredictable, but those numbers are miles behind what each of the three sophomores average now.

If Mitchell, Proctor and Filipowski have all gotten better this year — and everything indicates that they have, indeed, gotten better — those numbers should be higher.

Being old and gray might be a good thing.

blue bloods again, as it should be

O

ne of the many remarkable things about the Tobacco Road rivalry is its refusal to go away. Other rivalries may wax or wane as dynasties fade or players and coaches move on, but few are as effortlessly or inextricably linked as Duke and North Carolina. In more than 100 years of bitterness, there has hardly been a dull moment.

The last few years, though, have been especially compelling, thanks to a whirlwind of change on both ends of the U.S. 15-501.

Former Tar Heel head coach Roy Williams knocked over the first domino when Jonathan Levitan he announced his retirement on April Fool’s Day in 2021. His Blue Devil counterpart Mike Krzyzewski followed suit two months later, announcing that the season to follow would be his last.

Since then, we — the viewing public and college basketball enthusiasts across the globe — have been treated to five very different yet similarly excellent installments of the rivalry as Jon Scheyer and Hubert Davis have taken the reins. Those matchups included one Duke blowout, two jaw-dropping North Carolina upsets, one in Cameron Indoor Stadium and the other at the Final Four, and a pair of razor-thin Blue Danother evil victories last season in Scheyer’s first campaign.

It is difficult to ask for more than that, even from Duke and North Carolina. But if, for the sake of argument, you put aside the Final Four classic in April 2022, when was the last time that these two teams met in the regular season with the stakes as high as they will be Saturday night? The Blue Devils and Tar Heels are ranked No. 7 and No. 3 in the country, respectively, and are playing for more than bragging rights this time around.

It has been, to put it simply, a while.

The last ranked matchup came all the way back in March 2019 and featured current professionals Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish, Tre Jones, Cameron Johnson and Coby White.

If you recall, that was the year in which Williamson famously burst through the sole of his Nike PG 2.5 shoe just 33 seconds into the first rivalry matchup of the year. The hype surrounding that game, which pitted No. 4 Duke against No. 3 North Carolina, even had former President Barack Obama sitting courtside for what The Chronicle coined “sneaker-gate” that night. The Tar Heels swept the regular-season series, but a healthy Williamson and the Blue Devils got the last laugh with a 74-73 victory in the ACC tournament final.

Looking back, it is not that these two titans of ACC men’s basketball have not been good since before the pandemic — that goes without saying, considering they invoked college basketball armageddon at the Final Four less than two years ago. Duke and North Carolina have danced circuitously for seasons on end, never meeting each other at the height of both teams’ abilities.

That dance figures to finally be coming to an end.

North Carolina, at 17-3 in the ACC (as of Jan. 29), is one of just a handful of NCAA squads that can truly claim an elite defense. The Blue Devils, despite an early fall from grace mirroring that of the 2022-23 Tar Heels, have steadied themselves in December and January enough to lurk close behind in the conference standings.

Stability at the head coach position is another way in which Duke and North Carolina are through with this era of rapid change. During what has been a wild few years for college basketball thanks to the onset See HEAVYWEIGHTS on Page 13

Men's Basketball: February 3 & March 9. Women's Basketball: February 11 & March 3

4 | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2024

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The Chronicle

Duke VS UNC

Feb 3 at Chapel Hill

Mar 9 at

HOME

FIRST MEETING

January 24, 1920

LATEST MEETING

March 4, 2023

DUKE 62 UNC 57

No better rivalry. No better blue.

Find your people at alumni.duke.edu.

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2024 | 5

PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

Predicting Duke-UNC: No better than a coin flip

Chronicle File Photo

Chronicle File Photo

Left to right: Scenes from Duke and North Carolina’s matchups in 2021, 2017 and 2023.

By Dom Fenoglio

These predictions are calculated from an algorithm created by Bart Torvik, who tracks and records college basketball data similar to what Ken Pomeroy does for kenpom.com.

Essentially, the algorithm estimates how many points each team will score per possession and how many total possessions each team will get. Then, it multiplies these two values to obtain a predicted final score and consequently calculates each team’s chance of winning.

Assistant Blue Zone Editor

W

hat are the chances that it is going to rain tomorrow? Who will win the next election? What about the Super Bowl?

Statistical models can give a “best-guess” estimate, helping to update the confidence level that a certain event will occur. Look no further than the local weatherman, though, to see the limitations of statistics. No model can truly predict the future, and the more complicated the scenario, the tougher it gets.

With that disclaimer out of the way, what do forecasting models say about the upcoming Duke-North Carolina game? Will head coach Jon Scheyer and the Blue Devils continue their hot streak against their in-state rivals, or will an experienced Tar Heel squad reclaim the rivalry in Chapel Hill?

Let’s say a model gives North Carolina a 77.67% chance to win. That number sounds great for the Tar Heel faithful, but before jumping to any conclusions and storming Franklin Street, it’s necessary to first examine the context of where that prediction came from.

To start, consider each team’s body of work.

Although Duke had a recent hiccup at home against Pittsburgh, the two rivals sit squarely atop the ACC table by nearly every statistical measure. They are the only two teams in the conference ranked inside the AP Poll top 25 and both sit more than 10 points ahead of the average ACC team in net rating — a measure of a team’s offensive and defensive efficiency.

While the formula for success is somewhat consistent for all college basketball programs — solid shooting, effective defense — each team beats its opponents in unique ways. North Carolina excels at getting to the free-throw line and limits opponents’ second-chance and fastbreak points at top-five rates nationwide. In fact, the Tar Heels’ 7.0 second-chance points allowed per game is the top mark of any team so far this year. On the other side, the Blue Devils are one of the best teams in the country at taking care of the ball: Their 9.3 turnovers per game and assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.73 are both eighth-best.

Figure 1 shows some of these rates compared to the league average. Note that a lower turnover percentage is desirable, and FTA rate represents a team’s attempted free throws as a percentage of their field-goal attempts. Both sides are better than the average ACC team in each category, and in net ratings, significantly so.

With some basic knowledge about each side, the next step is to find a model that can consistently predict both teams’ successes.

This article will use the cbbdata library, available publicly on GitHub and developed by former Duke men’s basketball manager Andrew Weatherman. Within that library, there are functions that can predict the outcome of a game or even an entire season for a given team.

Alyssa Ting | Photography Editor

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 2 shows Duke and North Carolina’s projected win percentage compared to the actual outcomes for all ACC games from 2020-2023.

The dotted vertical line represents a 50% win probability. Any point to the left of the line is a projected loss, and any point to the right is a projected win. The solid horizontal line represents a zero-point differential, meaning that any point below it is an actual loss for that team and any point above it is an actual win. Put simply, the points in the top-right and bottom-left quadrants represent correct predictions, whereas points in the top-left and bottom-right quadrants are places where the model got it wrong.

As we can see, the model mostly got it correct. When the model predicted a win, the actual result was a win 72.03% of the time. The same is true for predicted losses, with the model correctly predicting a loss to 69.44% accuracy.

For something as complicated as a basketball game, these are respectable figures.

Surely this model can predict a Duke-North Carolina game, right?

Figure 3, which contains all regular-season games between the two teams from 2015-2023, shows that this is not entirely the case. The x and y axes are the same in this graph as those in Figure 2, but now the shape of each point corresponds to home and away games for the Blue Devils.

The model correctly predicted wins just 58.33% of the time and correctly predicted a loss 50.0% of the time. That means that given a projected Duke loss, the chances of the Blue Devils actually losing that game are no better than a coin flip.

Recall that the game prediction for Saturday’s matchup gives the Tar Heels a 77.67% chance to win. North Carolina comes into the game with a stronger resume and looks like the better team on paper, but that does not always paint the full picture.

Take the Tar Heels’ historic win in former head coach Mike Kzryzewski’s final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, or the Blue Devils’ 2016 victory against No. 3 North Carolina at the Dean E. Smith Center. Ask any fan from either side, and they will tell you that this game is just different.

The story of the Duke-North Carolina rivalry is written by the moments that no one sees coming. Statistics inform a lot of things, but when it comes to predicting these games, numbers don’t seem to mean much at all.

Note: all data were sourced Sunday, Jan. 28. All of the calculations and code used in this article can be found in the GitHub repository linked here: https://github.com/DFenoglio/duke-unc-rivalry-forecasting .

6 | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2024

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2024 | 7

WEARING BOTH BLUES

Behind enemy lines: Inside the Robertson Scholar ‘switch’

By Rachael Kaplan

Sports Managing Editor

W

hen Millie Caughey was accepted into Duke as a Robertson Scholar, her friend asked her for her thoughts on Zion ... Williamson, that is. She thought they were asking about the National Park.

“The whole room went silent, and they all started laughing at me,” she told The Chronicle. Caughey and her family live in Auckland, New Zealand. College basketball doesn’t have as much reach on the other side of the world.

Caughey wasn’t, however, just going to be a Blue Devil. By the nature of the Robertson Scholarship Program, a fullyfunded scholarship connecting Duke and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, her identity was always bound to be at least a little split. The program aims to connect and foster collaboration between the two campuses.

Robertson Scholars, whether accepted as high school seniors or college freshmen, each have a home institution, but spend the spring semester of their sophomore year at the other campus eight miles down the road.

When Caughey arrived in Durham in August of her freshman year, she had very little sense of the depth of the rivalry. She knew the other Robertsons, many of whom were in Chapel Hill. However, as she grew her Duke circle, those hours spent on Franklin Street turned into hours in Krzyzewskiville.

Her freshman year was Mike Krzyzewski’s last season as Duke’s head men’s basketball coach and the first year with fans allowed back in Cameron Indoor Stadium after the pandemic.

Demand for games — including Countdown to Craziness — was unprecedented.

“We stayed up all night to get tickets. And we ended up being turned away,” Caughey said about her first K-Ville experience. The scrimmage was set to be on her birthday, and the night before, one of her friends surprised her with a ticket as a gift.

“I joined a group of people that I barely knew, and I went and it was just the most insane birthday ever,” Caughey said. “I don’t know how to describe it.”

“There I was, cheering my face off, covered in blue paint. And I thought, ‘oh f—, I’m one of these now.” *** After three semesters fully immersed in their home institution’s classes, culture and extracurriculars, Robertson Scholars must pack up their collegiate lives and move down the road into enemy territory.

“People approach [the] Robertson switch from the outside very differently,” Caughey said.

Her approach? Spending the first few weeks of her switch semester commuting back and forth to Durham as she black tented for the Duke-North Carolina basketball game. Black tenting is the most extreme level of Duke’s strange student ticketing tradition, requiring the most tent members in K-Ville for the longest period of time. As a result, Caughey spent her time either in class, on the Robertson Express or in her tent.

“I don’t think I had the social experience at UNC that I probably would have liked,” Caughey said. “But at the same time, I think it was good in that tenting allowed me to keep connections with people at Duke a lot more alive.”

She has no regrets.

Zack Finacchio had a similar switch experience. The current junior lived in Chapel Hill last spring, but spent most of his weekends back in Durham with his Duke circle. He still got involved in North Carolina’s campus life, mostly by joining the school’s improv group, the Chapel Hill Players. He even organized a Tobacco Road improv show that included his new group at North Carolina, his old group (Duke University Improv) and N.C. State’s CIA Improv.

Morgan Chu | Sports Photography Editor

The Cameron Crazies celebrate with an Australian flag during Duke’s home victory against Georgia Tech.

But his experience in class was a bit different.

“I tended to keep my head down when it came to discussions about Duke or UNC students,” Finacchio said. He only wore Duke merch once, to his last final before he joined his friends in Myrtle Beach, S.C. — an annual postsemester getaway for many students — for his theater studies class.

“Everyone in my class knows that I’m a Robertson, they’ll all get over it,” he justified.

“I did my whole big, emotional presentation, and it was this big, upheaval of a scene, and then I finished, and the class was supposed to give me feedback,” he added. “And the first thing that somebody said was, ‘Why the hell are you wearing Duke gear?’”

Duke-based sophomore Caleb Dalgetty just started his switch semester.

“On my first day, I will admit I went to the bookstore, and I bought a Carolina jersey, so I could blend in when necessary,” he said. He came back to Durham for the men’s basketball game against Georgia Tech in January.

“I feel a little bit like I’m betraying my new place, my new home now, when I do that,” Dalgetty said. “I’m kind of like a double agent, like an operative in my own home.”

Duke-based sophomore Adom Appiah was raised a die-hard Blue Devil basketball fan, and even living amongst the opposition won’t change that.

“I’d grown up detesting [North Carolina],” he said. When he was younger, he would attend the Duke basketball camps — except for one year, when delayed signups meant he was spending his week in Chapel Hill at the Roy Williams North Carolina basketball camp.

“I didn’t smile the entire week,” he said.

Appiah approached the Robertson switch differently than that basketball camp, this time with curiosity and an open mind. That doesn’t apply to his allegiance.

“I’ve got Duke jerseys and Duke merch galore, and I fully intend to wear it,” Appiah said. He hasn’t yet — he would like to “preserve [his] life for the time being.”

“I really want to fully support Duke basketball,” he said, “and do so proudly on this campus of Duke basketball haters.”

“This will be unlike any experience that any Robertson has had before,” said the program’s executive director, Andrew Lakis. “And who knows if it’ll ever happen again.”

Naturally, they organized a watch party, taking over the Karsh Alumni Center to house both shades of blue. In addition to the prospective Robertsons and the current scholars, they invited program alumni back for the weekend.

“These are all people who share values and share purpose and are just amazing human beings and really close to one another,” Lakis said. “But as soon as the ball tipped off, you either had on your Duke stuff, or you had on your UNC stuff.”

“You had just spent 24 or 48 hours getting to know all these people. And suddenly, you’re all in this setting where the allegiance is split …

Rooting for different teams somehow brought us closer together,” said Riya Sharma, a North Carolina-based sophomore currently in her switch semester at Duke. She was a prospective Robertson at the watch party.

“I think it’s the one sporting event I’ve witnessed where everybody was just as into it as the next person,” she said. “[Everyone’s] trying to convince their ‘Robbies,’ their potential Robertsons, that this is the side, and this is where they get to be,” Finacchio said. “Everybody was able to have a celebration that night.”

The rivalry, for the Robertsons, is very real, but it stays where it is rooted: on the court.

Instead, scholars can dive wholeheartedly into the opposite campus and its culture, while preserving the unifying effect of having an enemy to root against.

“You can’t have this kind of rivalry without a deep sense of mutual respect,” Sharma said.

The Robertsons know that all too well.

“

There I was, cheering my face off, covered in blue paint. And I thought, ‘oh f—, I’m one of these now.’

MILLIE CAUGHEY

DUKE-BASED ROBERTSON SCHOLAR

I’m kind of like a double agent, like an operative in my own home.

CALEB DALGETTY

DUKE-BASED ROBERTSON SCHOLAR

I really want to fully support Duke basketball, and do so proudly on this campus of Duke basketball haters.

ADOM APPIAH

DUKE-BASED ROBERTSON SCHOLAR

You can’t have this kind of rivalry without a deep sense of mutual respect.

RIYA SHARMA

UNC-BASED ROBERTSON SCHOLAR, DAILY TAR HEEL STAFF MEMBER

I tended to keep my head down when it came to discussions about Duke or UNC students.

ZACK FINACCHIO

DUKE-BASED ROBERTSON SCHOLAR

”

*** April 2, 2022 is a day that was immediately written into the history books for both fanbases.

That Final Four weekend just so happened to coincide with Robertson Connection weekend, when all accepted prospective Robertsons come to the Triangle to get a sense of the program and the two schools — like Blue Devil Days on steroids.

For a program so focused on the connections and collaborations between Duke and North Carolina, the Final Four matchup was a perfect storm to test loyalties and create division.

Eugene Cho | Staff Photographer

Fans wait with bated breath as senior guard Jeremy Roach releases a 3-point jumper under coverage by a Georgia Tech defender.

8 | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2024

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HUNG LIU: LIVING MEMORY OPENING FEB 24

ABOVE: Student co-curators, all part of Duke’s Class of 2024, gather around the oil painting Storyteller, created by Hung Liu in 2000. Back left: Ellen C. Raimond, Associate Curator of Academic Initiatives at the Nasher Museum, who teaches the Curatorial Practicum: Exhibition Development and Design course in the Museum Theory & Practice Concentration. Front row, from left: Eliza Henne, Nicole Kagan, Elayna Lei, Bailes New and Madeleine Reinhard. Photo by Cornell Watson.

nasher.duke.edu

Hung Liu: Living Memory is made possible by Ruth (A.B.’81, P’11) and John Caccavale (A.B.’81, P’11); and the Sunny Rosenberg Endowment Fund.

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2024 | 9

DUKE THROUGH AND THROUGH

Q&A: Wendell Moore Jr. reflects on Duke-UNC rivalry

By Andrew Long Sports Editor

W

endell Moore Jr. played for the Blue Devils from 2019 to 2022. He captained Duke to the Final Four and earned the Julius Erving Award for the nation’s best small forward as a junior before he declared for the NBA Draft, where he was selected 26th overall. Among many successes in Durham, Moore is perhaps known best for his overtime buzzer-beater to seal a comefrom-behind win against North Carolina in Chapel Hill in February 2020. Currently, Moore plays for the Iowa Wolves, the G-League affiliate of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves.

Last weekend, The Chronicle spoke with Moore to ask him about his memories of the Duke-North Carolina rivalry and his assessment of the Blue Devils’ chances against the Tar Heels Saturday. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The Chronicle: Walk me through your first experience of the rivalry as a North Carolina native. Was there a side you typically rooted for? What did the rivalry look like when you were younger?

Wendell Moore Jr.: I mean honestly, I’ve always been a Duke fan. That’s the side I was always on in the rivalry. Obviously I went to school at Duke, but growing up, all my friends and everybody were Carolina fans, so I kinda went opposite of them. So it’s always been Duke. Just growing up in North Carolina, that’s one of the best things that you can watch. You look forward to those two matchups every single year. Being a Duke fan, winning those games just created so much excitement. Playing in them was even more exciting.

TC: Are there any standout players you vividly remember watching?

WM: I’d probably say the most notable one is Austin Rivers’ game-winner at Carolina. I remember the year where we had Jayson Tatum and Harry Giles on that team. We ended up playing them three times that year, and we played them again in the ACC tournament — that was a huge game. I probably watched every single one since I was a kid.

Chronicle File Photo

Alyssa Ting | Photography Editor

Wendell Moore Jr. attacks the boards during Duke’s comeback win against UNC in 2020.

The then-junior captain smiles after helping secure Duke’s place in the 2022 Final Four.

TC: Speaking of that Austin Rivers game, you and him are probably in contention for top spot in Duke-UNC buzzer-beater history. How do you think your overtime winner at the Dean Dome stacks up with that and the rivalry’s best moments?

WM: It was a great moment. Just the fact that we were able to win that game like that, I mean we were down big, and then we came back and I happened to make that last shot.

That was huge for me. As for Austin’s game, that’s a tough one to beat.

TC: How does the atmosphere in Chapel Hill compare to the atmosphere in Cameron?

WM: Both are super electric, but in different ways. You go into the Dean Dome and we’re the villain, so everybody in there is against us except for the fans that we bring with us. So it feels great when we go on a run and we can just silence the whole crowd, or when you win the game and they’re just silent at the end. On the other hand at Cameron, it’s crazy. It’s crazy for weeks leading up to the game. Two different atmospheres, but kind of bring the same energy.

TC: You hear coaches talk about how it’s “one game at a time.” But with that looming threat of UNC, so to speak, was the bug of that game always in the back of your brain, or not really?

WM: You start thinking about it the closer you get. That’s really one of the reasons why you want to go to Duke or Carolina, because you want to be a part of that rivalry, you want to be a part of that legendary matchup. I definitely think guys look forward to it coming in, but as you’re going through the season, obviously you’re focused on winning the game that’s in front of you.

TC: I think you, more than a lot of other Duke players, have experienced both the highest of highs and the lowest of lows that the rivalry presents. When you think back about all those games that you played, what stands out to you the most?

WM: Probably just how different each game was. Whether we win, lose or draw, it was always the same feel going into it, the intensity, the preparation. You could tell just how serious

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everybody was leading into the game. So just those times that we were preparing for it, and then just getting in the matchup with each of my different teams, it was just a great feeling every time.

TC: Which was your favorite game you played against them?

WM: I think I would have to say the gamewinner one. Obviously, because it was my freshman year, my first time in that DukeCarolina rivalry. Being a kid from North Carolina, you can only dream of that. The way we ended up winning that game, we were down 20 almost the whole game and went on a 15-0 run in the second half.

TC: I want to ask you about the Final Four game in New Orleans. How often do you reflect on that game, or what additional insight do you have now that you’re a couple years removed?

WM: That was a great game, just all around, both teams making huge plays on the biggest stage in the world. I thought when I hit that shot we had a really good chance of winning, then they came down and got two big buckets and they got a foul call late to help put it away. Looking back on it, I feel like we should have won that game. I feel like if we had won, we would have had a really good chance of winning the national championship against Kansas that year.

I mean, you always look back on what would happen if this, if that, but I feel like at the end of the day it was a good moment to be a part of, so it’s definitely something I’ll remember forever. Obviously, the loss was the bad part about it, but just that whole time with that team, that’s probably one of the most fun teams I’ve been a part of.

TC: One of the really key parts of that team was Jeremy Roach, who’s still around here in Durham. He’s in his second year as a captain — what are your thoughts about how he’s led the team this season, especially as a former captain yourself?

WM: I think he’s doing great. In his second year with Scheyer taking over as head coach, it’s always gonna be a little turnaround. You’re always See MOORE on Page 13

10 | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2024

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HISTORY CALLS

Inside the booth with Duke’s play-by-play personality

By Ranjan Jindal

Assistant Blue Zone Editor

“I

t’s a Duke blue kinda night in Chapel Hill.”

The Tobacco Road rivals have had some impeccable and consequential games recently, but perhaps none was more memorable for the Blue Devil faithful than the Feb. 8, 2020, contest. Duke had not one, but two buzzerbeaters to defeat North Carolina 98-96 at the Dean E. Smith Center in an overtime thriller.

Wendell Moore Jr. tipped in a missed jumper

by Tre Jones in overtime to cap the Blue Devils’ improbable comeback. From the booth, radio play-by-play voice David Shumate’s electric call ended with that fitting phrase above, encapsulating the wild finish in Chapel Hill.

“To have two true buzzer-beaters in an era where everyone’s going to the monitor to put a tenth of a second or two tenths of a second back on [the clock] ... to have one at the end of regulation and another in overtime is crazy,” Shumate told The Chronicle.

According to Shumate, that game should have been over a number of times for the Blue Devils.

Instead, it became emblematic of the beauty of the rivalry — where expecting the unexpected is a must.

Many Duke fans experience the spectacle of the Duke-North Carolina rivalry through the voice of Shumate, Duke athletics’ director of broadcasting and radio announcer since June 2017. His voice airs on the Blue Devil IMG Sports Network as well as WDNC-FM 96.5 in Durham and WCMC-FM 99.3 in Raleigh.

Shumate uses his captivating voice to entice Blue Devil fans into feeling like they are at the game, and he does the same for Duke football.

“I always loved sports, and I also love storytelling,” Shumate said. “So it was always kind of a passion of mine to get into that in some way, shape or form.”

Shumate’s path to the announcer’s chair was not linear, and he emphasizes that the journey has shaped who he is. He worked in the restaurant industry and even briefly went to law school before chasing his dream of broadcasting.

Photo courtesy of David Shumate

Duke play-by-play announcer David Shumate sits in the booth looking at his notes during Duke’s Jan. 27 matchup with Clemson at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

“Like a lot of people who get into “When [Harris] retired, I was super excited broadcasting, I was cocky and thought I was about the opportunity,” Shumate said. “He will good to go … and got out and didn’t get a job,” always be — at least in my mind — the voice of Shumate said. “A lot of people see where you Duke. He actually really helped when I first got end up, and they think that there was a straight hired … one of the first things he said is ‘don’t try line to get there. And it wasn’t.” to be me, do your own thing.’”

Shumate worked in management and the The son of an army veteran, Shumate moved corporate side of broadcasting before moving up around a lot, but was born and went to high and getting the opportunity school in North Carolina. to call games. Eventually, a I tell Duke’s story. But He never leaned any spot opened at Duke to fill as a child, preferring that to me is way more way in occasionally for play-byprofessional sports, but he play voice Bob Harris. fun than being neutral. was certainly aware of the Harris, who held the magnitude of the rivalry. position for more than 40 “It was always cool to DAVID SHUMATE DUKE DIRECTOR OF BROADCASTING see [Duke-North Carolina] years, is known among many as the “voice of the Blue games, to listen to those Devils.” The North Carolina Sports Hall-of-Famer has games and to hear Bob,” Shumate said. “You never called some iconic moments, including “The Shot” dreamed that you’re gonna have a chance to call

by Christian Laettner to send Duke through against those games and be a part of those memories.”

Kentucky in the 1992 Elite Eight.

The play-by-play voice is a complicated job.

Shumate respected and listened to Harris just The difficulty is in describing the game without like many fans across the country, so felt he had a the listener seeing the score when they first tough task in replacing somebody whose name and tune in, a skill Shumate has honed after calling voice were synonymous with Blue Devil athletics. hundreds of games.

What are some of Shumate’s keys to the job? One is relying on the atmosphere to help contextualize the moment. For games including the Tobacco Road Rivalry, the environment speaks for itself, and the announcers are able to lean into that noise.

“A big part of capturing the atmosphere is letting the crowd tell the story to some extent, particularly when you’re at Cameron, as deafening as it can be,” Shumate said.

Shumate knows that he is telling Duke’s side of the story and deliberately identifies his target audience and caters his broadcasting style to fit their needs. He’s unapologetic about that.

“Anyone who’s ever heard me call a game knows I’m a homer,” Shumate said. “I tell Duke’s story. But that to me is way more fun than being neutral and just kind of toeing the line down the middle.”

“I speak to a very specific audience on the radio broadcast side of things,” he added. “These are Duke fans who are listening … they want to have the context of what this means for this team for this season.”

The flip side to that is understanding the important balance between showing emotion for the team and communicating what is happening in a game.

“In the moment, you have a job to do,” Shumate said. “So you’re not totally caught up in cheerleading or anything like that. You’re describing what happens, and you’re trying to build the energy throughout the play.”

This edition of the rivalry is shaping up to be a good one, and as Shumate knows better than anyone, anything can happen.

“On paper, it looks like maybe more defensive flavor than people might expect, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all whatever happens in this game because this game is always crazy,” Shumate said. “It does feel like for the Blue Devils they seem to have some of their best moments in this rivalry over at the Dean Smith Center.”

No matter the result, Shumate’s voice will ring loud and clear from the booth and create lasting memories for Duke listeners all across the world.

GO DUKE!

SHOOTERS II

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2024 | 11

FROM SLUMP TO SURGE

After shaking off the criticism and the rust, Mitchell is ready to make his Mark

By Mackenzie Sheehy Blue Zone Editor

I

t was all over social media.

Then-freshman forward Mark Mitchell, clad in black and blue, waved goodbye to the North Carolina fans after Duke swept the series against its Tobacco Road rivals.

Celebrating a 62-57 victory in enemy territory to close the regular season, the Blue Devils were on top of the world.

At that moment, the Kansas City, Kan., native was in peak form. Averaging 9.1 points and 4.5 rebounds while going 35.2% from three, Mitchell was largely heralded as the “glue guy” on head coach Jon Scheyer’s inaugural roster.

His offensive contributions and defensive excellence while matching up against the opponent’s toughest players made him a threat worthy of recognition on any scouting report.

When the forward couldn’t play during his team’s second-round NCAA tournament clash with Tennessee, his absence was arguably the biggest factor in the loss.

Coming back for his second season in Durham, the excitement about what the Sunrise Christian product could provide for Duke was palpable. A stable veteran presence along with classmates Kyle Filipowski and Tyrese Proctor as well as senior Jeremy Roach, Mitchell was slated to continue his glue-guy role.

But he developed a condition in his second year of collegiate basketball: the age-old sophomore slump.

From the minute he made his debut against Arizona Nov. 10 after missing the season opener due to a lower-body injury, there was something different and uncertain about the Mitchell who stepped onto the court. Jumpers started to hit off the rim, paint points came sporadically and threes were nearly nonexistent. In his rollercoaster of a season, a 20-point game was followed by two six-point performances. To all the world, Mitchell looked like a player caught in his own head.

Then came the social media criticism.

As Mitchell struggled on the court, he was disparaged off it and his detractors came out in droves. All of a sudden, he found himself on the negative side of Duke basketball fandom. With millions of eyes come millions of opinions, and the sophomore unwittingly gave them a target.

Fans were quick to jump on Mitchell’s 3-point shooting first. After making a single triple against Bucknell Nov. 17, the forward went ice-cold from beyond the arc, going

0-for-15 in a nine-game stretch. X was ablaze with comments due to his silence from three, with @Besvinick saying, “Literally scream, ‘No!’ at my TV every time he shoots outside of the paint.” @TheBenSwain poked fun at the sophomore’s downfall with a meme of two devils on a person’s shoulder, with the caption, “Mark Mitchell’s thought process whenever he gets the ball on the perimeter.”

The criticism began to spiral from there, as fans harped on the downswing in the veteran’s performances. During the Blue Devils’ Nov. 29 loss at Arkansas, @ pinto479 tweeted, “Mark Mitchell there’s a reason why you’re always open.” Days later, @BrotherhoodCBB simply said, “Mark Mitchell cannot dribble.”

Abigail Bromberger | Photography Editor In the midst of the disparagement, one Sophomore forward Mark Mitchell muscles past a Clemson defender during Duke’s lastindividual never faltered in his unwavering gasp victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium. support of Mitchell — Scheyer. Even as the forward struggled, his coach found ways to sing Two days later, in the Blue Devils’ first demonstrates his perseverance and fight as a his praises. contest of the year against Syracuse, the player. It is perhaps what he proves with his “Mark didn’t finish as much,” Scheyer said after Mitchell that Duke fans became accustomed to absence that displays how essential he is to this Duke’s win Dec. 12 against Hofstra. “But Mark had seeing last season stepped onto the hardwood Duke team. some great moments, he’s so close to having some and put on the performance of a lifetime. He After sustaining an injury prior to the big games and he’s right there.” was practically on fire, scoring a career-high 21 Blue Devils’ Jan. 13 rematch with Georgia Despite his coach’s support, the remarks points, 18 in the first half alone.

Tech, Mitchell’s absence was acutely felt. In only worsened with Mitchell’s cold streak, and “I just thought he had a really good overall a close 84-79 brush with the Yellow Jackets doubts began to grow about his contributions game,” Scheyer said postgame. “There’s a lot of followed by a disheartening 80-76 defeat at to this year’s team and criticism and all that, but I the hands of Pittsburgh, the forward left a his viability as a future There’s a lot of criticism and think Mark has really just gaping hole in the Blue Devils’ lineup, not professional. Some even all that, but I think Mark has stayed the course.” just in offensive production but in defensive doubted the sophomore’s But Mitchell wasn’t tenacity, too. really just stayed the course. done. In the following commitment to the “Does it change our team not having Jeremy team. @RoyalPanth3895 contest at Notre Dame, [Roach] and Mark in there? Of course it does,” tweeted, “Duke should JON SCHEYER the sophomore was ready Scheyer said after the loss to the Panthers.

DUKE HEAD COACH to break records again just take mark mitchell Without Mitchell, Duke was severely scholarship away he and put an exclamation impacted on the defensive end of the floor. The is not dependable every big game he either point on his response to his critics. Putting up one bright side? Social media took note. claims to be hurt or just doesn’t play well he a new career-high 23 points, the forward also Where before he received criticism, plays in easy games but tough games he finds posted 14 rebounds en route to a masterful Mitchell was lauded for what he brings to the a way to not show up.” performance. Most impressive of all, he finally Blue Devils. @mrncaggie04 said, “This game There was one person’s criticism, ended his long-range drought and converted [against Georgia Tech] proves Mark Mitchell’s however, that caught the attention of the both of his attempts from beyond the arc. importance more than anything,” while @ entire college basketball world: Mitchell’s “Let me just tell you how proud I am of SwaginTha865 tweeted, “Yeah Mark Mitchell is own father. him,” Scheyer said after the clash with the the most important player on this Duke team On New Year’s Eve, a day after Duke’s 106-69 Fighting Irish. “He’s been working his butt court’s adjourned!” win against Queens, Mark Mitchell Sr. posted off consistently. He’s been really decisive and As Mitchell works his way back to health, he on X and said, “We as a family do not support playing more confidently.” continues to prove his utility. In his first contest what we’re seeing from Mark at Duke. How “I didn’t let it get to me,” Mitchell added when post-injury at Louisville, the sophomore put do you show up at a university and lose your asked about the two triples postgame. “I’ve been on a show. Scoring 20 points and tallying 12 identity? Both Mark and Duke need to work it in my head. I’ve been shooting the ball my whole rebounds, he reminded the entire fandom that out. Disturbing.” his presence at Duke is irreplaceable. life, and I knew the time was gonna come.”

With that one tweet from his father, Mitchell Will Mitchell put up 20-point monster While Mitchell is not putting up 20-point flipped a switch. He showed up to prove the performances like these every night, his performances every game? Probably not. But is he critics wrong. admirable ability to ignore the outside criticism essential to this Duke team? Without a doubt.

Left: Melissa Adams | Staff Photographer Top right: Abigail Bromberger | Photography Editor Bottom right, middle: Alyssa Ting | Photography Editor

12 | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2024

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HEAVYWEIGHTS FROM PAGE 3

MOORE FROM PAGE 9 gonna hit your bumps along the way. I think, as a captain, he’s done a great job of controlling that team. They lose a couple games, and then he comes in, has a big game, and he just always makes the big plays for that team. I think as a captain, you have to lead by example. I think he does a great job of that.

I see that with the younger guys.They’re starting to take on his swagger, his toughness that he plays with. And as a captain, that’s huge.

TC: What are your thoughts on the current makeup of the roster and how they’ll fare against UNC’s veterans?

WM: Honestly I really like our team. Carolina is always a bigger team, they always seem to have traditional two bigs. RJ Davis is playing phenomenal for them right now. All around, they’re a really good team. But for us, I love the way that we defend, we get out in transition, just how quick we are as a team. Obviously we’re a lot younger with the amount of freshmen that we play, but I feel like the chemistry on the team is really coming along, and I feel like the more games they go through the closer they’re gonna get as a team. They have to face some adversity, they have already this season early, so hopefully they can take that with them into that matchup.

So I’m excited to see it.

TC: If you were in that locker room and you could tell them something to get prepared for the game, what would you say?

WM: Probably just to stay in the moment.

Don’t look to whatever’s happening after the game or what play just happened because that play’s over.

I think especially at a time like this, the more you can take it play-by-play and just have fun playing that game, just throw yourself into the atmosphere, the outcome just is what it is. Just give it everything you got. This is a must-win game — it’s always a must-win game when we play Carolina. That’s what it has to feel like. It has to feel like the biggest game of the year, the biggest game you’ve played. But sometimes you have to try to block out the noise and just go have fun.

TC: When you walk into those games, does it feel good to be the villain?

WM: Yeah. For sure, especially when you come out of there with a win and the whole crowd is just silent. They can’t really say anything anymore. Feeling like the villain is always a good thing.

TC: How would you describe the rivalry in one word?

WM: Legendary. Especially when I was there, we had Coach K on one side and we had Roy [Williams] on the other side. Now it’s Scheyer on one side and Hubert [Davis] on the other. That’s two legendary coaches.

We have two legendary programs, two legendary blue bloods. If you play well in that game, you’ll be remembered forever as a legend at whatever school. For me it’s just legendary. It doesn’t get much better than a Duke-Carolina rivalry.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2024 | 13

Alyssa Ting | Photography Editor

of the transfer portal and the lingering effects of COVID-19, the rivalry has featured a different head coaching matchup three years running.

Scheyer and Davis, after finally crossing paths a year ago, return to a matchup that is less about their introduction to each other and more about the players and the high-level basketball itself. That’s a good thing — in more than 40 years of battle between Krzyzewski, Williams and Tar Heel legend Dean Smith, the spotlight was seldom on its Hall of Fame coaches.

All of this points to Saturday’s newest episode (the 261st, by my count) being a memorable one, or at the very least, one featuring a certain national significance that the rivalry has lacked for too long.

The most significant roadblock to this showdown is the potential of this North Carolina team — whose last loss came before Thanksgiving — being a cut above the rest, including Duke.

Injuries are also a concern for the Blue Devils, who have veteran starters Jeremy Roach, Tyrese Proctor and Mark Mitchell all recovering from recent lower-body injuries.

But the Blue Devils, when healthy, have shown flashes throughout December and January of the talent that inspired AP voters to make them the No. 2 team in the country back in October. The Dean Dome will serve as their proving ground Saturday night as they get a chance to establish themselves against their fiercest rivals, who just so happen to be one of the nation’s best this year.

That importance feels right and all too familiar. For any fan of the rivalry, anywhere along Tobacco Road — what more could you ask for?

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A word from the editor: I’d like to extend three special thanks to some important individuals who contributed significantly to this issue and the success of The Chronicle at large.

The first goes to The Daily Tar Heel, Sports Editor Shelby Swanson and Editor-in-Chief Emmy Martin, who have been wonderful in the collaboration process to assemble this special edition.

The second goes to all the Duke basketball fans who contributed to our cover graphic by submitting one word describing what the rivalry means to you. Seeing the breadth of your submissions epitomized what this unparalleled rivalry is all about.

The final, and greatest, thanks goes to our generous donors. This rivalry means more than just basketball to us in 301 Flowers — it allows us to keep doing the important work we do by helping raise funds to keep us independent and provide astounding opportunities to aspiring journalists. It is because of your support that we are able to preserve this vital institution here at Duke.

To another successful year, Andrew Long | Sports Editor, The Chronicle If you’re interested in contributing to this year’s Rivalry Challenge in support of student journalism, visit: www.dukechronicle.com.

14 | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2024

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2024 | 15

DTH DESIGN/ HAILEY PATTERSON AND OLIVIA GOODSON DTH/ AVA SHARON, ELLEN ROBINSON AND NATALIE PEOPLES CHRONICLE/ MORGAN CHU

Tar Heels fall to defending national champions in MSG Two wins and a loss at the Battle 4 Atlantis

BY DANIEL WEI

High-profile nonconference slate defines UNC’s season so far

The loss against Pittsburgh, which was followed by wins against Clemson and Virginia Tech, was the first time the Blue Devils had dropped an ACC game at Cameron Indoor since the Tar Heels said farewell to former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski on March 5, 2022.

Elliot Cadeau has breakout game in ACC-SEC Challenge against No. 10 Tennessee

With the gears all moving in sync, Duke lost Mitchell and Roach to leg injuries in the same week. Neither played in Duke’s Jan. 20 home bout with Pittsburgh, whose masterful shooting performance from Blake Hinson wiped away the win streak.

Mitchell ultimately returned Jan. 23 to face Louisville while Roach was back for a Jan. 27 duel with Clemson.

On the second day of UNC’s three-game stint in the Bahamas, the Tar Heels suffered their first loss of the season, falling 83-81 to Villanova in overtime. Wildcat forward Eric Dixon had 34 points and 10 rebounds — the start of a brief trend of opposing players scoring career-highs against North Carolina, raising questions about the team’s defensive abilities.

The former five-star recruit erupted for 10 assists in the Tar Heels’ 100-92 win, showcasing the “pass-first” skills that UNC lacked in the backcourt over the last two seasons.

Injuries hit Blue Devils, who suffer first home conference loss since 2022

The next game, Arkansas’ Tramon Mark dropped 34 points on 13-17 shooting, but UNC pulled away to earn its first ranked win of the season, 87-72.

The ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year propelled the Tar Heels to a 61-point first half on a Volunteer defense that ranked No. 1 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency at the time, per KenPom. It was Cadeau’s second career start; since then, he hasn’t left the starting lineup.

While Baylor was the big-ticket event of the stretch from Dec. 9 to Jan. 13, the Blue Devils took down Syracuse and Pittsburgh in blowout fashion and snagged close victories against Notre Dame and Georgia Tech, sending Duke to 4-1 in the ACC.

Current No. 1 UConn defeated UNC in the Jimmy V Classic, 87-76, handing the Tar Heels their second loss of the season. Senior guard RJ Davis and junior forward Harrison Ingram combined for 46 points and went 7-12 from downtown, but sharpshooter Cormac Ryan went 0-6 from three.

Proctor went down with a leg injury in the first minutes in Atlanta, and a late technical foul on a Mark Mitchell dunk to put Duke up by four squashed hopes that the Blue Devils could put the game away. Big plays in the final minute from Baye Ndongo after the technical won the Yellow Jackets the game.

The pair of losses gave way to an impressive winning run. The Blue Devils took down Baylor at Madison Square Garden with a 21-point outing from McCain, who took a major step forward during the streak, averaging 15.8 points on 42.9% shooting from deep. He has also connected on multiple threes in 10 of the 11 games since the streak began.

Filipowski set career-highs in scoring (30) and assists (eight) along the way, too.

The Huskies also outmuscled North Carolina on the boards, winning the rebound battle 43-33. But it wasn’t the last time the Tar Heels would lose the trenches battle to a top-10 team.

Duke starters not named Filipowski or Roach combined for just 18 points on 6-for-27 shooting in Fayetteville, Ark., leaving the Blue Devils in a 14-point hole before attempting a ferocious comeback over the game’s final two minutes. Arkansas bested Duke by just five after an ugly night for the Blue Devils.

Wins against Baylor, four ACC opponents lead to eight-game win streak

North Carolina bests previously undefeated Oklahoma in Charlotte

Upon returning home to Durham, the Blue Devils hosted Bucknell, La Salle and Southern Indiana in the Blue Devil Challenge. Duke easily took care of the first two but the Screaming Eagles shockingly gave the Blue Devils some trouble early before Filipowski and Roach combined for 31 second-half points to put the upset threat to bed.

Blue Devils struggle on the road at Arkansas, Georgia Tech

UNC drops second straight game, edged

by Kentucky in ‘Catlanta’

Each of the four started in more than 30 games last season and have boosted their per-game scoring marks from last season.

The Blue Devils did not have long to recoup from a home loss to Caleb Love and Arizona before heading to a blockbuster matchup with Michigan State in Chicago. After exchanging big runs with a tight game in the works, freshman Caleb Foster emerged by scoring eight points in a two-minute span early in the second half before nailing two more clutch threes in the final minutes to seal the win.

The then-No. 7 Sooners came into the Jumpman Invitational hot, averaging over 84 points on 51 percent shooting. But UNC forced a season-high 18 turnovers in its best defensive stand of the season at the time.

Preseason No. 2 Duke’s season began in earnest with a few big announcements during the offseason. Following a second-round exit in the NCAA tournament, the Blue Devils were battered and beaten; down but not out.

Sophomore Kyle Filipowski was set to undergo hip surgery and decided to play a second year in Durham, as did classmates Mark Mitchell and Tyrese Proctor. Plus, senior Jeremy Roach opted for a fourth-go-round at Duke.

Foster’s breakout in Champions Classic win ignites Duke

Down three points in the waning seconds of the CBS Sports Classic blue blood bout, Cadeau passed to Ryan, whose back was completely turned, leading to a turnover.

Returners key for Duke after early tournament exit

The victory started a nine-game win streak for UNC, providing much-needed momentum heading into ACC play. Over that stretch, North Carolina held all of its opponents to 70 points or fewer — the first time doing so since the 200607 season.

BY MICAH HUREWITZ

Kentucky won, 87-83, on a night where UNC struggled to match the Wildcats’ athleticism, length and physicality.

The Tar Heels were outrebounded by 10 and their backcourt struggled to contain electric NBA prospects Rob Dillingham and D.J. Wagner. In the post, graduate center Armando Bacot couldn’t do much against the 7-foot-1 Aaron Bradshaw.

After shaky start, blue devil basketball is back in business

DTH DESIGN/ HAILEY PATTERSON AND OLIVIA GOODSON DTH/ AVA SHARON, ELLEN ROBINSON AND NATALIE PEOPLES CHRONICLE/ MORGAN CHU

Tar Heels fall to defending national champions in MSG Two wins and a loss at the Battle 4 Atlantis

BY DANIEL WEI

High-profile nonconference slate defines UNC’s season so far

The loss against Pittsburgh, which was followed by wins against Clemson and Virginia Tech, was the first time the Blue Devils had dropped an ACC game at Cameron Indoor since the Tar Heels said farewell to former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski on March 5, 2022.

Elliot Cadeau has breakout game in ACC-SEC Challenge against No. 10 Tennessee

With the gears all moving in sync, Duke lost Mitchell and Roach to leg injuries in the same week. Neither played in Duke’s Jan. 20 home bout with Pittsburgh, whose masterful shooting performance from Blake Hinson wiped away the win streak.

Mitchell ultimately returned Jan. 23 to face Louisville while Roach was back for a Jan. 27 duel with Clemson.

On the second day of UNC’s three-game stint in the Bahamas, the Tar Heels suffered their first loss of the season, falling 83-81 to Villanova in overtime. Wildcat forward Eric Dixon had 34 points and 10 rebounds — the start of a brief trend of opposing players scoring career-highs against North Carolina, raising questions about the team’s defensive abilities.

The former five-star recruit erupted for 10 assists in the Tar Heels’ 100-92 win, showcasing the “pass-first” skills that UNC lacked in the backcourt over the last two seasons.

Injuries hit Blue Devils, who suffer first home conference loss since 2022

The next game, Arkansas’ Tramon Mark dropped 34 points on 13-17 shooting, but UNC pulled away to earn its first ranked win of the season, 87-72.

The ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year propelled the Tar Heels to a 61-point first half on a Volunteer defense that ranked No. 1 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency at the time, per KenPom. It was Cadeau’s second career start; since then, he hasn’t left the starting lineup.

While Baylor was the big-ticket event of the stretch from Dec. 9 to Jan. 13, the Blue Devils took down Syracuse and Pittsburgh in blowout fashion and snagged close victories against Notre Dame and Georgia Tech, sending Duke to 4-1 in the ACC.

Current No. 1 UConn defeated UNC in the Jimmy V Classic, 87-76, handing the Tar Heels their second loss of the season. Senior guard RJ Davis and junior forward Harrison Ingram combined for 46 points and went 7-12 from downtown, but sharpshooter Cormac Ryan went 0-6 from three.

Proctor went down with a leg injury in the first minutes in Atlanta, and a late technical foul on a Mark Mitchell dunk to put Duke up by four squashed hopes that the Blue Devils could put the game away. Big plays in the final minute from Baye Ndongo after the technical won the Yellow Jackets the game.

The pair of losses gave way to an impressive winning run. The Blue Devils took down Baylor at Madison Square Garden with a 21-point outing from McCain, who took a major step forward during the streak, averaging 15.8 points on 42.9% shooting from deep. He has also connected on multiple threes in 10 of the 11 games since the streak began.

Filipowski set career-highs in scoring (30) and assists (eight) along the way, too.

The Huskies also outmuscled North Carolina on the boards, winning the rebound battle 43-33. But it wasn’t the last time the Tar Heels would lose the trenches battle to a top-10 team.

Duke starters not named Filipowski or Roach combined for just 18 points on 6-for-27 shooting in Fayetteville, Ark., leaving the Blue Devils in a 14-point hole before attempting a ferocious comeback over the game’s final two minutes. Arkansas bested Duke by just five after an ugly night for the Blue Devils.

Wins against Baylor, four ACC opponents lead to eight-game win streak

North Carolina bests previously undefeated Oklahoma in Charlotte

Upon returning home to Durham, the Blue Devils hosted Bucknell, La Salle and Southern Indiana in the Blue Devil Challenge. Duke easily took care of the first two but the Screaming Eagles shockingly gave the Blue Devils some trouble early before Filipowski and Roach combined for 31 second-half points to put the upset threat to bed.

Blue Devils struggle on the road at Arkansas, Georgia Tech

UNC drops second straight game, edged

by Kentucky in ‘Catlanta’

Each of the four started in more than 30 games last season and have boosted their per-game scoring marks from last season.

The Blue Devils did not have long to recoup from a home loss to Caleb Love and Arizona before heading to a blockbuster matchup with Michigan State in Chicago. After exchanging big runs with a tight game in the works, freshman Caleb Foster emerged by scoring eight points in a two-minute span early in the second half before nailing two more clutch threes in the final minutes to seal the win.

The then-No. 7 Sooners came into the Jumpman Invitational hot, averaging over 84 points on 51 percent shooting. But UNC forced a season-high 18 turnovers in its best defensive stand of the season at the time.

Preseason No. 2 Duke’s season began in earnest with a few big announcements during the offseason. Following a second-round exit in the NCAA tournament, the Blue Devils were battered and beaten; down but not out.

Sophomore Kyle Filipowski was set to undergo hip surgery and decided to play a second year in Durham, as did classmates Mark Mitchell and Tyrese Proctor. Plus, senior Jeremy Roach opted for a fourth-go-round at Duke.

Foster’s breakout in Champions Classic win ignites Duke

Down three points in the waning seconds of the CBS Sports Classic blue blood bout, Cadeau passed to Ryan, whose back was completely turned, leading to a turnover.

Returners key for Duke after early tournament exit

The victory started a nine-game win streak for UNC, providing much-needed momentum heading into ACC play. Over that stretch, North Carolina held all of its opponents to 70 points or fewer — the first time doing so since the 200607 season.

BY MICAH HUREWITZ

Kentucky won, 87-83, on a night where UNC struggled to match the Wildcats’ athleticism, length and physicality.

The Tar Heels were outrebounded by 10 and their backcourt struggled to contain electric NBA prospects Rob Dillingham and D.J. Wagner. In the post, graduate center Armando Bacot couldn’t do much against the 7-foot-1 Aaron Bradshaw.

After shaky start, blue devil basketball is back in business

14

Friday, February 2, 2024

Rivalry Edition

OPINION

COLUMN

So, what’s the score going to be?

Sports editors make predictions about the game

Shelby Swanson Sports Editor

UNC isn’t simply playing better than Duke as of late — the Tar Heels are playing on a higher While UNC has been the better team recently, that rarely matters in rivalry games.

What matters, however, is that each squad has a preseason AllAmerican big man, with only one having met those expectations: D u k e ’s Ky l e F i l i p o w s k i .

Meanwhile, Armando Bacot has struggled this year against larger bigs like N.C. State’s DJ Burns Jr., along with modern NBAmold bigs like Kentucky’s Aaron Bradshaw and Wake Forest’s Efton Reid III. Filipowski easily clears that group of centers.

So in a game where stars RJ Davis and Filipowski are going to keep producing, it boils down to how well Bacot fares down low.

And based on how his season has

plane than the rest of the ACC. This game will come down to the matchup between big men Kyle Filipowski and Armando Bacot.

Given North Carolina’s ability to diversify its post play — throwing in a Jalen Washington here, a Jae’Lyn Withers there — and the Tar Heels have the depth to give Filipowski an array of diverse looks.

UNC has shown its ability to find ways to win in close games, most recently with senior guard and soon-to-be All-American RJ Davis’ late-game heroics on the road at FSU. And with North Carolina’s home advantage? It’s game over.

UNC 80 — 69 DUKE

DTH FILE/EMILY CAROLINE SARTIN Former UNC guard Coby White (2) goes for a layup against Duke during the semifinals of the ACC Tournament at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte on March 15, 2019.

At long last, UNC and Duke are good again The iconic rivalry matchup finally lives up to the hype

By Daniel Wei Assistant Sports Editor sports@dailytarheel.com

Daniel Wei Assistant Sports Editor

gone, I don’t envision a sudden breakout game, giving the Blue Devils the edge here.

DUKE 75 — 73 UNC

that UNC has this year is its rebounding — something that head coach Hubert Davis has been emphasizing at length. This year’s Tar Heel squad ranks 16th nationally in rebounding, while the Blue Devils are only good for 181st in the country. A big part of this lies within the addition of Stanford transfer and junior wing Harrison Ingram, who averages over eight rebounds (and 12 points) per game. Compare him to Duke wing Mark Mitchell, who Gwen Peace only averages six rebounds per Assistant Sports Editor game, and UNC comes out slightly Going into this game, Duke ahead in my opinion. It will likely and UNC are fairly even matches, be a tight game, but I think the Tar touting similar records and the Heels will have the edge on Feb. 3. usual casts of skilled players.

However, the one X-factor UNC 83 — 76 DUKE

It always delivers.

Well, until it doesn’t.

The one time I covered a UNCDuke men’s basketball game was coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final trip to Chapel Hill in 2022.

The Daily Tar Heel’s thensports editor PJ Morales invited me (I’m pretty sure it was just because press row had an extra seat) and I was ecstatic beyond belief. Who wouldn’t be?

But I watched, dumbfounded, as AJ Griffin dropped 27 points in the Blue Devils’ 87-67 win — Krzyzewski’s second-largest victory in the Dean E. Smith Center. For college hoops’ greatest rivalry that supposedly “always delivered,” it was underwhelming to say the least.

And while the next two months’ events — UNC spoiling Krzyzewski’s Cameron Indoor Stadium curtain call and the once-in-a-lifetime Final Four meeting — practically shooed that blowout into insignificance, I still haven’t forgotten.

Which is why, as The DTH newsroom works around the clock for its annual Rivalry Edition, I can’t help but notice why this matchup just feels different from recent years. Let’s start with the obvious reason.

Is it crazy to say that UNC and Duke are finally both good again?

Think back to five years ago — the last time both blue bloods were ranked heading into this matchup.

There were five future NBA lottery picks between the two squads — North Carolina’s Coby White and Cameron Johnson, along with Duke’s Zion Williamson, R J Barrett and Cam Reddish.

Round it out with another AllAmerican in UNC’s Luke Maye, and you’ve got yourself a top-eight showdown.

Both teams went on to earn No. 1 seeds in the 2019 NCAA tournament. But since then?

North Carolina’s 14-19 record in 2020 was the only losing season of coach Roy Williams’ 33-year career. Duke followed it up in 2021 with its worst finish in over 25 years, going 13-11.

The 2022 season blessed us with a monumental stroke of fate, but even the bluest of hearts could understand that the No. 8-seeded Tar Heels were never expected to make it that far in the Big Dance.

I mean, it’s called a Cinderella run for a reason.

Duke’s 63-57 and 62-57 wins in 2023 were close, but close doesn’t always mean easy to sit through. Nobody wants to watch two unranked teams shoot sub-40 percent from the field on national television in two of the lowestscoring rivalry games in the last 20 years.

And even if last year’s scores were flipped, I would still be sitting here, writing the same

column. My job is to report on UNC basketball, not root for it.

This isn’t the team website.

All that being said, the mediocrity of one — or both — programs in recent years only dampened the hype that the Tobacco Road rivalry is typically known for. Thrillers like Tre Jones’ takeover in 2020 were the exception, not the rule. To rephrase ESPN analyst Jay Bilas’ iconic phrase around this time of the year, UNC-Duke has only sometimes delivered in recent years.

Doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, right?

But on Saturday, Feb. 3, No. 3 North Carolina and No. 7 Duke have a chance to restore their neighborly feud to the greatness it’s been known for. With both programs back in the national spotlight, it’s shaping up to be an instant classic.

RJ Davis and Kyle Filipowski are playing at All-American levels.

Rookie guards Jared McCain and Elliot Cadeau have been sensational to watch. Scrappy do-it-all wings Mark Mitchell and Harrison Ingram will go head-to-head.

Sure, you could point to a myriad of other storylines, like how Caleb “Cameron Killer” Love won’t be there this time. But ultimately, the main difference about Saturday’s matchup just boils down to this: at long last, UNC and Duke are both good again.

And regardless of which shade of blue you’re pulling for, nothing should be more exciting than that.

X: @danielhwei

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Listen to our special edition Hark The Pod In this week’s episode of “Hark the Pod,” the spotlight turns to the venerable UNC-Duke men’s basketball rivalry. DTH Sports Editor Shelby Swanson, as well as Assistant Sports Editors Daniel Wei and Gwen Peace are joined by The Duke Chronicle Sports Editor Andrew Long and Sports Managing Editor Rachael Kaplan, who added an insightful layer to the discussion.

Listen in as we take a deep dive into the reporting behind many of the stories in this paper, earliest rivalry memories and the integral role of the fundraising challenge in the sustenance of both publications.

We also previewed the upcoming game, offering nuanced takes on current standings, trends and defining moments for both UNC and Duke in ACC play. This episode will certainly heighten your ball knowledge heading in to the Tobacco Road Rivalry.

What are the most important factors for either team? Who are the key players? What are the editors’ predictions?

Tune in to learn more.

Rivalry Edition

Friday, February 2, 2024

13

REFLECTION

‘It was going to be crazy no matter what’ Former DTH sports editors look back on UNC-Duke memories

By Caroline Wills Senior Writer sports@dailytarheel.com

Once Chapel Fowler took his place on press row at Cameron Indoor Stadium for his first UNCDuke men’s basketball game, there was no getting out of it.

To even get into the single file line of journalists on the baseline, the then-college sophomore had to jump over the entire table. He could forget about leaving to take a bathroom break. It was loud, cramped and intimidating.

But as he sat back, his backpack tucked between his legs, he could only revel in how close he was to the action. He could hear sneakers squeaking against the glossy hardwood floor and the basketball slapping the palms of players’ hands.

Personal space was a worthy sacrifice to make.

For students and fans filling the stands at Cameron Indoor Stadium or the Dean E. Smith Center, it’s just another chapter of the UNC-Duke rivalry. But for sportswriters at The Daily Tar Heel, this game is the pinnacle of their student journalism career — the story they’ve been hoping for since they joined the desk.

“You kind of would think about it as your Super Bowl,” Fowler said.

On that day in March, Fowler, The DTH sports editor from 2017-18, watched up-close as Duke dropped 49 points in just the second half of

regulation, stunning a top-10 UNC squad rostering the likes of Theo Pinson, Cameron Johnson and Kenny Williams.

And then, he did it again. Fowler traded the baseline of Cameron Indoor for the second level of the Smith Center in 2020. From there, he captured Wendell Moore Jr.’s game-winner for Duke and the palpable devastation that followed the overtime rivalry thriller.

Stressful? Of course. But that’s just part of the fun.

“If you’re not excited and nervous to cover something like that and to really nail a story like that,” Fowler said, “you’re probably not doing a good enough job or you’re not in the right profession because you should feel those nerves, that excitement, that want [and] that drive.”

Former DTH Assistant Sports Editor Brendan Marks remembers his first UNC-Duke game as a student journalist all too well.

Specifically, he can recount the warnings of The DTH writers who dared to venture before him: do not wear your nicest clothes to Cameron.

He didn’t listen — and, in return — he left Durham with flecks of Duke blue body paint transferred from the bodies of the students behind him onto his jacket, dress shirt and laptop. He had to throw away the shirt, but writing about North Carolina’s biggest regular season game of the year left a more memorable mark.

“That was a huge deal for me as a budding reporter,” Marks said.

“It was kind of validation of all the work that I put in in college, and it was kind of like, ‘Alright, you’re about to go out into the world. This is what you want to do?’ Yeah, this is definitely what I wanted to do.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF HUNTER NELSON Former Sports Editor Hunter Nelson takes a selfie with Duke fans inside of Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 5, 2022 at the Duke-UNC men’s basketball game.

When Hunter Nelson, last year’s DTH sports editor, covered his first rivalry game, it was a big one. We’re talking Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game kind of big. However, like all the former writers and editors before him, he appreciated the moment and took the pressure in stride, even as some of the “Cameron Crazies” read aloud every word he typed onto his document.

It prepared him for the next big rivalry game — a historic Final Four UNCDuke matchup in 2022 with “generational anticipation.”

There was a little more pressure, he said, because he wanted to create something he was proud of. “ What you will remember forever is being in New Orleans covering those games, especially that game,” Nelson said. “I felt the same way [as] the first game I covered in Cameron just because I knew that with all the storylines

surrounding that, it was going to be crazy no matter what.”

Marks said most student journalists do not get the opportunity to sit alongside writers from national publications like ESPN and The Associated Press for a high-stakes, high-anticipation rivalry game. But North Carolina and Duke make a point to save good seats for the student reporters from both schools. For m a n y, l i k e M a r k s , who now works at The Athletic primarily covering the Tar Heels and the Blue Devils, those early opportunities were priceless.

“I don’t know that I would still be doing this,” he said, “or craving being a part of that the way that I am if I hadn’t had that first opportunity when I was at The DTH.”

X: @carolinewills03

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12

Friday, February 2, 2024

Rivalry Edition

HOUSE DIVIDED

Ingram siblings play at rival schools, yet remain close

Harrison Ingram faces his biggest Blue Devil foe — his sister

By Grace Nugent Senior Writer sports@dailytarheel.com

In the players’ lounge postgame after the UNC men’s basketball victory over Wake Forest, Harrison Ingram pointed to white scars on his left forearm, elbow and cheek.

Are the spindly scars from diving all over the court or fighting for rebounds? Maybe just the regular wear and tear of a D1 athlete?

Nope. The scars are from his younger sister Lauren.

“We fought — do you see the scar right here?” Harrison said, pointing to his scratched-up arms. “Yeah, this is from her. I mean, we fought.”

The three Ingram siblings, Will, Harrison and Lauren, grew up in

PHOTO COURTESY OF DUKE ATHLETICS Duke first-year outside hitter Lauren Ingram (1) hits the ball during a volleyball game against Elon on Sept. 5 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Dallas. Will carved out his own path, playing Division III basketball at Middlebury and going on to work in finance, while Harrison and Lauren eventually came to call North Carolina home — albeit on opposite sides of Tobacco Road.

While Lauren finds herself in Durham as an outside hitter for the Duke volleyball team, Harrison dons Carolina Blue as a standout small forward for the Tar Heel men’s basketball team.

Despite being two years younger, Lauren said she found her way to North Carolina independent of her older brother, committing to Duke at the end of her junior year of high school. Harrison, on the other hand, had moved out to sunny California to play his first years of collegiate ball at Stanford.

After two years, Harrison entered the transfer portal and found a new home in Chapel Hill with head coach Hubert Davis.

But from Lauren’s point of view, she’s the reason he made the swap.

“I was teasing him like, ‘Oh, like you followed me,” Lauren told The Daily Tar Heel. “’You didn’t want to be that far away from me, all the way across the country.’”

Has the rivalry caused a rift in the Ingram siblings? Despite the periodic booing when walking into the opposing gym — Harrison can attest that wearing a UNC hoodie at a Duke volleyball game is not a recipe for camaraderie — it has only brought the pair closer.

“Since I’ve gotten out here, I’d say she’s one of my best friends now,” Harrison said.

These days the siblings will happily chow down on Sutton’s Drug Store’s chicken caesar wraps,

but things were not as peaceful serves Lauren well. She attributes her edge to her constant effort of years ago in the Lone Star State. trying to beat her older brother.

“We just always take it very The aisle seat seriously,” Lauren said. “So it’s definitely made me. I feel like that’s where I kind of get my competitive spirit from. It’s always playing games with my brother and trying to beat him.”

The younger Ingrams were chockfull of competitive fire — even when it came down to travel arrangements.

“When I turned 10 to age 15, we went on no family vacations because we would literally argue about everything,” Harrison said.

Harrison vividly recalls one fight over the aisle seat. When Lauren didn’t get her way, instead of taking a less-preferred seat on the plane, she hightailed it to the jetway.

“She just got off the plane and started running,” Harrison said. “We were like, ‘What are you doing?’ My parents had to go get her.”

If there’s one thing to know about Harrison’s relationship with Lauren, it’s that antagonizing his little sister is one of his top priorities.

“He loves to talk his shit for sure,” Lauren said.

Well, Harrison?

“100 percent correct,” Harrison said. “I say whatever I want, whenever I want.”

Flurries of words, fists and fits flew around the Ingram household.

Harrison might’ve won the physical battles with Lauren — never leaving without a souvenir scar or two — but he would always ultimately lose whenever his parents entered the situation.

“I used to hate chores, cleaning the house,” Harrison said. “I mean, I remember one time it was like, from now on when my sister and I got in a fight, I had to clean the house.”

“I can assure you, they’ve never cleaned the house,” his mom Vera told The DTH. The competitive sibling spirit

At a moment’s notice Even though some bickering persists — you know, with the Tobacco Road Rivalry and all — having two kids in one area is a gift for Vera.

“Harrison takes really good care of [Lauren],” Vera said. “It makes life for me a lot easier. I can have a peaceful mind at night knowing that he’s nearby. He’s been a really good big brother to her. He’s very loving, actually more than you would think a big brother would be.”

The UNC basketball stalwart even went so far as to support his sister by showing up to a Duke volleyball game in a Blue Devils shirt — in the nosebleeds of course.

Harrison takes his big brother duties seriously, inquiring about his sister, willing to pick her up at a moment’s notice, while also giving her room to grow in her own environment.

“She’s tough, thick-skinned. Really for me, the most important thing about my sister is just how close we are,” Harrison said. “I mean, she trusts me with anything.”

At the end of the day, the Ingram pair will put down their sibling aggravation, pick up their Sutton’s and lovingly chat about their lives.

But competition always rears its head. Don’t think about bringing

DTH/LARA CROCHIK UNC junior forward Harrison Ingram (55) looks away after shooting the ball at the Dec. 5 Jimmy V Classic game in Madison Square Garden against the University of Connecticut.

up who’s the favorite child. Lauren thinks it’s Harrison, and Harrison knows it’s Lauren.

“She’s definitely the favorite child because if we get in a fight, she could walk up to me and slap me, and I’m the one cleaning the house,” Harrison said.

And will Lauren be in the Dean E. Smith Center on Feb. 3 for the first installment of this year’s Tobacco Road Rivalry, cheering on her Tar Heel brother?

Well, if it’s up to Harrison, there is no question about it.

“She better be there.”

Gwen Peace contributed reporting to this story.

X: @gracegnugent

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Rivalry Edition

Friday, February 2, 2024

11

HISTORY

The Shakespearean origin story of the UNC-Duke rivalry illicit relationship into public eye. Duke was forced to pay five dollars a year in child support following a custody court case, and the feud quickly moved from hostile courtrooms to education.

“There’s no question [of ] the importance of the two families to their respective institutions and one more wrinkle to what has been a storied rivalry,” historian Freddie Kiger said.

The rivalry wars

OPPONENTS

SPECTATORS

In the 1960s, the rivalry became personal during a series of recruiting wars. Both teams recruited players from New York, and the recruitment battle reached its height because of one person: highly-touted recruit Art Heyman.

During his visit to Chapel Hill, Heyman’s stepfather commented on then-UNC head coach Frank McGuire’s factory-like style of coaching. As a result, Heyman “had to keep the two men from throwing punches at each other,” according to a 1995 edition of Sports Illustrated.

So, when then-Duke head coach Vic Bubas picked up Heyman from the Raleigh-Durham airport on his way to UNC, the commit found a new home nine miles away.

During his sophomore season in 1961, Heyman learned that the Tar Heels – made up of New Yorkers who

If you strip the UNC-Duke rivalry down to its nucleus, you will find a story that is almost Shakespearean.

Two families with hatred for one another. Forbidden lovers. A child born out of wedlock.

While the two schools didn’t clash on the court until 1920, the seeds of a sports rivalry might have been planted by a blood feud and a five-dollar child support case.

In 1794, the married Taylor Duke – the namesake of Duke University – pursued a relationship with Chaney Mangum.

DTH FILE/MADELINE CRUMPLER UNC students hold signs and cheer as ESPN’s “College GameDay” crew come to the Dean E. Smith Center before the UNC-Duke game on Feb. 5, 2022.

By Emma Moon Senior Writer sports@dailytarheel.com

“The Mangums were crucial in helping [UNC] survive its first century,” read a 1994 article from the News & Observer. “Willie P. Mangum served in the board of trustees for 43 years. Adolphus Mangum, a professor, helped reopen the school after the Civil War.” To d a y, t h e M a n g u m s a r e remembered by academic scholarships and Mangum Hall, which rests on Raleigh Street.

For months after beginning their affair, Duke and Mangum worked to conceal their relationship and their newborn son. However, the couple was unable to stay away from each other and had another child — exposing them completely and bringing the

were once his friends – did not take kindly to his change of heart. Thensophomore Larry Brown, who was supposed to be his roommate in Chapel Hill, punched Heyman, leading to a full-on fight that took 10 policemen to break up. Although the case was later dismissed, Heyman was charged with assault and battery by UNC members after the game.

“It was like a 10 minute brawl,” North Carolina history professor Matthew Andrews said. “That seems to be when the rivalry was ratcheted up and taken to another level.”

In the next regular season matchup, guardrails and chains were placed in front of bleachers in Woollen Gymnasium.

Before the 1960s, the rivalry seemed to be about education. The 1961 season helped to escalate the feud by turning it into a physical battle where the winner gets the last laugh. However, the rivalry needed one more starring role.

Mike Krzyzewski.

Coach K’s entrance Kiger said Krzyzewski was “cut from a different cloth.” After becoming the head coach in 1980, Krzyzewski became intent on “elbowing [his] way in” to the area, where the UNC-NC State rivalry ran supreme.

By 1984, he did just that.

During the first UNC-Duke game of the year, Dean Smith wanted a substitution a little over four minutes into the game. To stop the clock, the head coach banged on the scorer’s table and accidentally added 20 points to UNC’s score.

Smith was not given a technical.

After the game, Krzyzewski ranted about the differences between the two programs.

“Coach K repeatedly, publicly and privately, said that there was a double standard in the Atlantic Coast Conference,” Kiger said.

“Smith gets calls. It’s his official.

Smith gets his way.”

In that moment, Krzyzewski added a new element to the rivalry: coach versus coach. His desire to turn Duke into one of the best programs helped make UNC-Duke the rivalry it is today.

Although both teams have new coaches at the helm, each of these eras adds a component to the modern rivalry. Even as the two teams prepare for their 261st game against one another, three things are constant when the teams square off according to Kiger.

“Time stands still,” he said. “The universe slows down. Our collective hearts beat to the pulse of a leather round ball for two hours.”

X: @_emmahmoon

‘There’s not much out there we haven’t seen’

Tough nonconference schedule prepares UNC for Duke

By Jarrett Kidd Staff Writer sports@dailytarheel.com

DTH DESIGN/CARRIE-ANNE ROGERS

Ticket lottery changes to know for Duke game Priority given to fever point holders, graduating students

By Lydia Kampe Staff Writer sports@dailytarheel.com

Most UNC students never hope to receive a seat in the Dean E. Smith Center more than they do for the rivalry showdown against Duke.

Attaining a ticket for the game is not as simple as it is for every other men’s basketball home matchup.

Typically, the student ticket lottery system notifies students 10 days before a men’s basketball game, and allows them to enter the free lottery during a 48-hour window. Students who enter have an equal chance of receiving two tickets, regardless of their class at UNC. Fever points earned by attending designated sporting events are awarded throughout the year to UNC’s most avid student fans. For other men’s basketball games, the 200 students with the highest number of fever points that join each lottery automatically receive two Phase 1 tickets. In the Duke lottery, the top200 point holders who enter will only receive one ticket instead of two.

After those 200 students receive tickets, half of the remaining Phase 1 tickets are distributed

to lottery winners, prioritizing students with accumulated fever points. The remaining Phase 1 tickets are randomly allotted to lottery winners. Students who have attended multiple men’s basketball games throughout the season have better odds in the lottery.

Graduating students have priority in the lottery in an effort to ensure undergraduates have the chance to attend the game before graduation.

For remaining students, there are five phases of entry that begin in 30-minute increments two and a half hours before tip-off.

Aside from the aforementioned guaranteed first-phase ticket recipients, phase numbers are randomly assigned to all other students who win the lottery.

Student tickets are transferable from one student to another student, just as they are throughout the rest of the season.

However, these tickets can’t be sold by one student to another, and doing so can result in revocation of all future ticket privileges.

While the chances of getting in without a student lottery ticket may be slim, a stand-by line is available starting one and a half hours before game time, which permits entry to students if extra seats become available.

X: @lydiakampe

Through its first 20 games, the No. 3 North Carolina men’s basketball team faced six opponents ranked in the AP Top 25, clocking in at ninth in the NCAA’s current strength of schedule rankings.

The Tar Heels went 4-2 in those ranked matchups, besting then-No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 10 Tennessee, No. 20 Arkansas and No. 16 Clemson by an average of 11.2 points. Their two losses came to then-No. 5 UConn and No. 14 Kentucky by a combined 15 points.

UConn is currently ranked No. 1 at 18-2, while the Wildcats come Clint Gwaltney, who is responsible in at No. 6. for creating the men’s basketball Despite its lackluster performance schedule, said the Tar Heels’ highly last season, UNC scheduled contests touted nonconference slate was not against Duke, Kentucky and the entirely planned that way. reigning champion Huskies — no easy He said that much of UNC’s feat for any team. Even though they nonconference schedule this are 0-2 in those matchups thus far, the season was dictated by deals with Tar Heels gained valuable experience specific invitationals. The Tar Heels in the nonconference slate that is now participated in the CBS Sports carrying over into ACC play.

Classic for the 10th consecutive When asked about this season’s season, where they faced Kentucky. nonconference Just 11 days schedule, head prior, they coach Hubert matched up “I really believe our Davis had with now topnonconference schedule ranked UConn nothing but positive things in the Jimmy V has helped us move in to say about Classic. its value to the “With the trying to be successful in squad.

ACC, there is conference play.”

“I really an expectation do think it’s to play in the Hubert Davis helped us,” Jimmy V on UNC men’s basketball head coach Davis said occasion,” on Jan. 19.

Gwaltney said.

“For one, we “ We had not had success. And two, in terms played in a while, so it was kind of of style, there’s not really much our turn.” out there we haven’t seen before Gwaltney also mentioned the in terms of individual players and opportunities the transfer portal styles and defenses.” and recruiting play in scheduling.

Senior Associate Athletic Director When scheduling happens so

DTH DESIGN/BRIDGET HIGHT

far in advance, there is always a chance a team can retool its roster in the offseason and become an unexpectedly difficult matchup.

In 2019, the ACC instated new requirements, mandating teams to play 20 conference games per season as opposed to 18. This rule limited teams’ ability to host home-and-home matchups with high-caliber opponents, as schools remain bound to contracts for invitationals and bye games.

But, at least for now, North Carolina can lean back on the experience it gained from the early part of the season and use it down the stretch and into March.

And with two matchups against Tobacco Road rival No. 7 Duke on the horizon, UNC will look to draw on that base of knowledge to continue its perfect ACC record.

“Going into conference season, it does give us confidence that we’ve gone against whatever we’re trying to face, whatever particular night,” Davis said.

“I really believe our nonconference schedule has helped us move in trying to be successful in conference play.”

Editor’s Note: All statistics are updated through Jan. 28.

X: @j_kidd03

10

Friday, February 2, 2024

Rivalry Edition

TRANSFERRING OUT

Caleb Love leaves lasting legacy in UNC-Duke rivalry The former UNC guard currently leads Arizona in scoring

By Maya Waid Staff Writer sports@dailytarheel.com

With 25 seconds on the clock, the ball left the hands of then-UNC guard Caleb Love and seconds later, North Carolina was up by four.

Afterward, Love embraced guard RJ Davis with a smile wiped across his face — UNC had just earned a lead that advanced the Tar Heels to the NCAA National Championship game with an 81-77 victory over Duke.

Although Love no longer wears a North Carolina jersey, his impact on the UNC-Duke rivalry has a place of its own in UNC basketball history.

Duke infamy In his three years at UNC, Love played in seven games against Duke.

On March 5, 2022, Love’s 22-point performance helped spoil Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s last game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, leading the Tar Heels to a 94-81 win.

Whether it was his high scoring games or the clutch NCAA final four performance, Love left Tar Heel fans with plenty of rivalry moments to cherish.

In his return to Durham in early November — this time playing for the Arizona Wildcats in a 78-73 win over Duke — Love stepped onto the court with a message for all basketball fans. On the bottom of his Nike sneakers, below the light blue swoosh, he wrote “Tar Heel 4L.”

On to the next North Carolina faced high expectations for the 2022 season with 13 players returning to the team. However, the Tar Heels’ hopes at another title run quickly spiraled downwards. The team became the first preseason No. 1 team to miss the NCAA tournament since 1985.

On March 27 of last year, Love announced he was entering the transfer portal. In his post, Love reflected on his time at UNC and stated that he would begin searching for the next place he would play.

He first committed to Michigan in April, but decommitted in mid-May due to an admissions issue.

Then, less than two weeks later, Love announced his commitment to Arizona. The Wildcats finished the 2022-23 season 28-7 overall and won the Pac-12 conference tournament.

In a statement Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd made to the press, he called Love a “tremendously talented guard who has significant experience playing college basketball at a high level,” as reported by The Associated Press.

With the Wildcats Since joining the Wildcats roster, Love has been a key factor in their offense, averaging 19.3 points and 3.1 assists per game.

Arizona currently sits at No. 11 in the rankings with a 15-5 overall record. Love leads the team in points, 3-pointers, field goals and free throws.

After a close loss at Washington S t a t e i n m i d - J a n u a r y, L l o y d

acknowledged that Love never shies away from the tough moments.

“I think it’s simple — Caleb is a competitive guy,” Lloyd said after the game. “When he gets in those m o m e n t s , h e ’s n o t a f r a i d t o shoulder the burden.”

On Saturday, Jan. 27, Love dropped a career-high 36 points on 12-18 shooting — including 5-8 from three — in Arizona’s 87-78 win at Oregon.

The Tar Heels since In UNC’s first season without Love, North Carolina has averaged 13.9 assists per game — an increase of 1.9 from the previous season.

Davis has led the way for the Tar Heels in scoring while graduate forward Armando Bacot is recording team-high rebounds and blocks. The addition of first-year point guard Elliot Cadeau, who leads UNC in assists, has been pivotal in the success of the team.

On Feb. 3, No. 3 North Carolina will take on No. 7 Duke in Chapel Hill. The game will give the Tar Heels a chance at redemption after last year’s two regular season losses against Duke.

And in spite of a long journey, Love knows which side he’ll be rooting for.

“I’m a Tar Heel for life,” Love said following Arizona’s win at Duke.

“Regardless of what our differences is, or what happened in the past, I still got love for Tar Heel nation.”

Editor’s Note: All statistics are updated through Jan. 27.

X: @mayawaid

DTH FILE/SAMANTHA LEWIS Then-UNC junior guard Caleb Love (2) dribbles the ball during the men’s basketball game against Duke on Feb. 4, 2023 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE CHRISTY/ARIZONA ATHLETICS

Arizona senior guard Caleb Love (2) drives to the lane during the men’s basketball game against Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Nov. 10.

DTH FILE/SAMANTHA LEWIS Then-UNC guard Caleb Love (2) blocks a shot by Duke guard Tyrese Proctor (5) during the game against Duke on Feb. 4, 2023 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Rivalry Edition

Friday, February 2, 2024

9

PROGRAM LEGENDS

‘He’s just an all-around great guy’ Usher Henry Kritzer reflects on 50 years with UNC Athletics

By Gwen Peace Assistant Sports Editor sports@dailytarheel.com

There is one man who nearly everyone in the Dean E. Smith Center knows — or at least, nearly every usher knows.

Ask any of the vest-clad employees about him, and their faces immediately light up as they start to tell you countless stories.

There’s a reason that everybody knows Henry Kritzer. The 93-yearold has been ushering at UNC football and men’s basketball games for the past 50 years.

Kritzer has been a North Carolina fan for as long as he can remember.

Despite growing up in Maryland, he always knew he was going to follow in his father’s footsteps and attend UNC. “I didn’t have a choice in where I was going to go to school — I was told ‘This is where you are going,’” Kritzer remembered.

After graduating alongside his wife, Mary Lou, in the class of 1952, he moved back home to Maryland to pursue a career as an assembly line coordinator at an aircraft plant.

However, after a couple of years he returned to North Carolina, this time settling down in Greensboro and working for Burlington Industries, a textile company.

One day, a colleague named Jim asked Kritzer if he had any interest in ushering UNC football games, something that Jim himself enjoyed in his free time. Kritzer did, so he filled out the application and went

DTH/NATALIE PEOPLES Henry Kritzer poses before the men’s basketball game against Wake Forest in the Dean E. Smith Center on Jan. 22.

to his first football game — and the rest is history.

Throughout his career, he has seen the men’s basketball team play in both Carmichael Arena and the Smith Center, witnessed Kenan Stadium get bigger and bigger, watched legendary coaches like Dean Smith and Roy Williams at their peaks and legendary players like Michael Jordan, Phil Ford and Walter Davis hit the court.

Despite witnessing five decades of UNC athletics, Kritzer maintains that his job hasn’t changed much over the years. His routine has remained constant since the day he started ushering in 1963.

Four hours before tipoff, Kritzer gets into a car and starts the 50-mile drive to Chapel Hill. Well, these days he carpools with three other ushers

who pick him up from his retirement community in Greensboro, but still.

They drive for anywhere from an hour and 15 minutes to two hours, depending on traffic, to get to campus. Then, they all load onto a bus that takes them to the arena two hours in advance of the game.

Couple the long journey with standing for the duration of his shift, and it can be a tiring experience. The total process takes about eight hours.

He has ushered all over the arena.

In that time, he has gotten to know people from all different walks of life, many of whom he now calls friends.

Kritzer can recount different memories of people he has met over his years at UNC, from the good, to the bad, to the strange. One year, when he was ushering next to a box in Kenan Stadium, the UNC athletic director

at the time would frequently bring him plates of food. Another year, he remembered sheriffs coming to arrest wanted criminals who were hiding in his section in the Smith Center.

He got to know some of the coaches as well, saying that he especially liked Smith because he would always make sure to speak to him before the game.

But most memorably, Kritzer thinks back to his interactions with Hall-ofFame UNC football player Charlie “Choo Choo” Justice. The two had gone to school at the same time, and had been in the same class, leading them to become distant friends.

When Kritzer returned to UNC to usher, Justice had tickets in his section. The two always chatted, catching up on life before the game started. Then, Justice

got diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

His wife would still bring him to games, even as his mental state started to decline.

But even still, Justice remembered his former classmate.

“When he walked in [he would say] ‘Henry how’re you doing,’” Kritzer said, “And then his wife [would say], ‘He doesn’t know anybody’s name but yours.’”

Connye Post has known Kritzer since she was born. So, what’s her favorite thing about him?

“Oh gosh, I don’t even know,” she said. “He’s just an all-around great guy.”

Frank Moore, another one of Kritzer’s recruits, simply said it was his enthusiasm for UNC that he loved about Kritzer.

This year at UNC, though, will be Kritzer’s last.

“It’s time to retire,” he said, after recounting all his favorite memories.

It’s gotten increasingly hard for the 93-year-old to stand for so long with no breaks, and he’s decided it’s time.

“He’s going to be really missed,” Post said. “He knows everybody, all the ushers, he calls them by name. They know him — he collects more hugs at these things than everybody I know.”

Kritzer is planning on making the most of his time left as an usher and enjoying every game he gets to watch. And while he’s certainly looking forward to the atmosphere of the Duke game, he mostly just wants to savor every moment he has left inside the Smith Center.

“I enjoy them all,” Kritzer said.

“They’re just fun. That, and the people I know here.”

X: @peacegwen

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8

Friday, February 2, 2024

Rivalry Edition

Q&A

Sports information director speaks on UNC-Duke rivalry

Steve Kirschner, UNC senior associate athletic director for media relations, manages communications for the North Carolina men’s basketball team. He has been with the Tar Heels since 1990 and has worked countless UNC-Duke men’s basketball games as the sports information director.

Assistant Sports Editor Daniel Wei sat down with Kirschner to discuss the rivalry’s history a n d K i r s c h n e r ’s f a v o r i t e moments. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

The Daily Tar Heel: How many UNCDuke games have you worked in total?

Steve Kirschner: I actually counted them up because I knew you’d ask me that. I’ve been to 80 UNC-Duke games in person, including the last 72 straight. The only game I’ve missed since I came back was in 1992: Hubert Davis’ last game against Duke in the ACC Championship in Charlotte. We were playing Florida State in baseball here, and I was also the baseball sports information director at the time, so I had to be here for that game. Since then, I haven’t missed a UNC-Duke game.

I say this: It makes me the luckiest person in our industry to say that I’ve been to 80 UNC-Duke games. I’m spoiled beyond belief, because it’s been so much fun to see those games in person.

DTH: You sit courtside for all the games. What are things you notice that the average viewer wouldn’t be able to from the stands or TV? SK: You pick up on the intensity of the game. I think back to my first year as an intern at the ‘89 ACC Championship game in Atlanta. It is still the most intense sporting event I’ve ever been to in person. It was almost hand-to-hand combat, in a basketball sense.

There was so much on the line. Both programs were at their heights. UNC hadn’t won the ACC in seven years. Duke had been to several Final Fours in a row. People

were talking about Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski passing UNC head coach Dean Smith. Off the court, the teams didn’t like each other. You could just feel the anxiety, the tension.

You see the interaction between the players during huddles and side-by-side at the scores table when they’re waiting to go in. There have been times where our guys and their guys look at each other and go, “Man, this is a hell of a game.”

The intensity of the rivalry comes from the fanbase; the respect in the rivalry comes from the players.

DTH: You interact with the players frequently. In the days leading up to the game, is there anything different that you notice about the team?

SK: I think as much as we like to say, “Oh, it’s just the next game on the schedule,” you always know when certain games are the next game. You pick up on that they’re dialed in more.

It’s one of the reasons we try to do the pre-Duke game press conference two days before, instead of the day before.

They’re so focused on what they’re doing, I like to not distract them the day before with other things because they’re so focused on the game.

DTH: You’re married to Jeanne McFeely, a 1994 Duke graduate.

Does that make the house tense around rivalry week?

SK: No, not at all. Early on, it was.

When UNC won at Duke in 1995, 102-100, we were dating at the time.

She was a year out of school and was working at Duke. That didn’t go over very well because she said that every time UNC was winning, I’d be smiling and laughing.

Every time Duke took the lead, I wasn’t. She goes, “Don’t be a jerk. Just be the same, regardless of who’s winning the game.” Afterwards, we went to dinner at Miami Subs up in Durham, and she wouldn’t talk to me. I said, “Why?” She goes, “Don’t change.

DTH/JEROME IBRAHIM Steve Kirschner, senior associate athletic director for media relations, facilitates a men’s basketball press conference on Friday in the Woody Durham Media and Communications Center.

Just be the same guy, regardless of whoever’s winning.”

She works at Duke now, and she’s a Duke fan. But she knows that if UNC goes to the Final Four, that’s great for me. It’s great for us and she might get to go. If Duke goes to the Final Four, I’m not very happy. She respects both programs, and so do I.

never been in a building where the players that you’ve watched in energy was like that, because it was person that made you go, “Wow”? history. It had never been done before.

It’s like a Steelers-Cowboys Super Bowl, the Celtics and Lakers, AliFrazier — that’s the level that it was at.

DTH: On the flip side, what has been the most forgettable UNC-Duke game?

DTH: What was your immediate SK: In 2002, we went over there reaction to finding out UNC was and lost by 25. That wasn’t fun. playing Duke in the 2022 Final Four? There haven’t been many, but What was working that game like? that was one. Jay Williams was the best player in the country that year and he tore us up.

SK: My immediate reaction was disappointment. Winning four games to get to the Final Four is really difficult to do, and I knew that if we beat St. Peter’s to get there, fans would be ecstatic. But all week, as soon as we would win that game, I knew our fans would be thinking, “Oh, but we have to play Duke.” I knew that one of the two fanbases was going to be epically disappointed by losing to the other in the Final Four.

I had said for my entire career here, I hope we never play [Duke] in the Final Four or the national championship game, because it’s too big to fail.

I remember sitting in the Caesars Superdome before the game. I’ve

DTH: You mentioned Williams.

Did you see what he recently said about wanting to play at UNC in today’s game?

SK: Zion Williamson, just because of his physical strength. I remember right in front of me, I was about 10 feet away when his shoe blew out. Williams was fantastic. Christian Laettner is just one of the best college basketball players to ever play. JJ Redick is one of the best shooters we ever played against.

Who else? Shane Battier, he did everything for them. He could play any position. He was a great defender.

Probably flopped a little bit too much, but he was a great all-around player.

I mean, that’s a pretty good group.

I always said that I could put a fiveman UNC team together that would beat everybody. All time, I take the five that we could put up against any five in the country. Against that five for Duke would be a heck of a game.

X: @danielhwei

DTH: Can you name five Duke

SK: I can’t say. I’d get too many emails. But I like our five. Our five would be pretty good.

SK: Yeah. Williams wanted to come here. We had numerous point guards that already committed to us. At the time, our coaches had a question as to whether he could play the two. He wanted to come. He’s told me before.

He had a UNC poster of Michael Jordan or Vince Carter or somebody in his room. He was disappointed.

And he’s one of the best guards I’ve ever seen us play against.

DTH: Who’s in your five for UNC?

OFF THE COURT

UNC-Duke veterans join forces in NIL partnerships

Armando Bacot, RJ Davis have appeared in ads with Jeremy Roach

By Brendan Lunga Senior Writer sports@dailytarheel.com

For decades, the UNC-Duke rivalry has been a money-making endeavor for all parties involved except one: the players.

But with the recent emergence of name, image and likeness deals in college athletics, all that has changed.

Despite their discord on the court, UNC’s Armando Bacot and RJ Davis have teamed up with DTH FILE/KENENDY COX Duke’s Jeremy Roach in recent Then-junior guard RJ Davis (4) dribbles the ball past Duke’s then-junior months for various NIL deals. guard Jeremy Roach (3) during the men’s basketball game against Duke at These advertisements leverage the the Dean E. Smith Center on March 4, 2023. renowned rivalry to spotlight the companies involved and channel the players began at the beginning more value for each player by putting of 2023, when Bacot and Roach the two of them together,” Hennes NIL earnings to the players.

Daniel Hennes, agent to Bacot, signed a deal with BOA Nutrition: a said. “Because whatever someone Davis and Roach, attests that the rivalry Raleigh-based sports performance does when it’s UNC and Duke, supplement company. literally whatever they do, people are between them remains unaffected.

In November, Bacot and Roach going to talk about it and people are “The only difference now is the people actually playing the game and appeared in a Fortnite OG ad going to watch it and it’s going to get actually who are a part of the rivalry together. Hennes said he likes comments and engagement.”

More recently, Davis and Roach get to profit off of it,” Hennes said. deals that are competition-focused because they get people talking and were featured in a CVS commercial showcasing the in-store pickup ‘You’re able to get more value for generate awareness for the brand.

“We looked at it as an opportunity function of its mobile app. Two the brand’ where it’s like, you’re able to get more identical ads were produced, allowing The NIL connection between value for the brand, and I’m able to get each player an opportunity to provide

the voiceover. In Davis’ rendition, he provides the tagline, “I can spend less time shopping and more time focusing on what matters: beating Duke.”

The ad was part of an NIL campaign by Postgame, a leading NIL agency that helps brands organize partnerships with college athletes.

“We want to play off the rivalry of Duke and Carolina in a lighthearted way, because this is sort of familyoriented,” Danny Morrissey, co-founder at Postgame, said. “CVS is a family-oriented brand, so obviously you didn’t want to do it distastefully for the brand.”

‘It’s the same intensity of the rivalry’ The relationships between Davis, Roach and Bacot go all the way back to elementary school.

Davis said he’s known Roach since the fifth or sixth grade. Bacot played with Roach in AAU, agreeing that him and Davis are both “cool” with the Duke guard.

Now that all three are represented by the same agent, joining forces for NIL purposes was a simple decision.

That being said, the competition between them has not faltered.

When asked who was the best actor amongst the group, Bacot promptly responded, “Oh, definitely me.”

Davis disagreed: “Me. 100 percent. I’m like Adam Sandler. I don’t think they have a comparison for actors.”

Hennes broke the tie.

“I think Armando’s been doing it for longer,” Hennes said. “Armando has that Outer Banks experience.”

This competitive spirit will shift from acting to basketball when Duke and UNC meet on the hardwood on Feb. 3. While they may be friends and business partners off of the court, they are still Tar Heels and Blue Devils on it.

“Armando wants nothing more than to beat Duke on the court and Duke wants nothing more than to beat UNC on the court — it’s the same intensity of the rivalry,” Hennes said.

“The difference is, at least now this time, they’re allowed to profit off the rivalry and lean into it in that way.”

X: @brendan_lunga18

Rivalry Edition

Friday, February 2, 2024

7

MIDSEASON REPORT CARDS

Transfers make big impact for UNC men’s basketball DTH sports duo grades the team’s performance at midway point

By Lauren Weider and Daniel Wei

way around Bacot’s screens at the top of the key and getting to the rim against Wake Forest for 14 points.

Sophomore guard Seth Trimble, who is more or less North Carolina’s sixth man, has shown great leaps in his outside shooting and confidence attacking the basket. While he already showed flashes of elite perimeter defense in his rookie campaign, Trimble has continued to be used as a defensive refresh by head coach Hubert Davis, tightly guarding opposing score-first guards like Demon Deacon Hunter Sallis.

Ryan, a sharpshooter, has averaged 10 points per game. While he’s shooting 30 percent from distance during the season, he’s been known to go off on a hot streak from time to time, most notably going 4-7 from deep against both Kentucky and Louisville.

Staff Writer and Assistant Sports Editor sports@dailytarheel.com

After being ranked No. 19 to start the season, the UNC men’s basketball team now stands at No. 3 in the AP Poll with a 17-3 record, including an undefeated 9-0 in ACC play.

Much of this year’s success can be attributed to UNC’s significant roster changes in the offseason. The Tar Heels’ retooled roster retained cornerstones in senior guard RJ Davis and graduate center Armando Bacot, but three new faces — by way of the transfer portal — emerged as key contributors.

Notre Dame’s Cormac Ryan, Stanford’s Harrison Ingram and Louisville’s Jae’Lyn Withers have all brought unique skillsets to Chapel Hill, and first-year and former fivestar recruit Elliot Cadeau earned a spot in the starting lineup as a primary ballhandler.

It’s hard to learn how to play with a virtually new team on the fly, but given the Tar Heels’ demanding nonconference schedule, they didn’t really have a choice. North Carolina endured a stretch in which it faced then-No. 20 Arkansas in The Bahamas, No. 5 Tennessee in the ACC-SEC Challenge, No. 1 UConn in Madison Square Garden, No. 10 Kentucky in the CBS Sports Classic and No. 23 Oklahoma in the Jumpman Invitational. UNC went 3-2 in those games, but has since ripped off nine straight wins.

Bacot, in his fifth and final season, started off hot. But since averaging nearly 23 points in the first three games, he hasn’t played up to the preseason All-American hype. The Richmond, Va., native has struggled

Editor’s Note: All statistics are updated through Jan. 27.

DTH DESIGN/JESSICA BAUGH

in head-to-head matchups against larger or lengthier bigs, most notably N.C. State’s DJ Burns Jr. and 7-footers in Kentucky’s Aaron Bradshaw and Wake Forest’s Efton Reid III. Bacot is, however, ascending the UNC record books, having surpassed Lennie Rosenbluth to move up to fourth most all-time points by a Tar Heel.

Complementing Bacot in the frontcourt, Ingram arguably has the strongest back-to-thebasket post game. The 6-foot-7 junior forward often backs down defenders slowly and methodically, before elevating for a turnaround floater, and inevitably lowering

his hand afterwards with a “too small” celebration. He backs up this smack talk on the boards, too — starting with the Jan. 2 game at Pittsburgh, Ingram has corralled 96 rebounds through eight games.

Withers has provided athleticism and length off the bench, reflected in his doubledouble against Louisville.

Sophomore Jalen Washington’s interior defense and baseline midrange shots have helped him gel as a two-way threat, and the 6-foot10 stretch forward has been a solid offensive rebounder in his limited action this season.

In the backcourt, Davis has

had a historic senior campaign so far, leading the team in scoring and averaging 21.2 points per game. Against Charleston Southern, he became the first Tar Heel to record 20 points, 10 assists, five steals and zero turnovers in a single game. He also recently reached a career-high 36 points in a win over Wake Forest.

Cadeau erupted for 10 assists in what has arguably been UNC’s most impressive win of the season against Tennessee, but struggled to replicate that playmaking impact until early January. Since dishing out six assists at N.C. State, Cadeau has appeared to be playing more freely, weaving his

TEAM GRADES

A-

A

Bench

Defense

Starters

Offense

Backcourt

Overall grade

A-

A+

A

B+

B+

Frontcourt

X: @laureneweider | @danielhwei

Grading the Duke men’s basketball season

By Harry Crowther Senior Writer sports@dailytarheel.com

After consecutive early-season road losses to unranked Arkansas and Georgia Tech, the Duke men’s basketball team has found its stride and is firmly fixed in the national conversation.

H e r e ’s a l o o k a t h o w Jo n Scheyer’s squad stacks up ahead of the first Tobacco Road showdown on Feb. 3. It’s report card time.

When scouting the Blue Devils, the report starts and ends with star big man Kyle Filipowski. The sophomore 7-footer leads Duke in scoring and rebounding, averaging 17.7 points and 8.7 boards per contest. His unique skill set and size makes him a matchup nightmare for opposing defenders. Filipowski can both score at a high level inside and out — he’s shooting nearly 50 percent from the field and almost 38 percent from three — and block shots at a significant clip on the other end. Add it all up, and he is rated the seventh-best player in the country, per EvanMiya.

Playing alongside Filipowski is sophomore forward Mark Mitchell.

A slasher who can get to the rim and score inside, Mitchell was named to the preseason watch list for the Julius Erving Award, which is awarded to the nation’s best small forward. Mitchell is currently averaging 12.8 points and six rebounds per game.

The Blue Devils’ starting backcourt consists of senior Jeremy Roach and sophomore Tyrese Proctor. Roach brings a wealth of experience to

the floor, having played in over 100 games for the Blue Devils, including seven against the Tar Heels. But it isn’t just experience and leadership he offers, it’s production too. Roach can hurt defenses with dribble penetration and from beyond the arc — he averages 13.8 points per game and is shooting almost 45 percent from long range.

A bigger guard, Proctor will share ball-handling duties with Roach and is an adept passer, averaging a teambest 3.8 assists per game.

Talented first-year Jared McCain tends to play more off the ball but still carries a significant scoring threat. McCain scored 21 points and nailed two clutch threes in a top-10 win over Baylor.

The backcourt grade would be higher, but the Blue Devils’ guards have struggled with consistency at times and don’t have a star at Filipowski’s level.

As is typical for Duke, the rotation is fairly tight. First-year guard Caleb Foster is the clear sixth man, averaging 7.9 points in 25.9 minutes per game. But beyond Foster and the starting five, no player averages more than 13 minutes per game. Graduate center Ryan Young provides some size and experience off the bench — seen recently when he filled in for Mitchell, who missed two games with a knee injury — and junior guard Jaylen Blakes is another backcourt option for Scheyer.

Simply put, Duke’s offense is one of the best in the nation. One area in which the Blue Devils are particularly great is taking care of the basketball, averaging only 9.2 turnovers per contest and boasting the tenth-best

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MORGAN CHU (THE CHRONICLE)

assist-to-turnover ratio in the country.

With high-percentage shooters in Roach and Filipowski, Duke ranks second in the ACC in field-goal percentage and third in three-point percentage. Scheyer’s team is the twelfth-best offensive team in the country, according to KenPom. The Blue Devils’ defense isn’t quite on par with their offense.

It’s still solid, ranked 34th in the nation by KenPom, but is a bit of an enigma. Here’s what I mean: Duke only allows 67.2 points per game, fourth-best in the ACC, but fares much worse when it comes to opponents’ shooting percentage.

DTH DESIGN/SARAH FENWICK

The Blue Devils rank in the ACC’s bottom five in opponent field goal and opponent 3-point percentage.

The biggest difference between UNC and Duke? How fast they play.

The Blue Devils are slow — ranked 194th in tempo by EvanMiya. North Carolina plays much faster, and is listed as the 55th fastest team in the country. The Tar Heels will want to speed things up, while the Blue Devils will look to slow it down. Whichever team controls the pace will have a good chance to win the game.

TEAM GRADES

B+

B+

Bench

C-

Defense

Starters

A-

Offense

Backcourt

Overall grade

A+ B

A-

Frontcourt

Editor’s Note: All statistics are updated through Jan. 27.

X: @dthsports

6

Friday, February 2, 2024

Rivalry Edition

Q&A

Former point guard Joel Berry II talks UNC-Duke rivalry memories ACC Network analyst Joel Berry II — a 2017 national champion and Final Four Most Outstanding Player — played in several memorable UNC-Duke games.

Staff writer Anna Laible spoke with Berry in late January ahead of the first UNC-Duke game of the year. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

UNC has that the team didn’t have last season?

The Daily Tar Heel: What are some of your favorite memories from the rivalry?

Joel Berry II: It was a little bit different for me, because I was from Florida. When I got there, I didn’t really understand the rivalry until around the time we played, and you could just feel it in the air. I felt like I had that outside perspective of just not really knowing how serious the rivalry was.

That first game we played at Cameron, my eyes were super wide. I didn’t know what was going on and I’m like, “This is crazy.”

That’s when I got indoctrinated, it was that first game.

Even leading up to the game, you can tell that everyone’s tense.

DTH FILE/NATHAN KLIMA Obviously, the fans care about the Former guard Joel Berry II (2) shoots the ball in a game against Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 3, 2018. season, but if there’s one thing you have to do, like a field goal kicker, you got one job. And our one job very detailed. It’s a different type JB: I think what’s so awesome in game.” But, you know, obviously, each year is to beat Duke. of intensity. It’s a different type of college is we’re not professional they’re not going to say that.

But you walk into the away attention to detail. Coaches don’t athletes. Leading up to it, we still DTH: As a captain in 2017, can say it because obviously they do go to class. You know all eyes locker room and you can just hear you explain what the days were the cliche, “every single game is are on you when you’re walking all of the Cameron Crazies running like building up to the UNC-Duke the same,” but the coaches know through campus and when you’re in because it’s underground. You games in comparison to other ACC what’s at stake and you can feel it. sitting in class. You know the can just feel that they’re on top matchups? person next to you, even though of you. I just think all of those DTH: Can you describe what the they don’t show it, you know, in feelings, it’s hard to describe.

JB: Leading up to that game, rivalry atmosphere was like at their minds, they’re leaning over there’s a lot of prepping and it is home and away? saying, “Joel, y’all gotta win this DTH: What strengths do you think

ntial Reside IS s Service

JB: UNC is playing like one of the best teams in the country.

I think they have all the pieces.

I think this is a team that has so many different weapons. So when I look at this team, when you think about the essence of an elite team, it’s about being able to show up and play in different environments, and I think this team is capable of doing that.

When you look at personnel, they match up well with Duke.

Honestly, I think UNC has a little bit more talent because they have so much production being able to come off the bench and give two different looks.

DTH: How do you think the transfer portal has impacted the rivalry?

JB: That’s a great point because you’re used to seeing guys over and over throughout the four years, and I think that’s why some guys have developed a hate type of role, whether it be Duke hating a UNC player or UNC hating a Duke player.

That’s the difference — you’re having these guys that are coming in, and maybe they’re there for one year, and then they’re gone for the next year. So you don’t really develop that hatred for someone.

I know hate is a strong word, but when you’re talking about UNC-Duke, there’s no other way to put it.

X: @anna_laible

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Rivalry Edition

Friday, February 2, 2024

5

POSITION PREVIEWS

Both Tar Heel and Blue Devil backcourts tout veterans and rookies RJ Davis and Seth Trimble will likely guard Duke’s Jeremy Roach

By Dylan Stalter Staff Writer sports@dailytarheel.com

DTH DESIGN/GIULI HOFFMANN

How UNC and Duke men’s basketball wings stack up

By Hannah Smith Staff Writer sports@dailytarheel.com

While both the Tar Heels and Blue Devils are known for dynamic guards and strong forwards, this year has seen the wings consistently bring it offensively. Here is a breakdown of UNC’s experienced perimeter players, as well as the more youthful group from Duke: Cormac Ryan Ryan, the experienced 6-foot-5 Notre Dame transfer, makes quick decisions and demonstrates strong defensive skills against opponents, as well as act as an impassioned example for the rest of the team — whether it’s speaking up in huddles or kicking over water coolers in practice.

Ryan is averaging 10 points per game and shooting just under 39 percent from the field.

He is a skilled combo guard who can both shoot and post up if needed against smaller players like Blue Devil guard Jeremy Roach.

Harrison Ingram A junior transfer from Stanford, Ingram has settled into his role at UNC — especially from behind the arc, where he is currently shooting 41 percent.

Head coach Hubert Davis has relied on the 6-foot-7 forward to get to the rim both offensively and defensively. Ingram ranks only second behind Armando Bacot in rebounds, averaging 8.6 per game.

The pair work cohesively on the boards,

which will force the Blue Devils to battle the dual threat that Bacot and Ingram bring.

Mark Mitchell Mitchell, a sophomore forward for the Blue Devils, had a late start to the season after an ankle injury, but has taken off since his first appearance against the Arizona Wildcats in November. The 6-foot-9 forward and versatile defender brings a strong physical presence to the court and does not shy away from driving toward the paint and drawing fouls inside.

However, he’s been inconsistent from a distance, shooting a dismal 15.4 percent from behind the arc. The forward missed several games earlier this year with a knee injury, but returned to full force against Louisville on Jan. 23 and scored eight of Duke’s first 17 points against the Cardinals.

With UNC men’s basketball cruising through conference play, its mixed bag of experience in the backcourt has proven to be a formidable test for opponents.

Led by senior guard RJ Davis, the Tar Heels play with high intensity, even prompting former legendary Duke guards to give their flowers.

“I just like the way they play,” Jay Williams reluctantly said on ESPN in January. “It’s a fast-paced style of play — I like it. They allow RJ Davis to go.”

Heading into his eighth career game against the Blue Devils, Davis will likely once again be tasked with defending guard Jeremy Roach.

The 6-foot-2 senior has an explosive first step, which allows him to get a lead on his defender and opens up his arsenal of moves around the rim. From Euro steps to jump-stop floaters, Roach is at his most dangerous when he can read defenders inside the paint and quickly adjust and finish at the basket.

Coming off the bench to Davis’ aid is sophomore guard Seth Trimble. The sixth man has been a standout defender for the Tar Heels — often touted by his own teammates as UNC’s toughest defender — with his intensity impacting the game outside of the stat sheet.

His physicality often forces bad shots from opponents or completely takes them out of offensive possessions.

This physicality will be key against a player like Roach, who thrives off of creating space.

Although Roach doesn’t shoot the 3-pointer too often — attempting just over three per game — he’s shooting 44.8 percent from behind the arc.

Tyrese Proctor, the 6-foot-5 sophomore from Australia, adds to Duke’s offensive threat in the backcourt. The combo guard facilitates the tempo for the Blue Devils’ offense; he can push the ball up the floor and attack the rim himself or create shots for his teammates, showing off these skills when Duke hosted North Carolina last season. Proctor can pose a serious threat if matched up against a smaller guard, as he uses his size and physicality to his advantage when attacking the rim.

The X-factor in this rivalry matchup, however, may come down to the face-off between the rivals’ first-year starting guards.

UNC’s Elliot Cadeau is a crafty playmaker with full-court vision. He earned himself a spot in the starting lineup, building up confidence as the season progresses, and this confidence has been evident in his flashy play. From no-look passes to fast break jams, his skill set complements the Tar Heels’ offensive depth.

Like Cadeau, Duke’s Jared McCain has come into his own lately. Leading the Blue Devils in three-pointers made with 42 across 19 games, his quick release has allowed him to knock down contested shots. Pair this with shifty handles and offensive creativity, and you get a player that the Tar Heels do not want to get hot.

Editor’s Note: All statistics are updated through Jan. 27.

X: @dylanstalterr

TJ Power Power, a 6-foot-9 forward, can come off the bench and shoot efficiently from behind the arc, as evidenced by his 42.9 three-point percentage.

The Massachusetts native is also known for getting the ball off the glass and dishing it out quickly. Power only averages 7.9 minutes per game, but if Duke finds itself in foul trouble, head coach Jon Scheyer knows he has a sharpshooter who can come in, work the perimeter and get to the rim defensively.

Editor’s Note: All statistics are updated through Jan. 27.

X: @smithhannahg

DTH DESIGN/GRACE DAVIDSON PHOTOS COURTESY OF DYLAN THIESSEN, SAMANTHA LEWIS (DTH) MORGAN CHU (THE CHRONICLE)

Analysis: Comparing the UNC and Duke notable bigs

By Erin Singleton

DTH DESIGN/LAUREN PYKE

Staff Writer sports@dailytarheel.com

The return of many experienced, dynamic big men will play a key role in this season’s rivalry games. Here’s a look at how the notable bigs on each team have performed so far:

an effective rim protector on defense. tough defender, recording an average of around two steals and one block per Jae’Lyn Withers game this season.

His potential Tar Heel defenders include Bacot and Washington, when he comes off the bench. North Carolina will need to be aware of the speed that Filipowski presents against defenders on the dribble and guard his signature left-hand finish.

Withers, who recorded his first double-double as a Tar Heel against his former team on Jan. 17, looks to be peaking at the right time.

The Louisville transfer brings significant energy to the team when he comes off the bench and has contributed heavily to UNC’s increased depth this season.

His 6-foot-9-inch frame will serve him well on the outside, as he will likely match up with Duke’s Ryan Young.

Both players present strong hustle and footwork in the paint, with all the makings of a tough matchup.

Armando Bacot Bacot currently leads the ACC in rebounds with an average 10 per game and is also averaging 13.6 points. Additionally, he is shooting 79.2 percent from the free throw line — much higher than his previous average of 67 percent in the 2021-22 season.

In UNC’s two losses to Duke last year, Bacot averaged 15.5 points and 10.5 rebounds for a double-double.

To come out on top this year, Bacot will need to make better passes and allow UNC to fully utilize its wings and guards, in addition to his regular scoring and rebounding performance.

The Blue Devils will be eager to push Bacot out to the perimeter and force him to lose control of his usual post. Teams like Kentucky, who did this successfully earlier in the season, came out of the game victorious. Bacot will likely draw a matchup against

Standing seven feet tall, Filipowski’s height and physicality have provided offensive firepower for Duke in the paint, but it’s his athleticism and playmaking ability that help him stand out in the face of other bigs.

Filipowski has made nearly 50 percent of his field goals this season and averages 17.7 points per game.

His 37.9 percent shooting from 3-point range demonstrates his versatility on the floor. He is also a

Filipowski, who brings extreme been a different story. versatility and will challenge Bacot’s The sophomore forward has logged 171 minutes and is averaging scoring abilities in the paint.

67.3 percent shooting on field goals, as well as 50 percent from 3-point range.

Jalen Washington He’s become comfortable in a variety of positions on the floor, whether it be rebounding and blocking under the basket or shooting outside the arc.

His shooting ability makes him a key offensive contributor, while his 7-foot-4-inch wingspan makes him

Kyle Filipowski

PHOTOS COURTESY SAMANTHA LEWIS, HEATHER DIEHL (DTH) MORGAN CHU (THE CHRONICLE)

Washington spent much of his final year of high school recovering from a knee injury, which hindered his first-year season with the Tar Heels, causing him to only record 113 minutes. This year, however, has

Ryan Young Young, a sixth-year, transferred to Duke from Northwestern last season.

Although he hasn’t been starting for the Blue Devils, he averaged 24.5 minutes across two games following the injury of Mark Mitchell on Jan. 9.

Mitchell’s basketball experience lead to impressive shot creation for Young, who has made 10 of his attempted 15 field goals in the past six games.

North Carolina must be prepared defensively for a strong Young, who has shown his ability to move swiftly through the lane and past defenders in the front court, as well as come up with timely rebounds.

Editor’s Note: All statistics are updated through Jan. 27.

X: @dthsports

4

Friday, February 2, 2024

Rivalry Edition

ANALYSIS

Defense and veteran experience define first half of UNC’s season

PHOTOS COURTESY OF NATALIE PEOPLES, JEROME IBRAHIM, SAURYA ACHARYA (DTH), MORGAN CHU (THE CHRONICLE) DTH DATA/SARAH WOOSTER AND HARI POTHARAJU

A look at the statistics that best narrate North Carolina’s dominant start

By Cade Shoemaker Staff Writer sports@dailytarheel.com

For a game as simple as basketball, stats and analytics play a significant role in evaluating a team’s performance throughout the season. Here are a handful of statistics that best narrate North Carolina’s dominant start, as well as its unblemished record in ACC play.

Opponents are shooting 29.2 percent from the 3-point arc The strongest attribute of the Tar Heels’ defense so far has been their ability to run teams off the 3-point line. UNC is on pace to hold opponents to under 30 percent from three — a program low that would surpass the 2014-15 season.

Despite losing the skill set of Leaky Black — arguably the nation’s best on-ball defender from last year — North Carolina bolstered its defense through the transfer portal. The addition of Harrison Ingram, Jae’Lyn Withers and Cormac Ryan brought more athleticism and length to pair with the already solid defending of Armando Bacot and Seth Trimble.

The influx of defenders has allowed UNC to stifle opponents’ collective field-goal percentage to only 39.7 percent. Combine that with North Carolina’s dominant rebounding margin and the Tar Heels are rated No. 3 in adjusted defensive efficiency per KenPom. Preventing Duke from heating up from deep will be key for UNC, as the Blue Devils tout six 3-point shooters above 37 percent.

down the line.

So even if senior guard RJ Davis — the ACC leader in points per game — happens to struggle against the Blue Devils, the Tar Heels can likely fall back on the bench.

Fourth oldest team in college basketball Along with the plethora of defenders grabbed in the transfer portal, Davis brought in plenty of experience.

His 14-man roster boasts five graduate players and three seniors to mentor the lone pair of true firstyears, making his team the fourtholdest across Division I per KenPom. In stark contrast, the Blue Devils are sporting a squad of first-years and sophomores spearheaded by senior guard Jeremy Roach. This handful of underclassmen have still had a taste of the rivalry, however, with the majority of its rotation — specifically the sophomores — familiar with the Dean E. Smith Center.

Editor’s Note: All statistics are updated through Jan. 27.

No. 1 in ACC with 83.1 points per game On the other side of midcourt, the Tar Heels are currently averaging the most points per game since head coach Hubert Davis has taken over the helm of the program. With eight players tallying doubledigit performances this year, the scoring is far less top-heavy than last season.

Davis’ emphasis on pushing the ball up the floor, as well as an uptick in 3-point shooting, has allowed North Carolina to be more efficient.

Bench scoring has also nearly doubled from last season. What was a seven or eight-man rotation with limited scoring in the past has now expanded to a consistent eight or nine-man group that has capable scorers

X: @cadeshoemaker23

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Rivalry Edition

Friday, February 2, 2024

3

REWIND

Looking back at Davis’ buzzer beater against Duke It’s been nearly 50 years since he made the iconic shot

By Shelby Swanson Sports Editor sports@dailytarheel.com

Phil Ford couldn’t bear to watch.

It was senior day for the 1973-74 UNC men’s basketball team and with about 30 seconds left in regulation, an upset at the hands of the Blue Devils seemed inevitable. With the game still blaring from his television, Ford stepped outside.

“I started washing my dad’s car because I didn’t want to watch the guys lose,” Ford, who was a senior in high school at the time, told The Daily Tar Heel. “I had to go back inside to get something and the game was still on.

To make a long story short, I didn’t see it live but I’ve seen many replays of it.”

The “it” in question? One of the most iconic shots in UNC men’s basketball history.

Nearly 50 years ago, on March 2, 1974, North Carolina first-year Walter Davis banked in a longrange buzzer beater to cap off an eight-point comeback in the final 17 seconds against Duke. The shot sent the game to overtime, where the Tar Heels won, 96-92. “[Davis] said after the game, ‘As soon as I let it go, I knew it was way off,’” Art Chansky, a veteran sportswriter and author of several UNC basketball books, told The DTH. “But it was so off that it hit the backboard and banged into the basket.”

Down by two, Dean Smith decided in the huddle Davis would take the last shot. He would be protected by a

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNC ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS Walter Davis (24) shoots the ball on March 2, 1974, in a game against Duke in Carmichael Auditorium.

double screen past midcourt. But first, a long inbounds pass had to be made.

Oh, and there were three seconds on the clock.

Charlotte Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak, who assisted on the shot as a then-sophomore, can still recall each detail in vivid color.

“We drilled it so often in practice, all you had to do was throw the ball to a space and then you’re assuming the other person is doing what they’re supposed to do, and they’re going to turn around and the ball is going to be there,” Kupchak told The DTH. “So really, I just threw the ball to an area and I knew [what] he was going to do.”

In football, it’s referred to as an out route — Davis ran down, planted and broke to the right.

“As fate would have it, [Davis] caught it and I think he took a dribble and just banked it in,” Kupchak said.

“I remember the crowd leaving the building and then slowly as we scored — two more, two more and a couple of free throws — they started coming back into the building.”

Then-assistant sports editor Michael Davis, recapping the game in The DTH the following Monday, wrote: “It’s very hard to determine at this point who were the biggest losers in the Tar Heels’ miraculous 96-92 victory over Duke — the Blue Devils themselves or those skeptics who left in the last minute of regulation play.”

And for those who were lucky enough to see the play in person, the moment took on a mythical, almost

hazy, quality. Bill Cole, a retired sports journalist who worked for the Winston-Salem Journal for nearly 40 years, said people still disagree on how far the shot was.

UNC refers to it as a 25-foot shot.

But as for others?

“Some people say it’s 40 [feet],” Cole told The DTH. “Other people say he hit it from midcourt, and then there’s other people who swear he shot it from somewhere out on Fetzer Field.”

Ron Green Jr., who worked as a Charlotte Observer sportswriter for 23 years, said the shot became part of the lore and legend of UNC basketball.

As a young teenager living in Charlotte, Green remembers running outside to his basketball goal immediately after the game and trying to duplicate the shot with his friends.

“It was one of those moments you didn’t quite see coming,” he told the DTH. “But here we are 50 years later still talking about it and watching it.”

Just ask Kupchak. He said since he moved back to North Carolina six years ago, people continue to bring up that play. Or rather, the play.

“The Duke shot, that carries with you forever because it instills in you the never-give-up attitude,” Kupchak said. “You’re never out of it.”

While many famous shots have followed, Davis’ buzzer-beater is still renowned as a poignant symbol of the utter madness and brilliance of the Tobacco Road Rivalry. And almost 50 years later, that play is equally exciting — or to quote Woody Durham’s iconic call on that early March afternoon — unbelievable.

X: @shelbymswanson

2

Friday, February 2, 2024

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After a Duke sweep and missing the NCAA tournament, UNC faces rival in first ranked bout in five years DTH DESIGN/OLIVIA GOODSON DTH/SAMANTHA LEWIS AND LARA CROCHIK