Tag: Duke UNC

Andy Katz names Duke-North Carolina basketball rivalry as his best game of the week

The North Carolina Tar Heels come to Cameron Indoor Stadium this weekend, and one analyst said Duke-UNC is always the game of the week.

College basketball analyst Andy Katz released his list of the 10 best games of the week on Monday, and with the North Carolina Tar Heels coming to Durham, there should be no surprise who is atop the list.

The Blue Devils should be heavily favored in the rivalry battle, even with two straight upset scares. Duke has won 14 consecutive games, undefeated since November 26, while the Tar Heels are 13-8 for the season and 6-3 in conference play.

The team from Chapel Hill has won seven of its last 10 games, however, with a pair of freshmen coming on strong. Ian Jackson has averaged 15.0 points while Drake Powell has put up 6.8 points and 3.5 rebounds. But the last three games have been a bit suspect for UNC. The Tar Heels lost to Stanford and Wake Forest, both games by a single point, before needing overtime to beat the 9-10 Boston College Eagles.

Saturday’s game will assuredly fly by, too. The Tar Heels are No. 14 in KenPom’s adjusted tempo metric while the Blue Devils absolutely thrive in transition.

The game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Eastern time on ESPN.

No. 14 Duke women’s basketball falls to No. 18 UNC in overtime after defensive battle

Duke women’s basketball erased a 16-point UNC lead in Chapel Hill on Thursday night but couldn’t prevail in overtime.

The No. 14 Duke Blue Devils women’s basketball team faced the No. 18 North Carolina Tar Heels in a top-20 matchup Thursday. The game delivered on its expectations, reaching overtime after Duke overcame a late UNC lead, but the Blue Devils eventually fell 53-46 in extra time.

The game was very much a defensive battle as neither team scored more than 40 points in regulation. The Blue Devils got the early lead, leaving the first quarter up 8-6, but things ended up tied 16-16 at the halfway point.

The script flipped in the second half. The Tar Heels surged well ahead, holding Duke scoreless for eight minutes to build a 32-16 advantage, but a pair of Jadyn Donovan buckets and two Blue Devils 3-pointers sparked a quick 10-0 run to carve the lead to six.

Duke spent the entire fourth quarter in chase mode, but a Reigan Richardson triple tied it up with 3:38 left on the clock. Two Ashlon Jackson free throws in the final minute ensured extra basketball would be needed.

The story of the game was overtime, though. A game that was very split from start to finish was dominated by the Tar Heels after regulation. North Carolina more than doubled the Blue Devils, winning with a 13-6 period despite Duke scoring the first three points of additional time.

Jackson finished led with a team-leading 10 points in 28 minutes, and Donovan and Delaney Thomas combined to secure 21 rebounds between them. The Blue Devils finished with more steals (16 to UNC’s nine) and fewer turnovers (21 to UNC’s 26), but they shot just 23.5% from both the field and 3-point range.

North Carolina didn’t far much better as the Tar Heels shot just 32.1% from the floor, but guard Alyssa Ustby took over for the home team. She put together a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, adding two steals and two blocks defensively, while teammate Indya Nivar contributed seven points, nine rebounds, and four assists.

With the loss, Duke falls to 12-4 on the season and 3-1 in conference play. The Tar Heels, now 2-2 against ACC opponents, improve to 14-3 for the season. The Blue Devils return to the court with a road game against Virginia on Sunday.

Duke and North Carolina women’s basketball set for ranked showdown in Chapel Hill

Duke women’s basketball travels to Chapel Hill on Thursday for a top-25 showdown with the Blue Devils’ most heated rival.

The Duke women’s basketball team already notched multiple ranked victories this season, but the biggest game of the year thus far awaits in Chapel Hill on Thursday evening.

The No. 14 Blue Devils (12-3, 3-0) visit the No. 18 North Carolina Tar Heels (13-3, 1-2) for a top-25 showdown on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time, and the winner gets both early bragging rights along Tobacco Road and a boost in the conference standings.

Duke ended the 2024 calendar year with a surprise low point, getting upset 65-56 by South Florida on the road, but the Blue Devils rebounded with two of the best defensive performances of the season. Head coach Kara Lawson’s squad held Boston College to two second-quarter points last Thursday in an 86-59 win before holding Pittsburgh to 31 points at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Sunday.

The Tar Heels won 10 of their first 11 games this season, only dropping a neutral-site game to the Connecticut Huskies before December 15, but an 82-76 home loss to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets that night gave UNC an early conference loss. North Carolina lost again to Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Sunday, although it’s worth pointing out that UConn and the Irish are second and third in the USA TODAY Sports women’s basketball coaches poll.

The Blue Devils split the season series with UNC in 2023-24, dropping a March game in Chapel Hill but winning in overtime 68-60 in Durham a month earlier.

Duke women’s soccer gets title dreams denied by North Carolina in national semifinal

Duke women’s soccer saw its remarkable 2024 season come to a close on Friday night with a X-X semifinal loss to North Carolina.

The Duke women’s soccer team came up just 180 minutes short of a national title after its 3-0 national semifinal loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels on Friday.

The Blue Devils entered the postseason as the No. 1 overall seed with a 14-2-1 record, and they shut out their first four tournament opponents to clinch their fifth-ever trip to the NCAA College Cup. With one game between them and a chance at the championship, they drew their rivals for the fourth time this season.

Duke defeated UNC in both regular-season meetings between the schools, but the Tar Heels knocked them out of the ACC Tournament last month, and they swept set on sweeping the postseason from the early stages of Friday’s match.

Kate Faasse beat Duke keeper Leah Freeman on a penalty kick in the 10th minute, sending her effort in the right direction for Freeman’s first goal allowed since November 7. The Blue Devils couldn’t even the match for the next 14 minutes, but UNC’s Bella Gaetino produced a dagger in the 24th with a phenomenal pass over the top of the Duke defense.

Her cross-field kick hung in the Cary sky for five full seconds before dropping at the feet of teammate Olivia Thomas, who managed to outrace Duke’s Nicky Chico and rifled a shot into the back of the net.

The deficit proved insurmountable from there. The Blue Devils managed to get 17 shots off before the end of the game, but only five ended up finding their target, and UNC keeper Clare Gagne managed to intercept all of those. Faasse set Maddie Dahlien up for another goal in the 59th minute, and the Tar Heels cruised to the title game from there.

Longtime Duke head coach Robbie Church, who announced ahead of the 2024 season that it would be his last with the program, ends his tenure with a 311-150-67 record and three College Cup trips over 24 years with the Blue Devils

Duke head coach Manny Diaz thanks Blue Devils crowd for UNC comeback victory

According to Duke head coach Manny Diaz, the Blue Devils crowd played a key role in Saturday’s comeback win over North Carolina.

The Duke football team took down the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday, beating their bitter rival for the first time since 2018 in front of a sellout Wallace Wade Stadium crowd. Blue Devils head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] actually said after the game that those fans in the stands helped power his team to victory.

Duke fell behind early in Saturday’s game, trailing 20-0 after a UNC field goal early in the third quarter. The fan presence didn’t waver, however, and North Carolina certainly felt the crowd once the Blue Devils started putting points on the board.

“I’ve got to give a lot of credit to our crowd tonight,” Diaz said. “The way they stayed into it, and I do feel like once we got rolling, the crowd became a factor in the game. I don’t think that’s any question that that helped us.”

The Blue Devils scored three touchdowns in a 15-minute stretch late in the second half, taking the lead for good with 5:42 left on the clock. The Tar Heels got two chances to win the game, but the Duke defense snuffed them out each time.

Edge rusher Vincent Anthony Jr. forced North Carolina behind the sticks with a key second-down tackle for loss on the first drive, and safety Jaylen Stinson forced the game-winning interception with a free rush at UNC quarterback Jacolby Criswell on the second. It’s hard to feel like the struggles along the North Carolina offensive line didn’t partially stem from the noise level.

“Great night for everybody associated with Duke football,” Diaz concluded. “And everyone, in my mind, has a piece in today’s victory because of the role that they played.”

DeWayne Carter and other Duke football alums celebrate the UNC comeback

DeWayne Carter and other former Duke football stars shared their excitement on social media after the Blue Devils came back to beat UNC.

The entire city of Durham rejoiced on Saturday night when the Blue Devils beat the North Carolina Tar Heels, scoring three second-half touchdowns for a 20-point comeback, and a few former members of the team joined in from afar.

No former Blue Devil made his support more vocal than [autotag]DeWayne Carter[/autotag], the 2023 All-ACC First Team defensive tackle. Carter, who is also undefeated this season after the Buffalo Bills drafted him in the third round, never lost faith in the squad despite the early mistakes.

The Blue Devils took the lead with a little more than five minutes on the clock, and the defense clinched the game from there. Vincent Anthony Jr., Wesley Williams, and the pass rush forced a three-and-out on the first potential game-winning drive before linebacker Tre Freeman intercepted a pass from UNC quarterback Jacolby Criswell on the second, cementing the win.

“NEVER A DOUBT MAN,” Carter wrote on X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) in a series of posts celebrating the win.

https://twitter.com/Dewaynecarter0/status/1840176101600973155

https://twitter.com/Dewaynecarter0/status/1840176393461637467

Carter joined the Blue Devils in 2019 and spent the next five years with the program, finishing his collegiate career with 126 total tackles and 12 sacks in 52 games.

Fellow defensive line alum Ja’Mion Franklin, who spent three seasons with the Blue Devils from 2021-23, shared a short but sweet message after the victory.

https://twitter.com/Jamion_Franklin/status/1840178893921132692

Jacob Monk, a fellow member of the 2024 NFL draft class who ended up with the Green Bay Packers, highlighted the performance of running back Star Thomas. The New Mexico State transfer surpassed 200 yards of total offense, running for 166 and picking up 45 more as a receiver, and reached the end zone twice.

https://twitter.com/JacobMonk_/status/1840162418871210443

While Carter and the other former Blue Devils may not have suited up on Saturday, it’s obvious that they remain a part of the Duke football program in their hearts.

Duke’s 20-point comeback over North Carolina was the second-largest in school history

The Duke Blue Devils erased a 20-point North Carolina lead on Saturday, the second-biggest comeback in program history.

The Duke Blue Devils found a way on Saturday, scoring three second-half touchdowns to outlast the North Carolina Tar Heels in front of a sold-out home crowd.

The most notable pieces of school history attached to the win stemmed from the rivalry and the record, as Duke beat UNC for the first time since 2018 and improved to 5-0 for the first time since 1994. However, the comeback itself also found its place in the annals of Blue Devils history.

Duke trailed North Carolina by 20 points midway through the third quarter on Saturday, making the victory tied for the second-largest comeback in program history. The only larger recovery came against the Florida Gators in 1962 when the Blue Devils trailed 21-0 at halftime before winning 28-21.

Head coach Manny Diaz spoke after the game about his team’s confidence in the fourth quarter, which Duke calls “The Sewer.” So far this season, the Blue Devils have outscored their opponents 40-6 over the last 15 minutes of the game, a statistic helped by Saturday’s final two touchdowns.

https://twitter.com/DukeFOOTBALL/status/1840187100253065346

Duke’s next opponent, Georgia Tech, also fell victim to a major Blue Devils surge. Duke erased a 20-point deficit against the Yellow Jackets in 1954, the only other 20-point comeback in program history.

Duke football keeps dragging teams into ‘The Sewer’ during the fourth quarter

The Duke Blue Devils haven’t allowed a touchdown in the fourth quarter through five games, a key factor in multiple comeback victories.

The Duke football team won its fifth straight game to open the 2024 season on Saturday, a 21-20 rivalry triumph over the North Carolina Tar Heels, and the Blue Devils won in familiar fashion.

Head coach Manny Diaz and his team trailed by 20 points midway through the third quarter, and the Blue Devils were still behind 20-7 when the final frame began. Duke also trailed with 15 minutes to play against Connecticut in Week 3, and the team was tied with Northwestern through three quarters in Week 2.

Diaz said after the game that those consistent comeback victories aren’t an accident, but rather a byproduct of how confident the team feels in its preparation. The first-year Duke coach said the team refers to fourth quarters as “The Sewer,” and through the first five games, the Blue Devils haven’t given up a touchdown in there.

“We get the game to the fourth quarter, that’s our quarter and that gives us a chance to win,” Diaz said. “We kind of have another battle cry that we can catch you, you can’t catch us.”

So far, no team has been able to prove the Blue Devils wrong in that respect. Duke has outscored its opponents 40-6 across the fourth quarter this season, holding each of its last three opponents scoreless in the final 15 minutes.

Duke scored the final 14 points against UNC and the final nine points against Connecticut, staving off potential home losses in both games. Even in the Blue Devils’ 45-17 blowout victory over Middle Tennessee in Week 4, defensive coordinator Jonathan Patke and his unit didn’t surrender a point.

Beyond that advantage on the scoreboard, Duke has looked more physical at the end of contests. The Blue Devils defense ruined both of North Carolina’s potential game-winning drives, first with a tackle for loss and a hurried incompletion before a free rusher forced the game-ending interception.

The Tar Heels averaged 4.6 yards per play in the fourth quarter on Saturday. Duke’s offense averaged 6.7, rushing for 111 yards and two touchdowns on 15 attempts.

With seven games left on the conference schedule, it remains to be seen if Duke can keep up that form over the final 15 minutes. But it’s encouraging, and Diaz’s confidence in that stat reveals a solid understanding of why this team keeps erasing leads.

Duke football has a 5-0 record for the first time since 1994

With Saturday’s dramatic 21-20 win over the North Carolina Tar Heels, the Blue Devils are 5-0 for the first time this century.

For the first time in 30 years, the Duke Blue Devils are undefeated through Week 5 of the college football season.

Duke stormed back on its home turf against the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday, scoring three unanswered touchdowns in the second half to erase a 20-0 deficit. The Blue Devils hadn’t beaten UNC since 2018, and the Victory Bell resides in Durham now once again.

Thanks to that comeback effort and an overtime victory over the Northwestern Wildcats in Week 2, among other performances, head coach Manny Diaz has five straight wins to begin his Duke tenure.

The last time the Blue Devils opened a season with five straight wins was all the way back in 1994. Duke actually started 7-0 that season, although the team lost four of its last five games to finish 8-4. Fred Goldsmith, the coach of that year’s team, was also in his first season.

The Blue Devils travel to Georgia Tech next weekend to see if they can keep pace with that 1994 team for another week.

Maalik Murphy and Chandler Rivers post victory cigar photo after Duke football win over UNC

Duke beat North Carolina for the first time in six years on Saturday. Maalik Murphy and Chandler Rivers celebrated accordingly.

The Duke Blue Devils beat the North Carolina Tar Heels for the first time since 2018 on Saturday, and the locker room made sure to properly celebrate the achievement.

Duke fell behind 20-0 early in the third quarter, but the Blue Devils scored three touchdowns in the final 21 minutes to storm all the way back and reclaim the Victory Bell.

Star cornerback [autotag]Chandler Rivers[/autotag] posted a photo after the game of himself with quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag], both smoking a victory cigar as the Blue Devils picked up bragging rights over the Tar Heels again.

Rivers made four tackles and broke up three passes on Saturday, nearly coming up with the game-ending interception on the final drive when he got in the way of a throw from UNC quarterback Jacolby Criswell. Luckily, linebacker Tre Freeman picked Criswell off just a few plays later to make sure that didn’t matter.

Murphy completed 15 of his 34 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown, Despite the low completion percentage, the first-year starter went on a six-for-six heater in the third quarter that picked up 106 yards to power two touchdown drives.

The Blue Devils improved to 5-0 for the first time since 1994 with the win.