The Carolina-Duke rivalry reaches new heights
More than 7,500 fans gathered in the Dean Smith Center on April 2 to watch Carolina men’s basketball defeat rival Duke University and earn a spot in the NCAA National Championship.
Press the play button above to watch the Tar Heels celebrate Saturday’s win
The stands of the Dean Smith Center steadily filled with a sea of people dressed in Carolina Blue on Saturday night as fans gathered in the home of Tar Heel basketball to watch Carolina take on rival Duke in the Final Four.
UNC Athletics partnered with Food Lion and Student Affairs to host the event.
In the hours leading up to tipoff, fans cheered “Tar… Heels” back and forth between sides of the arena, watched the Kansas-Villanova game that preceded Carolina’s and discussed how the season became a captivating run for the team and new coach, Hubert Davis.
“I think the team learned how to play together as the year progressed, and Coach Davis showed everyone how awesome of a coach he is and that he’s going to take the program in a great direction,” Regan Stewart said to her fellow first-year students Jessica Martin and Alex Bryant as they walked through the concourse.
Fans were optimistic about the Tar Heels chances as the game began on April 2. (Johnny Andrews/UNC-Chapel Hill)
Among the more than 7,500 fans in attendance in the Smith Center was Brad Meyers, a double Tar Heel who went to three Final Four watch parties as a student. This year, he flew from Missouri to Chapel Hill to try his luck again.
Meyers was with his 88-year-old grandfather, his aunt and her wife, whose daughter is a junior at Carolina. For them, cheering on the Tar Heels is a family affair. Meyers said he was glad to be back at the Dean Smith Center for the chance to watch with his family and fellow fans.
“I came here to the Dean Dome for all of them. This year we’re going to win,” said Meyers.
Senior Dikachi Okafor said he came to watch the game in the Smith Center because he’s graduating in a little over a month and wanted to make one more memory with his friends first.
“As a senior, this is potentially my last chance to see a game in the Dean Dome and rush Franklin Street with my friends and classmates,” he said.
Fans cheered as if the game was being played in person instead of in New Orleans. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)
For other fans, returning to the arena as alumni held as much meaning.
Wayne Castle and four of his friends sat in a row together and reminisced on all the games they’ve seen together through the years. Best friends in high school, they watched Carolina play on television, then in person when they all attended the University together. Each year they gather to attend one game together again but made an exception this year to see Carolina play a second time in the Final Four.
“We watched Carolina win the tournament in 1993 from Morrison Hall, so we thought we should show our UNC pride by watching this game on campus, too,” he said. “We won’t be running all the way to Franklin Street to celebrate this time, though.”
In contrast, Knightdale, North Carolina, resident Johnny Price decided to come alone to watch the game in the Dean Smith Center to honor his father, who passed away four years ago. Price used to come to Carolina games with him. He held his father’s favorite Tar Heels baseball cap in his hands to feel like he was with him at this game, too.
As the Carolina-Duke game began, the atmosphere in the arena became electric as fans cheered, booed, groaned, screamed and stomped their feet in unison as they watched the Tar Heels. It was clear that this was a special game, and it felt as if it was being played on the court in front of them instead of 850 miles away in New Orleans.
The cheers as Carolina pulled ahead of Duke drowned out the game’s commentators, and the night’s only silent moment came when Armando Bacot momentarily left the game. His return to the court a minute later led to screams of joy and sighs of relief.
When Carolina ensured their appearance in the NCAA National Championship with a nail-biting 81-77 win, students rushed the court and jumped in unison, while many others streamed toward the doors to run to Franklin Street to celebrate.
“This was the most amazing Carolina game I’ve ever seen, and I can’t wait to see this team do it all again in the national championship on Monday,” said Chris White, a fan who was walking in a happy daze toward the exit.
Carolina will face Kansas on Monday at 9:20 p.m.
Story by Madeline Pace and Logan Ward. Video by Rob Holliday, Jon Gardiner, Melanie Busbee and Brandon Bieltz. Photos by Jon Gardiner and Johnny Andrews.
