© Bob Donnan/Imagn
There’s no bigger rivalry in college basketball than the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Duke Blue Devils. However, the rivalry allegedly turned ugly on Saturday night.
The 14th-ranked Tar Heels upset No. 4 Duke, 71-68, on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Seth Trimble.
Initially, Carolina fans stormed the court at the Dean Smith Center, assuming Trimble’s trifecta ended the game. However, officials put 0.4 seconds back on the clock and restarted the game. The Blue Devils, however, could not get a shot off to tie the game, and fans returned to the court.
That’s when things got bad.
Duke Coach Jon Scheyer Says North Carolina Fans Punched Staff Members In Face
In 2024, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer called for court storming to be banned after Wake Forest fans (accidentally) injured forward Kyle Filipowski while rushing the court.
Now, he says things went to a new level against UNC.
“I think court storming is fine. I don’t have any issue with court storming. (We) Just shouldn’t have people getting punched in the face,” Scheyer said in his postgame press conference. “Shouldn’t put our players in a position where they’re face-to-face with people who can do anything at that time. It just takes one reaction. Even today, I had to push people away just to try to protect our players.
“They won, they should celebrate. They want to court storm, court storm. But just let’s get our guys off safely, that’s it. That’s where I’m at with that.”
The rivalry between the Blue Devils and Tar Heels has always toed the line between hostile yet respectful and dangerous. If Scheyer’s allegations are true, it appears that the rivalry has stepped over that line to the point where it’s just dangerous.
For the sake of the rivalry moving forward, let’s hope this is as bad at it gets between the two programs and fan bases.