Written by MICHAEL KOH
For the second straight year, the Duke-UNC game served as the Blue Devils’ season finale.
Comparisons between Duke’s all-time Elite Eight collapse vs. UConn Sunday and UNC’s all-time slump against VCU is already in the works. Both teams are up by 19 points and seem to be on pace. Both were victims of inconsistent meetings and mental errors: Carolina’s five-second offense and Cayden Boozer’s bad pass will go down in the bad Triangle.
But it was another UNC game that came to mind after the Huskies’ big win. When Braylon Mullins stepped up from near the court and pushed the go-ahead three-pointer, the clock on the court read 0.3 seconds and later readjusted to 0.4. That’s exactly the amount of time left on the clock when Seth Trimble hit his first three against Duke at the Smith Center in February. What about this: Duke’s radio broadcast immediately complained about UConn players running to the floor after Mullins’ shot, noting that it could have been a technical foul. Remember the two shootings in Chapel Hill after the Trimble shooting?
AS CALLED ONUConn Huskies radio by Mike CrispinoDuke radio by David ShumateWestwood One by Scott Graham
– Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog.xyz) 2026-03-29T23:31:46.515Z
Both UNC and UConn were able to pull away from the jaws of victory after trailing for nearly the entire game. The Tar Heels had not led at all until the final 0.4 seconds, and Mullins’ shot gave the Huskies their first lead since the score was 2-0. In fact, each of Duke’s three losses this season came when the Blue Devils dominated the majority of the game; they were up by 17 against Texas Tech in December before losing 82-81.
Of course, it’s hard not to think about Duke’s loss in the Final Four against Houston last year. The Devils, led by Cooper Flagg, seemed to call it quits on Monday night before the undead Cougars got back into it thanks to timely shots and an aggressive court press. That was also previewed by the game against UNC. In the ACC game earlier that month, the Tar Heels began to press the Flagg-less Blue Devils and nearly completed the miraculous rally. Only Jae’Lyn Withers’ offense prevented what would have been a free play.
Jon Scheyer’s interceptions haven’t come as often as Hubert Davis’, but they’ve come in much larger proportions. That’s partly credit to Scheyer for getting there first — but it’s also a reminder that, regardless of a team’s talent or coaching skill, craziness can happen to anyone.
Michael Koh is filling in for Art Chansky today, as Art is temporarily on medical leave recovering from an injury.
Featured image via Associated Press/Abbie Parr
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