UNC Comes Out on Top

   88-72

       On Wednesday, February 20th, the Tar Heels pulled out a hard fought victory over the Duke Blue Devils. The UNC vs. Duke rivalry is one of so much intensity that it has fans on their feet with their heart's racing while they scream at the T.V. in hopes of their team coming out victorious. Historically, the odds have quite often not been in UNC's favor; however, that has not stopped them from pulling through with numerous amazing, sometimes last minute, victories. This game was no different.

        Going into the game, UNC was ranked #8 with Duke in the top stop at #1. While UNC has very promising players, three being starters Coby White, Cameron Johnson, and Luke Maye, Duke is known for their powerhouse of Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett, and Cam Reddish. The latter three happened to be the three top recruits of the class of 2018.

       The lowest ticket price for this game was listed at $1,375, but this did not stop fans, including previous President Barack Obama, from hopping on them and packing the Cameron Indoor Stadium full.

       The game began at 9pm on that Wednesday, and less than one minute into the game fans and players were thrown for a shock. One wrong step and Zion Williamson twisted his knee, sending his foot through his brand name Paul George Nike Shoes, and taking him out for the rest of the game. While this was a major upset for the Duke basketball team and their fans, it just opened the door wider for Carolina to dominate the court.

       Previously mentioned UNC players, Luke Maye, who added an astounding 30 points with 15 rebounds, and Cameron Johnson, who threw in a whopping 26 points, led the team in points towards the win. Duke players R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish tried to carry Duke with 33 and 27 points each, but they were not able to make up for the loss of Zion at the games start.

        UNC led the game 42-32 at halftime, and carried their lead until the end of the game finishing with a final score of 88-72. UNC never fell behind Duke for the entirety of the game, and gained one of the bigger score differences in a UNC vs. Duke rivalry game.

        Tar Heel students and fans celebrated the tremendous victory with the usual Franklin Street raid. The game stirred up a lot of emotions and has both UNC and Duke looking forward to the next match up on March 9th, at the Dean Dome in Chapel Hill. Zion will most likely be back with force making it the ultimate match up to see who comes out on top.

                                                                Hopefully it is UNC!