By Mark Bergin, WRAL senior multiplatform producer

The Battle of the Blues rivalry between North Carolina and Duke has created some of the most memorable college basketball finishes in the history of the sport.

North Carolina has won 143 games while Durham has won 115 games in the series going into Saturday’s game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Take a glance at some of the most thrilling conclusions in the longstanding rivalry of college basketball’s top teams:

Caleb Love’s 3-point shot secures the win for his team against Duke in the Final Four, thereby bringing an end to Coach K’s coaching career.

April 2, 2022

During the 2022 Final Four, Caleb Love scored a 3-pointer with 24.8 seconds remaining, resulting in a 78-74 lead for the Tar Heels. As a result, North Carolina defeated Duke 81-77 and moved on to the championship game. Unfortunately, North Carolina was ultimately defeated by Kansas in the final game.

Duke’s head coach, Mike Krzyzewski, retired after 42 seasons with the program following the Final Four game. The top scorer of the game was Love with 28 points.

Love told reporters that he watches the footage of his game-winning shot on a regular basis, months later.

On March 5, 2022, in Coach K’s last game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke suffered a loss in the Final Four after North Carolina, who was not ranked, surprised them with a 94-81 upset victory over No. 4 Duke.

In the first matchup following the passing of Dean Smith, Duke makes a comeback in overtime to defeat UNC.

Feb. 18, 2015

Eleven days following the passing of renowned North Carolina coach Dean Smith, the Tar Heels made their way to Cameron Indoor Stadium to face Duke.

Both teams gathered at center court before the game for a moment of silence to honor Smith.

UNC was able to secure a 10-point advantage in the last four minutes of the game, even though they were behind at the half. Duke ended up tying the game at the end of regulation with a 9-2 surge. Ultimately, the Blue Devils emerged victorious in overtime, with a final score of 92-90.

not enough for No. 1 The text is referring to Austin Rivers, who made a game-winning shot in Chapel Hill but it wasn’t enough for his team, who was ranked number 1 at the time.

Austin Rivers hit a last-second shot in Chapel Hill, but the top-ranked team was still unable to secure a win.

Feb. 8, 2012

With just over two minutes remaining, the University of North Carolina’s Tar Heels held a 10-point lead at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill.

The Blue Devils closed the gap to four points with back-to-back 3-pointers.

With only 14 seconds remaining, Duke’s Tyler Zeller unintentionally redirected a shot that resulted in two points for the Blue Devils, reducing the Tar Heels’ lead to just one point.

Zeller was tripped on the subsequent action, and successfully made his initial free throw but missed his second attempt.

Austin Rivers, a first-year player for Duke and highly sought after recruit, dribbled the ball down the court and maneuvered around a defensive screen from Ryan Kelly. At the last second, Rivers launched a 3-pointer over the 7-foot-tall Cody Zeller and secured the Blue Devils’ victory with a score of 85-84.

“I declared that it was the greatest day of my life,” expressed Rivers to ESPN’s Erin Andrews following the match.

Marvin Williams’ putback sealed the deal for a 9-point comeback with three minutes remaining.

March 6, 2005

In 1993, North Carolina was aiming to secure their first ACC regular season championship without any shared title. However, their opponents, Duke’s notable players J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams, hindered their victory by scoring a total of 39 points.

Duke secured a 73-64 lead with approximately three minutes remaining in the game thanks to a late 3-pointer from Lee Melchionni.

UNC came back to reduce the deficit to 73-71 with less than a minute remaining.

Ewing from Duke was advancing the ball up the court, but Noel from UNC appeared behind him and caused a loss of possession. The Tar Heels gained control of the ball.

In the following play, UNC’s guard Raymond Felton was fouled. He successfully made the first free throw but missed the second, resulting in the Tar Heels trailing 73-72.

Felton passed the ball to Marvin Williams, who successfully shot and was fouled. Williams then made the free throw, resulting in UNC taking the lead with a score of 75-73.

Afterwards, Redick attempted a 3-pointer from the left wing, but it was too long. Ewing also attempted a shot, but it missed, leading to UNC students rushing onto the court to celebrate.

Chris Duhon’s game-winning reverse layup

Feb. 5, 2004

During the 2004 match against North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke’s Chris Duhon successfully made a reverse layup with only 6.5 seconds remaining in overtime, securing a victory for Duke with a final score of 83-81.

This was the initial home rivalry match for Roy Williams as the head coach, facing off against the Blue Devils.

Duhon stated that he enjoys having the ability to boast about his accomplishments compared to those of his friend and former North Carolina guard, Raymond Felton.

“It’s like my secret weapon that I can always use and say, ‘Hey, remember that time I pulled off a reverse layup to win the game against you?'” Duhon stated.

Coach K reached a milestone in his career by winning his 500th game, as Duke made a comeback on Senior Day.

Feb. 28, 1998

During Senior Day, the Blue Devils overcame a 17-point deficit in the second half with the help of talented freshman player Elton Brand, who was later selected as the top pick in the 1999 NBA Draft. Prior to the game, Duke was ranked as the number one team in the nation.

North Carolina’s number 3 team had Antawn Jamison as their national player of the year and also had future NBA standout Vince Carter.

Krzyzewski achieved his 500th career win in the game. At the final buzzer, senior point guard Steve Wojciechowski ran straight to his coach and the two shared a long embrace. The game also saw a rare instance of the “Cameron Crazies” rushing onto the court.

The University of North Carolina, ranked second in the country, emerged victorious in an exciting double-overtime game as their coach, Coach K, was absent for the season.

Feb. 2, 1995

Due to undergoing surgery on his back, Mike Krzyzewski was unable to coach for the majority of the 1995 season. As a result, the Blue Devils experienced one of their least successful seasons during Krzyzewski’s time as head coach, ending with a record of 13-18 and 2-14 in the ACC.

The No. 2 Tar Heels hosted the game and Rasheed Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse executed multiple dunks, resulting in a 17-point lead for UNC. Despite this, Duke managed to make a comeback and push the game into double overtime.

Duke’s deficit was 3 points with three seconds left in the first overtime period when Serge Zwikker, UNC’s center, failed to make two free throws.

Jeff Capel, a guard for Duke, made an incredible shot from the logo to tie the game and spark excitement in Cameron Indoor. Despite UNC ultimately winning in double overtime, Capel’s shot remains a memorable moment.

UNC defeats Duke, the undefeated reigning NCAA champion.

Feb. 5, 1992

Duke came into this game as the current national champions and with a flawless 17-0 record.

North Carolina put an end to any debate over Duke’s chances of remaining undefeated, even though they did not score a single field goal in the last nine and a half minutes of the game.

In the last minute, Christian Laettner was unable to make two shots.

The University of North Carolina made successful free throws towards the end of the game, with center Eric Montross making a couple of them.

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The competition is often referred to as the “Bloody Montross Game” due to an incident where Montross required stitches for a head laceration during the first half. The injury occurred when he collided with another player from Duke, resulting in a collision with the player’s teeth.

A player from Duke caused another injury to open under Montross’ eye.

Montross recorded 12 points, nine rebounds, three blocks, and two steals in the game, and successfully restricted All-America center Christian Laettner to just four field goals.

Phil Henderson from Duke attempts to disrupt the huddle of rival team UNC.

March 12, 1989

North Carolina emerged as the victor in the ACC Championship match, defeating Duke with a close score of 77-74. J.R. Reid was honored with the title of tournament MVP.

Although, when Phil Henderson from Duke attempted to intrude upon North Carolina’s huddle, the situation became contentious.

Danny Ferry from Duke University sustained a facial injury during one of the altercations.

During the game’s final stretch, UNC player King Rice successfully made four consecutive free throws, which played a significant role in securing the win for the Tar Heels.

The match was a deciding one as both teams had previously won on each other’s home courts earlier in the season.

Duke achieves ‘Triple Crown’

March 13, 1988

Danny Ferry made 8 out of 20 shots, but he scored a crucial basket with 1:25 left and Quin Snyder’s two free throws with four seconds left secured a 65-61 victory for the Blue Devils.

Krzyzewski’s first undefeated season against the Tar Heels was achieved during the ACC tournament, with the team going 3-0. This was the only time both teams were in the top 10 rankings for all three games.

In 1988, Duke began a streak of reaching the Final Four for five consecutive years and winning two national championships.

In the 1984 ACC Semifinal, Duke causes an upset by defeating UNC.

March 10, 1984

UNC had emerged victorious in both of their regular-season matchups against Duke. One of the games was a nail-biting double-overtime contest, during which Michael Jordan scored a whopping 25 points to propel UNC to an undefeated record in ACC play.

At the halftime of the tournament, Duke was in the lead with a score of 40-32. However, the Tar Heels dominated the beginning of the second half with a 12-2 run to catch up and tie the game. Despite Duke regaining the lead, Jordan made a crucial offensive rebound and shot with only five seconds left, decreasing Duke’s lead to 77-75.

David Henderson from Duke was fouled and failed to make his initial free throw attempt. UNC then used its last timeout with three seconds remaining. However, an inaccurate inbound pass resulted in the Blue Devils getting possession and causing an upset.

Walter Davis’ shot caps eight-point comeback, sending game into overtime win against Duke

March 2, 1974

At the Carmichael Auditorium in Chapel Hill, Duke was ahead by 8 points with 17 seconds remaining in the second half. (Note: This game took place before the introduction of the 3-point shot in 1986 and the addition of the shot clock in 1985 in NCAA men’s basketball.)

Bobby Jones from UNC successfully shot two free throws, decreasing the deficit by 6 points.

Next, after intercepting the inbounds pass, Walter Davis transmitted the ball to John Kuester for a successful layup, reducing Duke’s advantage to 86-82.

Duke had a hard time passing the ball back onto the court. Duke’s freshman, Tate Armstrong, had the ball knocked away from him, resulting in the Tar Heels gaining possession once more.

Afterwards, Jones scored a layup, reducing the margin to 86-84.

After being fouled, Duke’s Pete Kramer failed to make a free throw. UNC immediately called a timeout. With only three seconds remaining and trailing by two points, UNC advanced the ball to the halfcourt line and passed it to Walter Davis. Davis took three dribbles and successfully made a long shot from the right wing, tying the game and forcing it into overtime.

In modern times, Davis’ shot would have been worth three points.

The North Carolina team emerged victorious with a final score of 96-92 after an overtime period.

In 1974, the Blue Devils fell to the lowest position in the ACC due to their defeat. They remained in last place within the ACC in both 1975 and 1976.

Fred Lind’s clutch performance in the closing moments led Duke to a triple-overtime victory.

March 2, 1968

Fred Lind, who usually served as a backup junior center for Duke, was able to participate in the rivalry game due to his teammates’ fouls and injuries.

Lind successfully defended a shot as the clock ran out, converted two free throws to extend the game into a second overtime, and ultimately made a jump shot in the last seconds to force a third overtime.

The final score was 87-86, with Duke coming out on top.

The Brawl

Feb. 4, 1961

Duke emerged victorious with a score of 81-77, but a forceful foul committed by their key player Art Heyman instigated a brawl throughout the entire gym.

Heyman committed a foul against Tar Heels guard Larry Brown, who later went on to achieve legendary status as a coach. In response, Brown retaliated with punches.

Donnie Walsh, a fellow UNC team member who went on to work in the front office for the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks, exacerbated the altercation, which ultimately resulted in a physical altercation involving both law enforcement and spectators.

Heyman, Brown, and Walsh were suspended for the remaining duration of the regular season.

Before ultimately choosing Duke in 1959, Heyman initially committed to attending North Carolina.

Many attribute this altercation as the catalyst for the ongoing rivalry between Duke and UNC.

Source: wralsportsfan.com