It’s Decisively the Tar Heels

It seemed unimaginable to them all that it wouldn’t be close. How could it not be?

It was No. 1 Duke against No. 2 North Carolina.

But no matter how hard-fought it was, in the end, you could not say it was close.

The Tar Heels roared to a 16-point halftime lead over the Blue Devils and won, 97-73, in front of a raucous crowd of 22,050 in the Smith Center. And North Carolina finished it emphatically--scoring the final 18 points of the game after allowing the lead to dwindle to four.

“The way they’ve played all year, most teams wouldn’t think you could beat a team like that by 20,” said North Carolina’s Antawn Jamison, who probably put his name on the national player-of-the-year awards Thursday with a 35-point, 11-rebound performance and a whirling, up-and-under dunk in the second half.

“I really thought it would go down to the wire, to the last two or three minutes,” Jamison said.

It was the second time in five years a No. 2 North Carolina team has beaten a No. 1 Duke team. The other was in 1994, an 89-78 victory. In six No. 1-versus-No. 2 matchups against any team, North Carolina has never lost.

The margin this time was Duke’s worst since its 30-point defeat against Nevada Las Vegas in the 1990 NCAA title game, and it was Duke’s worst loss against North Carolina since 1983.

“They’re the real deal. They’re a great team,” said Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski, whose team shot a season-low 33%--making only nine of 30 three-point shots--and watched North Carolina make 64% of its shots. “The game meant a lot to them and their maturity and playing together showed . . . They’re a legitimate contender for the national championship. There’s no doubt about that. They just played a lot better than us.”

Duke hadn’t trailed at halftime all season and had lost only to Michigan, but the Blue Devils found themselves down by 20 points only five minutes into the second half.

They got back into it with a 9-0 run capped by a three-pointer by Chris Carrawell, followed by a stunning turn of events.

North Carolina’s Makhtar Ndiaye was called for a personal foul against Shane Battier and then was whistled for a technical foul after slamming the ball. Duke turned it into a six-point possession--making four free throws before Trajan Langdon scored on the extra possession, cutting the lead to 73-69 with 5:48 left.

But then North Carolina point guard Ed Cota took over, finishing off a 12-point, 12-assist performance. He drove the lane and scored, and after a Duke miss, the Tar Heels’ Vince Carter scored on an offensive rebound, swinging his arms with violent emotion after giving North Carolina an eight-point lead.

North Carolina’s only loss this season was in overtime against Maryland, a team that Duke beat twice by huge margins, but the Tar Heels figure to rise to No. 1 as long as they beat Georgia Tech on Sunday.

It was a game marked by extraordinary anticipation, with Chapel Hill Transit buses flashing their destination Thursday alternating with “Beat Dook.”

Finally, it was left to the players, and Jamison rose above them all.

Duke led by six early as North Carolina acclimated to its pressure and a defense that tried to push the Tar Heels farther and farther from the basket.

But Duke didn’t have enough resistance to stop the Tar Heels’ ferocious runs--and most of all, it had no one to stop Jamison, the Tar Heels’ 6-foot-9 junior.

North Carolina put the pedal to the metal at the end of the first half with a 15-3 run--with 11 of the 15 scored by Jamison.

“It’s his quickness. You just really can’t simulate it in practice,” said Duke freshman Shane Battier, one of several Blue Devils who tried to guard Jamison.

Jamison’s 35 points--on 14-of-20 shooting--were the most by a Tar Heel against Duke since Hubert Davis had 35 at Cameron in 1992.

“I’ve played in the Big East against Donyell Marshall, Othella Harrington, guys in the NBA now,” said Roshown McLeod, a transfer from St. John’s scored 19 for Duke. “He’s definitely one of the top players I’ve played against. I look forward to playing him again.”

It will happen Feb. 28 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

“I’m not a prophet. I’m not going to make any predictions,” Duke guard Steve Wojciechowski said. “We’ll practice tomorrow and get ready for our next game.”