Duke vs North Carolina: 25 best games ever in the Tobacco Road rivalry
By Bryan Mauro
20. 02/28/1981
Duke has had many stars over the years. Gene Banks was one of those stars. Banks was a star at Duke before Coach K arrived and he holds a special place in the annals of Duke Basketball history. In his final game, he was out with an ending straight out of a storybook. After trailing the entire game Banks hit a shot at the top of the key with two seconds remaining to tie the game and send the game to overtime. Banks scored six of the eight Duke points in overtime. His efforts led to a victory over the heated rivals in his last game in the rivalry. Duke wins 66-65.
19.02/18/2015
A farewell to a legend. This game was in memory of Dean Smith who had recently passed away. After the tribute, the two teams remembered coach Smith the best way they know how, by playing a great back and forth game. Duke trailed by double digits late in the game, that is when Tyus Jones took the game over. He scored nine points in a row down the stretch to tie the game. Duke wins the game 92-90 in overtime.
18. 02/03/2000
1990 was the last time North Carolina entered this game unranked. Duke was the team with the loaded roster led by Shane Battier. Battier helped lead Duke to a 17-point halftime lead. When the second half tipped off that is when North Carolina freshman Joseph Forte took the game over. Forte hit a huge three with five seconds left to tie the game at 73. In the overtime period, the other Duke star Carlos Boozer took the game over scored seven points to lead the Blue Devils to a victory. Despite the best efforts of Forte Duke wins 90-86 in overtime.
17. 03/10/1984
Coach K needed something to turn the fortunes of the Duke program. At this point, they were the far inferior program to North Carolina. Entering the game North Carolina was ranked No. 1 in the country. A little preview of the North Carolina roster was Michael Jordan who just a little over a year earlier destroyed Duke, Matt Doherty and Sam Perkins. The Tar Heels ran away with the ACC regular-season crown.
No one gave Duke a fighting chance in this game, yet Duke was able to come away with the victory marking the biggest upset in this rivalry’s history. The Blue Devils were led by Johnny Dawkins and Mark Alaire. This win was the defining win in the early Coach K tenure and signaled a turning point in the Duke rebuild. The rivalry would never be the same again. Duke wins this crucial game 77-75.
16. 03/03/1984
Johnny Dawkins and Mark Alaire were two Duke legends and they made their presence known in this game. However, the loaded roster of the North Carolina Tar Heels proved too much again. Alaire made a basket with 20 seconds to go to give Duke a lead. On the ensuing possession, they missed the front end of a one and one. North Carolina star Matt Doherty grabbed the rebound and went the length of the floor. He buried a 15-footer at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
The first overtime ended deadlocked at 79 all and in the second overtime Michael Jordan and Sam Perkins took over. Alaire and Dawkins had yet to get Duke over the hump against the Tar Heels. The fantastic trio of Jordan, Doherty and Perkins was too much for Duke again. Duke was so close in regulation to a huge win but couldn’t finish. The Tar Heels win a thriller in double overtime 96-83.