Duke vs North Carolina: 25 best games ever in the Tobacco Road rivalry

5. 03/15/2019

The most recent game in the rivalry took place in the ACC tournament. The matchups last year were all North Carolina in the regular season. Most of that can be attributed to the fact the superstar Zion Williamson was not available due to injury in the first two meetings. In the third meeting, Zion was back and Duke was a much different team with him on the floor.

The game started out just as the other two games had. It was all North Carolina early on. The Tar Heels built an early double-digit lead behind their star Coby White. The second half the tides would turn and in the waning moments, Zion had the ball. He originally missed the shot and was able to tip in his own miss. Much like he did many times against the rest of the ACC. Zion led Duke to a victory in the ACC tournament 74-73.

4. 02/07/2006

JJ Redick is one of Duke’s greatest players and he is also one of the rivalries most hated players as well. This was his last game in Chapel Hill and he was going to make the most of it. In this game, Redick scored 35 points and made five threes. Those 35 points were the most ever scored by a Duke player in the history of this rivalry. North Carolina fans will tell you that the least surprising part of the 35 is that 22 of them came in the second half and as usual with Redick he buried a three in the games final minutes to seal the deal for the Blue Devils.

It wasn’t bad enough for Tar Heels that Redick was on that night, but it was also a huge game for another Duke star Sheldon Williams. In this game, Williams became the third player in NCAA history with 1,500 points, 1,000 rebounds, 350 blocks and 150 steals. Williams joined the impressive company as the only other players to accomplish the feat at the time were Pervis Ellison and David Robinson.

Even though Redick dominated the game, North Carolina still had a late 20-5 run in them to take a five-point lead with five minutes left. Redick had seen enough and decided to take the game over as he had done so many times in the past. Redick and Williams were two players that the Tar Heels were not sad to see leave. They both had many games like this one in the rivalry. led Duke to a win 87-83.

3. 03/04/2001

There have been many games in which teams were ranked in the top 10. Heading into this game both teams were ranked in the top-5. The Blue Devils may have entered in the top five but their star Carlos Boozer was out due to injury. Most media outlets and experts gave Duke no chance to win the game without Boozer, especially in Chapel Hill.  Coach K was able to work his magic and revamp the lineup. He inserted Casey Sanders to start for Boozer and freshman Chris Duhon made his first start as a Blue Devil.

Jay Williams was one of the best players in Duke history and he was the point guard on the team. Duhon was his backup. While Duhon was inserted into the starting lineup, Coach K worked some more magic with the lineup. He moved his star Williams off the ball and let Duhon run the point.  Williams had been struggling coming into the game and many wondered how he would perform as the off guard.

Duhon enabled the Duke offense to move freely and if free Jay Williams up to do more damage in the offense. North Carolina could never slow down the Duke offense and it was Williams who the catalyst to that. Williams went off for 33 points and made 7 threes. He broke out of his slump in a huge way and led the Blue Devils to a 14-point win. Coach K further cemented his legacy with this coaching decision. Duke wins 95-81.

2. 02/08/2012

The Shot, those two simple words mean everything to Duke fans and bring up bad memories for North Carolina fans. Many fans believe this to be the best game in the storied history of the rivalry. I have this coming in as the No. 2 game in the countdown simply because the game ahead of it is hard to bump.

Let us set the scene for the final seconds of this game. The two teams were ranked in the top 10 coming into the game. Duke had a lead at the halftime buzzer. The Tar Heels led by double digits most of the second half. Late in the game, North Carolina had the lead by two possessions, then all hell broke loose. North Carolina big man Cody Zeller tipped a missed Duke shot with the intention of grabbing the rebound. The exact opposite happened, and the ball ended up in the Duke basket. Those points combined with two missed free throws by Zeller at the other end opened the door for a great ending.

Do not let the ending overshadow how good Tar Heel star Harrison Barnes played. He had 25 points for the game and many of those were in the second half when North Carolina was building their lead.  Austin Rivers made a deep three at the buzzer to send Duke home happy and North Carolina stunned. Hard to figure how the Tar Heels let that one slip away especially after dominating the second half. Rivers put Cameron into a frenzy with that shot and Duke won 85-84.