Some Historical Context

You know ESPN will show highlights of past UNC-Duke games tonight. And they'll overemphasize the last second shot from the Pete Gaudet Era. So here are three games from the ESPN era that don't get that kind of replay, but should:

March 10, 1991 Just another ACC championship for the Tar Heels. Sure, winning by 22 points is nice, and the trophy looks good amongst all those other ones, but what sets this one apart is a couple of lines in the box score:

Name       MP  FG   FT   R  A  PF Pt 3FG  T  B  S
Cherry      1  0-0  2-2  0  1  0  2  0-0  0  0  1
Hurley     36  0-4  2-2  0  3  1  2  0-4  5  0  2

Yes, that's Duke starter Bobby Hurley and UNC end-of-the-bencher Scott Cherry putting up nearly identical stats.
North Carolina 96, Duke 74

February 1, 2001 Say what you will about Matt Doherty, there's one thng you can't take away from him. He was the first visiting coach to win on the newly-renamed Coach K Court. (And what does it say about you when the university won't take the time to spell out your entire name when they honor you?) And he did it with less talent and more Duke cheerleader jokes than had ever been done before.
North Carolina 85, Duke 83

February 5, 1998 If you see an Antawn Jamison clip, it's probably this game. Duke came to Chapel Hill ranked number one. The voters had UNC one place behind them.

That oversight was soon rectified.



ESPN doesn't show Duke highlights from that game. There were no Duke highlights from that game. The team that thought itself number one in the country came to to Chapel Hill and lost by 24.



Here's to more of the same tonight.