It is Feb. 28, 1998, at approximately 3:30 p.m. on a sunny afternoon.
North Carolina freshman center Brendan Haywood steps to the foul line with his team down two points with under two seconds remaining in their contest against archrival Duke.
The young freshman is obviously cognizant of a packed Cameron Indoor Stadium on its feet cheering as loud as it possibly can. He misses both free throws and Duke is able to snatch the regular season ACC championship away from the Tar Heels, winning the contest 77-75.
Fast-forward three years. Duke senior forward Shane Battier fouls Haywood with 1.2 seconds remaining on an attempted steal and, once again, the Greensboro native goes to the charity stripe in the game's waning moments with an opportunity to put the Tar Heels over the top. This time, the confident seven-footer drains his two free throws effortlessly, practically ensuring an 85-83 UNC victory.
"I was definitely remembering those free throws," Haywood said. "That was the first thing that was running through my mind. But I just had to focus and go ahead and follow through and think of my mechanics. Luckily, they went in for me. There's a lot to be said about luck."
After Haywood sank his two free throws, the Blue Devils hoped for a little luck of their own. Only a last-second heave by Duke freshman Chris Duhon would allow the Blue Devils to win the game. And as his 50-footer clanked off the left side of the rim as the clock hit 0.00, North Carolina (18-2, 8-0 in the ACC) triumphed, snapping a five-game losing streak to the Blue Devils (19-2, 7-1) and grabbing sole possession of first place in
Of course, for a long time, it looked as if the Tar Heels would not need last-second heroics to seal the victory. Down 17-13 nearly five-and-a-half minutes into the game, UNC's swingmen took over, as junior Jason Capel, brother of former Duke star Jeff Capel, and sophomore Joseph Forte combined for 25 first-half points, many of which came in a pivotal 12-minute stretch that saw a Tar Heel deficit of four transform into a lead of 11.
Meanwhile, nothing seemed to be going right for the Blue Devils. Senior captain Shane Battier, playing in his final UNC home game, shot an atrocious 1-8 from the field in the first 20 minutes while center Carlos Boozer was unable to even register a shot and was confined to the Duke bench for seven minutes with foul trouble. In addition, as a team, the Blue Devils shot a paltry four-of-11 from the free throw line.
According to Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, this erratic play was probably attributed to pregame excitement that could not be contained.
"Sometimes you want it too much," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "I sensed it from the beginning, they were too ready, too emotional, and really I spent most of the game trying to settle them down."
Duke's backcourt, however, was a different story. Leading scorer Jason Williams recorded 12 first-half points to keep the Blue Devils in the game and freshman combo guard Chris Duhon scored five points in a pivotal stretch in the last five minutes of the stanza to narrow UNC's margin to double digits going into halftime.
From that point on, the game took on the usual nip-and-tuck style that has become a trademark of Duke-North Carolina matchups. After trailing for nearly 20 minutes, the Blue Devils took their first lead of the second half, 50-49, when Williams scored his 17th point of the contest off a steal and subsequent pass from Duhon with 14:20 remaining.
For the next 10 minutes, the lead seesawed back and forth between the two squads, until the Tar Heels opened up a six-point advantage with 4:34 remaining, as Forte, who exploded for 24 points and 16 rebounds, nailed a three off a dish from point guard Ronald Curry.
"Joe was huge," Tar Heel coach Matt Doherty said. "He had 16 rebounds-that is unbelievable."
The Blue Devils came storming back, though, scoring seven consecutive points over the next minute to regain the lead at 71-70. Battier followed up a jumper with two free throws and Williams, who notched a game-high 32 points, set off an eruption from the Cameron crowd by hammering home a three-pointer with 3:45 left on the clock.
This spurt was short-lived, however, because Haywood immediately knocked down two free throws to throw the advantage back to the Tar Heels, an advantage they would not relinquish for the rest of the game. More importantly, Haywood's shots from the charity stripe served as a precursor to the game's exciting finale.
"I said a little prayer when Brendan was up at the foul line," Tar Heel coach Matt Doherty said. "There is not a young man who works any harder than Brendan at his game and he's gotten scrutinized a lot over his career for his foul shooting and scoring and different things. To hit those two foul shots, he deserved it."
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