For just the second time in history, Carolina and Duke faced off as the top two teams in the country. The result was an 89-78 Tar Heel win over the top-ranked Blue Devils at the Smith Center.
Number two Carolina was playing without the injured Donald Williams. Derrick Phelps was sensational with 18 points, six assists and no turnovers. Eric Montross added 16 and Rasheed Wallace had 14 as Carolina shot 56.5 percent.
Duke led at the half, 40-38, after shooting 64.0 percent in the first 20 minutes. But, the key to the game was Carolina’s second half defense as the Blue Devils hit just 35.1 percent of their shots.
Duke had entered the game 15-1 while the Tar Heels were 17-3.
Without Williams, who had a shoulder injury, Carolina hit just three of four shots from three-point range. A big part of the win was the defense that allowed Duke to make only five of its 21 three-point attempts.
Down 45-44 early in the second half, the Tar Heels scored six straight points to take the lead for good. That stretch started on a pass from Phelps to Kevin Salvadori for a dunk. Salvadori added a jumper and Phelps scored on a drive as the Tar Heels took a five-point lead they never relinquished.
Dante Calabria, starting in place of Williams, finished with nine points. Jerry Stackhouse and Jeff McInnis came off the bench to score eight each.
“Our backcourt did a marvelous job, especially in the second half,” said Carolina Coach Dean Smith afterwards. “Phelps was just sensational. We ran more of our scramble defense in the second half because we wanted to establish tempo.”
Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski also praised the Tar Heel defense, but wasn’t happy about the way his team played.
“Our defense let us down in the second half,” he said. “We played hard, but we were missing too many shots. That’s where our defense should pick up. Still, Carolina’s offense had a lot to do with that.”
Grant Hill led the Blue Devils with 20 points and five assists.
Four weeks later Duke would still be ranked second nationally when the two teams finished the regular season in Durham. But, the fifth-rated Tar Heels would win again, 87-77. As in that first game, Carolina shot well at 54.7 percent and held the Blue Devils to only a 43.1 percent mark. A healthy Donald Williams had 20 points in this game, while Phelps was again outstanding with seven assists and only one turnover.
Rick Brewer is the Sports Information Director Emeritus at UNC, having served as the Tar Heels chief sports publicist from the early 1970’s through the 1990’s, when he took early retirement. Brewer continues to attend Carolina games, write columns for the UNC game programs and website and keep on the history of athletics at the school. A native of Greensboro, Brewer has written literally millions of words about Tar Heel athletes, coaches and games and still knows more about the subject than any three men combined! His column on “This Week in Carolina Athletics” will trace some of the greatest moments and accomplishments in the Tar Heels’ glorious basketball history.
For just the second time in history, Carolina and Duke faced off as the top two teams in the country. The result was an 89-78 Tar Heel win over the top-ranked Blue Devils at the Smith Center.
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