North Carolina Pushes and No. 1 Duke Slips

For the sixth consecutive week, college basketball will have a new No. 1-ranked team. The Duke Blue Devils got their shot at the top spot, and No. 2 North Carolina knocked them off Thursday night, 89-78, in front of 21,572 at Dean E. Smith Center.

It was the first time these rivals have met as the nation’s No. 1- and No. 2-ranked teams, and for a little more than a half, it was a magnificent game. But with Duke leading, 43-38, early in the second half, the Tar Heels outscored the Blue Devils, 30-10, during the next 11 minutes.

Duke made a late run that reduced a 68-53 deficit to 75-69 with a little more than two minutes to play, but the Tar Heels, 18-3 overall and 6-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, held off the Blue Devils. North Carolina’s victory created a three-way tie for first place in the ACC between it, Duke (15-2, 6-2) and Virginia.

North Carolina can regain the No. 1 ranking with a victory Saturday against North Carolina State.

“I’m not sure anybody wants to be No. 1 right now,” North Carolina center Eric Montross said. “It’s kind of a curse.”

The teams combined for a scintillating first half that ended with Duke leading, 40-38, on the strength of an 8-3 run in the final minutes, during which guard Chris Collins made two three-pointers. The Blue Devils shot 64%--the best half of shooting against North Carolina this season. The Tar Heels countered with 54%.

“If we didn’t miss a few easy shots in the opening minutes, both teams would have shot 60%,” said Dean Smith, North Carolina coach. “I’m so engrossed in what my team is doing, I don’t know if it’s a well-played game from the fans’ point of view, but it sounds like it was.”

Collins extended Duke’s lead to 43-38 at the start of the second half with another three-pointer, but the Tar Heels responded with a 12-2 rally that put them ahead, 50-45, with 16 minutes to play. Seven-foot forward Kevin Salvadori, who was scoreless at halftime, scored six of the points during the rally. Two of his baskets came on medium-range jump shots, countering Duke’s defensive strategy of sloughing off him and Montross, who scored 16 points.

Blue Devil forward Grant Hill, who scored 20, momentarily quelled the Tar Heels by making a jumper right before a television timeout.

“We were in the ballgame when most teams would have folded,” Hill said. “It seemed like they had about 20 guys out there. They just kept coming in. I wanted to come out and rest, but I couldn’t.”