A wild scene in Chapel Hill for a crazy Duke-North Carolina finish on ESPN. Credit: ESPN Credit: ESPN
By Matt Clapp on

The top rivalry in college basketball delivered in a big way on Saturday night with No. 14 North Carolina taking down No. 4 Duke 71-68 in Chapel Hill. It was a crazy finish that featured a buzzer-beating three-pointer, two court-storming incidents, and a celebratory coaching legend in the stands.

ESPN did an excellent job capturing the madness to cap off an all-day effort from the network after College GameDay coverage from Chapel Hill earlier on Saturday.

With the game tied 68-68, North Carolina’s Seth Trimble nailed a three that appeared to end the game.

Dan Shulman had the play-by-play call for ESPN: “Trimble! Got it! And Carolina wins it!”

Tar Heels fans immediately stormed the court at the Dean Dome.

But officials went to review the play to see if there was time left on the clock.

“And there’s still 0.4 to go,” color commentator Jay Bilas noted as ESPN showed a replay of Trimble’s bucket, accompanied by the game clock. “So, they’re going to have to clear this court.”

“And how in the world are they going to get all of these people off the court if they are putting time back on the clock?” Shulman asked.

“They have now put 0.4 on the clock. You can see it above each basket,” Shulman added. “And now the announcement is being made that this game is not over yet. And somehow, all of these folks are going to have to find their way back to their seats.”

“I may go on the court and look for some loose change,” Bilas quipped.

“There’s debris all over the court, and some people have spilled some beverages as well,” Bilas added.

ESPN reporter Kris Budden added more on the scene.

“By the time the players found out, they were already almost into the tunnel trying to get into the locker room safely,” Budden said. “From where I am staying, there are towels, there are mops, as the equipment staff is trying frantically. There were crushed peanuts and water, everything on this court.”

Roughly five minutes after the Trimble three-pointer, Duke was unable to get a shot off (with Isaiah Evans dropping the lengthy inbound pass just beyond half-court), and the game finally concluded. And then North Carolina fans stormed the court again.

“The heave. And it’s juggled by Evans, and now it’s over,” Shulman said. “Their largest comeback win over Duke in 25 years, and a game in which, remarkably, they did not lead until the final second of regulation! And I think this is our first double court-storming in quite a while!”

The ESPN cameras found three-time Tar Heels national champion coach Roy Williams enjoying things from the stands before and after the wild comeback victory was secured.

North Carolina finished the game on a 9-0 run over the final two minutes and 25 seconds.

The Tar Heels get a huge win to boost their NCAA Tournament resume and improve to 19-4 on the season (7-3 in ACC play). Duke suffers just its second loss of the season (21-2) and its first in ACC play (10-1).

Duke and North Carolina will meet for a rematch in what will be each team’s regular-season finale on Saturday, March 7 (6:30, ESPN) at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.

He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.

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