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The last time Duke went into Chapel Hill, two buzzer-beaters led the Blue Devils to a miraculous comeback win. But there would be no comeback this time around, as North Carolina held on to a commanding first-half lead to topple Duke 91-73 victory Saturday night in the Dean E. Smith Center.
The early spring sunshine was out for all 60 minutes of Duke’s bout with Virginia, but it was Darcy Bourne and Piper Hampsch who shined the brightest.
In many ways, Duke's performance against the second-ranked Orange mirrored last weekend’s matchup against the top-ranked Tar Heels, albeit on a slightly different time scale.
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It was evident that physicality, or the lack thereof for one team, played a chief role in Duke’s 91-73 loss to North Carolina.
In the final game of the ACC regular season, the Blue Devils succumbed to a near perfect start from the Tar Heels and trail 42-26 heading to the locker room. Here are five observations from the game’s first half.
Our beat writers are here to make their predictions for the 6 p.m. regular-season finale.
Duke and North Carolina are playing more and more like the blue bloods that they truly are, and are hardly likely to cough the ball up as often as they did in February’s battle.
Although they’ll have to go through perennial powerhouse Virginia, the Blue Devils appear to have a mix of experience and newcomers that’ll make them contenders to finally take home the conference crown.
At 7:02 pm, Shelby Walters was in the dugout with five no-hit innings under her belt, the game still scoreless. By 7:09 pm, Shelby Waters had recorded the first no-hitter in Blue Devil history.
If there’s one thing the Blue Devils could use, it’s another lights-out shooting night from one of their veterans.
"Honestly I had about five seconds to think and kind of soak it in before I got drenched with water.... I saw my fellow sophomore [Megan Furtney], she was crying, looked over at my parents and they were crying, so I was just overwhelmed with emotion," Shepherd said.
Bouncing back from a rough 12th-place finish the previous weekend, Duke strung together three rounds of solid golf to finish fourth in the Wake Forest Invitational at the legendary Pinehurst No. 2 golf course.
The most significant change since the last time these two teams met is undoubtedly the emergence of big men Walker Kessler and Mark Williams.
Duke’s first match-up with North Carolina was one of its many heartbreaking losses this season, with the Blue Devils falling 91-87 and squandering a chance to tie the game in its final moments.
Duke has taken its first step in finding athletic director Kevin White’s successor.
This loss could very well prove to be the game that costs Duke the opportunity to play in March Madness. A devastating outcome to a hard-fought game.
The three guarantees in life: death, taxes and a Finesilver brother heading to the NCAA Championships for Duke wrestling.
Cole Reznick has led the Duke men all season long. And this past weekend, all his hard work put his name in the Blue Devil record books.
With the exception of Hurt and Goldwire, the majority of this year’s rotation is expected back in Durham next fall. Each game is a lesson learned for a team still developing every day.
It may not be the NCAA tournament just yet, but it is March. And this game was filled with madness for all 45 minutes.
