A year ago, the men's basketball team moved quickly off the court while many fans struggled to hold back tears following a narrow loss to the Tar Heels.
This time around, the only damp eyes in the house belonged to Matt Christensen, Jason Williams and Carlos Boozer, who played their final game in Cameron Indoor Stadium as the Blue Devils (26-3, 13-3 in the ACC) rolled over North Carolina (8-19, 4-12) on the way to a 93-68 victory.
"I am really proud of our fans and our seniors," said coach Mike Krzyzewski . "To beat a very determined North Carolina team is really good. Carolina played extremely hard and came after us. They didn't play like a team with a losing record. As a result we had to play really well."
Duke jumped on the Tar Heels from the outset. Four minutes into the half, Jason Williams caught the ball on the left side. Despite a foul from Melvin Scott, Williams, who finished with 37 points, nailed the three-pointer and then hit the free throw to give Duke an 18-6 lead.
"Jason was spectacular," Krzyzewski said. "He started off right away and it was one of those incredible performances. It was the kind of thing you dream about."
The television timeout appeared to allow the Tar Heels to catch their breath. For the next six minutes, North Carolina played the Blue Devils almost even. The score stood at 29-16 with 10 minutes remaining in the half.
But the defensive pressure and the temperature began to affect the Tar Heels, and Duke began to expand its lead.
Williams hit a three-pointer, and Carlos Boozer scored off a miss on the next possession. Meanwhile, North Carolina struggled to get shots off. Daniel Ewing nailed a jumper from the elbow, and with seven minutes left, Boozer scored in transition to give Duke a 38-18 lead.
"We just wanted to keep pressuring them," Chris Duhon said. "It was kind of hot in here today and we felt that we were in better shape. We tried to wear them down. But they are a great team, they kept fighting."
The defense took its toll, as North Carolina finished the half shooting an anemic 27.6 percent. But aggressive play from the Tar Heels prevented Duke from adding to its lead in the final seven minutes as the half ended with the score 47-31.
In the early minutes of the second half, the Blue Devils continued their up-tempo play, but were unable to pull away due to hot shooting from North Carolina. After two consecutive three-pointers from Jason Capel, who finished the night with 28 points, Duke's lead stood at 60-47 with 14:34 left to play.
"Capel is a great player," Duhon said. "He's one of the top players in the ACC. But we started getting some breaks. We started getting some turnovers and getting some easy buckets and that helped us keep the lead."
Following Capel's second three, the Blue Devil defense clamped down and quickly eliminated any thought of a comeback.
While the Tar Heels shot 66.7 percent in the second half, they managed to take only 18 shots, as Duke forced 15 turnovers after the intermission.
"Turnovers killed us," North Carolina coach Matt Doherty said. "Duke brings that out because they are so good defensively. We had 10 in the first half and 15 in the second. That led to them having 72 shots [to the Tar Heels 47]. It was like giving them 25 possessions before the game started."
The Blue Devils ran their lead to as great as 91-63 on the way to a 93-68 victory. The comfortable margin left the graduating players the opportunity to reflect on their careers.
"I've been thinking about it all week," Boozer said. "With five seconds left we got a rebound and I just sitting, watching the clock tick off and thinking about it. It makes you appreciate everything. The fans, they sit out there for months sometimes. They stand in the rain for hours before a game. What a magnificent atmosphere. We're lucky to play here."
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