UNC Basketball Forces Head Coach of Duke to Issue Another Apology
With a career-high 31 points from graduate sharpshooter Cormac Ryan, UNC basketball completed its regular-season sweep of archrival Duke with an 84-79 victory on Saturday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Since the Tar Heels, the eventual national champions, did so in 2017, the program won its first conference championship outright in the regular season.
Jon Scheyer, the head coach of Duke basketball in his second year, was making his way to the center of the renowned student section to apologize while Ryan and the No. 7 Tar Heels (25-6, 17-3 ACC) were making fun of the Cameron Crazies and waving goodbye while avoiding water bottles and maybe even a gumball or two.
Scheyer, 36, grasped a Cameron Crazies member’s hand. He sincerely expressed regret for his No. 9 Blue Devils’ (24-7, 15-5 ACC) defeat and pledged to turn things around.
Scheyer told the media after the loss that “it’s the best environment in college basketball.” Furthermore, a part of you feels as though you have let the fans down. Additionally, since it’s Senior Night as a team, I believe we became entangled in some of that stuff.”
Although the aftermath of UNC’s thrilling 2022 victory on Coach K Court in Duke legend Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game was more enjoyable for Tar Heel supporters—especially given the Hall of Famer’s repeated use of the word “unacceptable” in his postgame apology to the crowd—Scheyer’s genuine anguish was evident both on the court and during his press conference.
That is logical. Ultimately, Coach K was present at the venue, making his first visit at a Duke vs. UNC match since UNC forced him to retire at the 2022 Final Four. And many of his former teammates were present as well, albeit the number was far lower than the hundred or so that witnessed his incredibly humiliating defeat to the Tar Heels in Durham two years prior.
After the heartwarming triumph, third-year UNC basketball head coach Hubert Davis—who took over for the first time in 2022—improved to 4-3 against Duke (2-2 against Scheyer) and has the Tar Heels dangerously close to securing a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Entering the ACC Tournament, they are on a six-game winning streak.
At noon ET on Thursday in Washington, D.C., UNC will take on the victor of Wednesday afternoon’s game between No. 8 seed Virginia Tech and No. 9 seed Florida State. UNC is now hoping to raise a second 2023–24 conference flag in the Dean E. Smith Center.