Cry me a Rivers: Duke’s buzzer-beater stuns North Carolina

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Dean Smith Center-meet Austin Rivers.

Rivers scored 29 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer as time expired to help No. 10 Duke beat No. 5 North Carolina 85-84 Wednesday night in Chapel Hill.

Duke (20-4, 7-2 ACC) has not lost back-to-back games since February of 2008, and the win ended the Tar Heels’ school-record 31-game home winning streak. Ryan Kelly and Seth Curry were the only other Blue Devils in double-digits, scoring 15 apiece.

Harrison Barnes scored 25 points for North Carolina (20-4, 7-2 ACC). Tyler Zeller finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds, but did not get his hands up in time when defending Rivers on the final play.

It was a crazy finish to the rivalry’s 233rd game. Down by 10 with 2:10 left, Tyler Thornton hit a 3-pointer. After a North Carolina turnover, Thornton passed across the court to Curry, who hit a 3-pointer of his own. The crowd immediately reacted when Curry caught the pass, screaming for a traveling call. The refs didn’t agree, though instant replay later showed it was a travel.

Barnes was called for an offensive foul on the following possession to give the Blue Devils the ball back. Kelly missed a 3-pointer, but got his own rebound and put in a 16-footer to make it a two point game.

Zeller was fouled on the other end and made one of his two free throws. With 18 seconds left, Kelly air balled a 3-pointer, but Zeller accidentally deflected it into the basket while going for the rebound to put Duke within one.

Zeller was fouled on the inbound pass. He made the first free throw, but missed the second.

Rivers made sure Zeller regretted the two late free throw misses. Every Tar Heel, including North Carolina coach Roy Williams, regretted the last three minutes of the game.

“It was two great basketball programs, two big-time teams,”  said Williams, according to the Associated Press, “and they made more plays the last three minutes than we did.”

What Duke did in the last three minutes is what it had been doing all game. The Blue Devils decided early to live and die by the three, shooting 14-36 from behind the arc, and 13-36 from 2-point range. The 14 made 3-pointers ties the team’s season high.

“It really hurts just because of how we played the whole game,” said John Henson, according to the Associated Press. “For us in the last three minutes just to give it up like that is really depressing.”

The Tar Heels dominated in nearly every other aspect of the game, outrebounding Duke 41-31, including 14-10 on the offensive glass. The Tar Heels moved the ball more efficiently, tallying 14 assists to Duke’s 8.

The only things North Carolina couldn’t seem to do was hit a 3-pointer, or stop Duke from doing just that. The Tar Heels finished the game 1-6 from 3-point range.

After the game, Rivers told ESPN’s Erin Andrews that it was the best day of his life.

“And it’s because we were down the whole game,” he said, according to the Associated Press. “The whole game, we were down. They just kept it on us—10-point lead, 10-point lead. And then there (were) 3 minutes left and probably everybody thought we were going to lose, and we just kept fighting.”

Duke did keep fighting, and shooting, and scoring.

Duke started the game on fire, draining 3′s from far beyond the arc, and lead from the beginning until the final minute of the half when Barnes stole the ball and Reggie Bullock laid it in as the horn blew. The crowd went wild and Duke’s momentum, and lead, vanished.

It looked like dire times for the Blue Devils when North Carolina went on a 14-4 run to start the second half. The Tar Heels lead by as much as 13 before Duke found its shooting touch again and managed to get some timely stops.

The heartbreaking loss is a bit of an anomaly for UNC. If Rivers didn’t hit that shot, UNC wins. If Zeller hits all four free throws down the stretch or doesn’t accidentally score for the wrong team, UNC wins. Kendall Marshall’s tunrover led to a Duke 3-pointer. Barnes’ turnover and Kelly’s offensive rebound lead to another score. UNC shot 59 percent in the second half, but went 8-15 from the foul line after halftime. The game was UNC’s to win…or lose.

“They made the right plays and we didn’t,” Barnes said, according to the Associated Press. “It’s just that simple.”

Duke’s defense was again dreadful at times. Kelly and the Plumlees continuously allowed penetration in the lane and open paths to the basket. Inside toughness has been problem for Duke all season, and was very apparent here as Mason Plumlee’s 14 rebounds accounted for nearly half of Duke’s boards.

John Henson, who scored 12 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, including six offensive boards, dominated the middle with his defensive presence and really exposed Duke’s big men both defensively and offensively in the post.

North Carolina tried to roll under or switch on ball screens all night, giving Duke players plenty of space to shoot or causing a match-up problem. Adjustments were never made late in the game and UNC was still rolling under screens instead of going over the top and forcing the shooter to drive to the lane. Carolina made a defensive switch on a ball screen on the last play, putting Zeller on Rivers. Though he is seven feet tall with an incredible wing span, he gave Rivers about six feet of shooting space and didn’t get his hands up until after the shot was launched.

Harrison Barnes did not make a field goal in the first half, and managed only one assist. He is known at times as “The Black Hole” because when the ball gets in his hands, sometimes it won’t come out unless it is flying at the rim. With Barnes’ size and speed, there is no reason he should settle for as many jump shots as he does. He is an outstanding shooter, but when facing a defense as weak as Duke’s, especially in the middle, lane penetration is key.

In the record books this will go down as a Duke win and a North Carolina loss, but UNC shouldn’t hang its head too low. Nine out of 10 times UNC wins this game. If Duke plans to rely that heavily on 3-pointers the rest of the way, and doesn’t manage to shore up its inside defense, it doesn’t stand a chance in March. Kelly thinks Duke can make those improvements and use this win as a catalyst for the team.

“Guys responded well, and it showed,” Kelly said, according to the Associated Press. “But that’s how we have to play moving forward. We have an incredible opportunity as a team. We fought our way back into the top of the ACC. … Now, we’ve just got to keep it rolling.”

The Tar Heels proved in the loss that they are one of the best teams in the nation, but really need to work on perimeter defense. Duke proved that it will never quit, even when facing major adversity.

Duke next shot at “keeping it rolling” comes on Saturday Feb. 11 against Maryland. Duke won the previous meeting at Maryland 74-61 on Jan. 25.

UNC hosts No. 19 Virginia on Saturday as well.

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