With a career-high 31 points from graduate sharpshooter Cormac Ryan, UNC basketball defeated archrival Duke 84-79 on Saturday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium to clinch the regular-season sweep. The team won its first conference championship outright during the regular season since the 2017 Tar Heels, who went on to win the national championship.
While Ryan and the No. 7 Tar Heels (25-6, 17-3 ACC) were teasingly waving farewell to the Cameron Crazies and avoiding water bottles and possibly other objects, like a gumball or two, Jon Scheyer, the head coach of Duke basketball in his second year, was walking to the center of the renowned student section to apologize.Scheyer, 36, grasped the hand of a Cameron Crazies member. He expressed his sincere regret for his No. 9 Blue Devils’ (24-7, 15-5 ACC) disappointing performance and pledged to turn things around.
After the loss, Scheyer told the media, “It’s the best atmosphere in college basketball.” Additionally, a part of you believes that you have let the fans down. It’s Senior Night as a team, and I believe we
Scheyer’s genuine suffering was evident on the court and in his press conference, even though it wasn’t quite as enjoyable for Tar Heel supporters as the aftermath of UNC’s thrilling 2022 victory on Coach K Court in Duke legend Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game. The Hall of Famer repeatedly used the word “unacceptable” in his postgame apology to the crowd.
That makes sense. After all, Coach K was present at the Duke vs. UNC game for the first time since UNC forced him into retirement at the 2022 Final Four. And so were a good number of his old teammates, though far fewer than those there for his incredibly humiliating defeat to the Tar Heels in Durham two years prior.
Hubert Davis, the third-year head coach of UNC basketball who was in his first season in 2022, improved to 4-3 against Duke (2-2 against Scheyer) with the feel-good statement win, putting the Tar Heels very close to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They enter the ACC Tournament riding a six-game winning run.
In an attempt to hoist a second conference banner in 2023–24, UNC will take on the winner of Wednesday afternoon’s game between No. 8 seed Virginia Tech and No. 9 seed Florida State at noon ET on Thursday in Washington, D.C.
