Carolina – Duke rivalry The Duke University , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ( Duke - UNC ) rivalry is a fierce rivalry , particularly in men ' s college basketball , between the Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels athletic teams . It is considered one of the most intense rivalries in all of sports : a poll conducted by ESPN in 2000 ranked the basketball rivalry as the third greatest North American sports rivalry , and " Sports Illustrated on Campus " named it the # 1 " Hottest Rivalry " in college basketball and the # 2 rivalry overall in its November 18 , 2003 issue . The intensity of the rivalry is augmented by the proximity of the two universities , located only ten miles apart roughly along U . S . Highway 15 - 501 ( aka Tobacco Road ) - nine miles apart in straight - line distance , and the dissimilar funding structures of the schools , as North Carolina is a public university and Duke is a private university . The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a flagship school of the multi - university UNC system . Duke University is located in Durham , North Carolina Men ' s basketball . Duke and North Carolina battled it out for the first time on January 24 , 1920 . The two teams have met at least twice a year since then . The games frequently determine the Atlantic Coast Conference ( ACC ) champion ; since the ACC ' s founding in 1953 , Duke and North Carolina have combined to win or share 47 ACC regular season titles ( 80 % of the total ) and 36 tournament titles ( 61 % of the total ) , including 14 of the last 16 ( the only exceptions being Maryland in 2004 and Florida State in 2012 ) . The final game of the regular season for both schools alternates between Chapel Hill and Durham and has been played in Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1940 and the Dean E . Smith Center since 1986 . Much like the South Carolina - Clemson rivalry in baseball and the Alabama - Auburn rivalry in football , the North Carolina – Duke rivalry is all the more intense because the two schools have consistently been among the nation ' s elite men ' s basketball teams for most of the last 60 years . Both schools are also two of the most victorious programs in NCAA men ' s basketball history ; North Carolina is # 2 on the list of all - time s in Division I Men ' s Basketball and Duke is # 4 . Duke has won four NCAA championships and has appeared in fifteen Final Fours , while North Carolina has won five NCAA championships and appeared in a record eighteen Final Fours . Additionally , North Carolina was also awarded a sixth national championship by the Helms Athletic Foundation in 1942 for their undefeated 1924 season . Combining for eight national championships over the last 30 years , Duke and North Carolina have captured 27 % of the national championships , or greater than one every four years . Over the past 14 years , one of the two teams has been the AP pre - season # 1 ranked team in the country seven times ( 50 % of the time ) . Since 1977 - 78 , Duke or North Carolina has been in the pre - season top three 26 times ( 72 % ) . Over the entirety of the AP poll ( the past 51 years ) , the teams have been in the pre - season top four 69 % of the time . Over this same period , one has been # 1 15 times , making it an almost 1 in 3 chance that Duke or North Carolina start the year at # 1 in the last 50 + years . History . Though the two schools had always had the hatred born of familiarity and proximity , some of the earliest roots of the modern basketball rivalry occurred in the early 1960s when Duke star and eventual national player of the year Art Heyman got into a brawl on the court with North Carolina ' s Larry Brown which resulted in suspensions for both players . The rivalry reached unprecedented heights in the mid - 1980s under head coaches Dean Smith of North Carolina and Mike Krzyzewski of Duke , thanks to the emergence of cable channels such as ESPN and the increasing coverage of the ACC in national broadcasts by the three major networks , giving a vast national audience more opportunities to witness the two teams and their coaches . Indeed , the two teams have been fixtures on national television since the early 1980s , and their final regular season clash has been nationally televised for most of the last 30 years . When Smith retired after the 1997 season , he held the record for most wins by an NCAA Division I men ' s head coach , with 879 wins against only 254 losses . In 1982 , with players Michael Jordan , Sam Perkins and James Worthy , he won his first national championship . In 1991 Duke won its first ever national championship and then with most of their team returning won another national championship in 1992 . North Carolina then won the championship the next year in 1993 . Since then , Duke won the national championship in 2001 , North Carolina won the national championship in 2005 and 2009 , and Duke won a fourth championship under Krzyzewski in 2010 . In 2011 , Krzyzewski became the new holder of the record for most career wins by a D - I men ' s coach , surpassing his mentor Bob Knight ( who had surpassed Smith in 2007 ) . After Smith ' s retirement in 1997 , North Carolina suffered through three coaching changes ( from Dean Smith to Bill Guthridge to Matt Doherty to Roy Williams ) between 1997 - 2003 . From 1997 – 2003 North Carolina won only 5 games of 19 against Duke and some said that the rivalry was on the decline . However , with the arrival of North Carolina alumnus Roy Williams as head coach , North Carolina has won six regular season titles in seven years ( 2005 , 2007 , 2008 , 2009 , 2011 , 2012 ) , won the ACC tournament in back to back years in 2007 and 2008 and won its fourth and fifth NCAA championships in 2005 and 2009 respectively . Erik Spanberg of the The Christian Science Monitor even argued that the rivalry has tilted towards North Carolina in recent years . However , Duke swept North Carolina in their two meetings during the 2009 - 2010 season , winning the season finale by 32 points , which was the second largest Duke win in series history . Following that game , Duke went on to win a fourth National title in 2010 . Former " Esquire " editor and author ( and North Carolina graduate ) Will Blythe argues that the rivalry ’ s passion can be attributed greatly to class and culture in the South . The rivalry has been the subject of various books and articles , including " To Hate Like This Is to Be Happy Forever " by Blythe and " Blue Blood " by Art Chansky . Further illustrating the intensity of the rivalry , U . S . Representative Brad Miller , a die - hard North Carolina fan , told an Associated Press writer in 2012 , " I have said very publicly that if Duke was playing against the Taliban , then I ' d have to pull for the Taliban . " Memorable games and incidents . " March 2 , 1968 : # 10 Duke 87 , # 3 North Carolina 86 ( 3OT ) " . Duke defeated North Carolina 87 - 86 in triple overtime at Duke Indoor Stadium ( later renamed Cameron Indoor Stadium ) when seldom used Duke junior Fred Lind erupted for 16 points , 9 rebounds , and 3 blocks after having only scored 21 points total in his entire career . When Duke All - American center Mike Lewis picked up his third foul in the first half ( and Warren Chapman , his backup , had a knee injury ) , Duke coach Vic Bubas called on Lind to fill the void against North Carolina greats Rusty Clark and Bill Bunting . Lewis returned in the second half , but fouled out ( four Blue Devils and one Tar Heel fouled out of the game ) with about five minutes left in regulation when Duke was down by five , and Lind returned to the court . Lind went on to carry the Blue Devils in the three overtimes , blocking North Carolina ' s shot attempt at the end of regulation , making two free throws at the end of the first overtime , and knocking down a 15 - foot jumper at the buzzer to send it into a third overtime . At the conclusion of the game , the students carried Lind to Duke ’ s main quad . " March 2 , 1974 : # 4 North Carolina 96 , Duke 92 ( OT ) " . " Eight Points in Seventeen Seconds . " Duke led North Carolina 86 – 78 with 17 seconds left . Despite the deficit and despite the fact that the game took place prior to the implementation of the three point shot , North Carolina rallied with a pair of free throws by Bobby Jones , then baskets by John Kuester and Jones after a steal by Walter Davis and a turnover on inbounds attempts . After Duke ' s Pete Kramer missed the front end of a one - and - one , North Carolina tied the score on Davis ' 30 - foot bank shot as time expired . The game went into overtime , where North Carolina prevailed , 96 – 92 . To this day , many regard this comeback as the greatest in college basketball history . " January 3 , 1975 : Duke 99 , # 8 North Carolina 96 ( OT ) " . In a " Big Four Tournament " matchup between North Carolina and Duke , the two teams played a see - saw game until a 10 - 0 Duke run in the second half made the score 64 – 56 . North Carolina eventually tied the score at 70 - 70 with four minutes to go . Duke went back up by four with 1 : 41 to go , but a driving layup by Phil Ford with eight seconds to go in regulation tied the score at 82 and extended the game to overtime . The Blue Devils got quick baskets from Kevin Bellerman and Bob Fleischer to open the overtime but the Tar Heels answered and eventually took the lead , 89 - 88 , on two Ford free throws with two minutes to go . Duke answered with four straight points and Carolina came back to tie the score at 92 , and then Tate Armstrong converted a three - point play to put the Blue Devils ahead for good . The teams combined for eight points in the final 20 seconds of the game , but Duke ' s free throw shooting gave them the 99 - 96 win . Fleischer led Duke with 26 points and Phil Ford scored 22 for North Carolina . " February 24 , 1979 : # 6 Duke 47 , # 4 North Carolina 40 " . Jim Spanarkel ’ s Senior Day game turned into one of the strangest afternoons in ACC basketball history as Duke held North Carolina scoreless for a half before knocking off the No . 4 - ranked Tar Heels 47 - 40 . Dean Smith resorted to the four corners offense and the Tar Heels held the ball throughout the first half , but Duke led 7 - 0 as Spanarkel forced two turnovers , assisted on a basket to Mike Gminski and scored the last bucket of the half on a short jumper . ( Smith later said , " It should have been 2 - 0 , or something like that , at the half . " ) North Carolina ' s only two shots of the first half were air balls , that resulted in the first - ever chants of " Air ball . . . Air ball ! " from the Cameron Crazies . Sparnakel added 15 points in the second half and finished with a game - high 17 , hitting 8 - of - 9 field goal attempts . The win allowed Duke to tie North Carolina for the ACC regular season title . Duke coach Bill Foster wasn ' t amused by Smith ' s tactics in the first half and the next day said , " I ' ve been doing this a long time , but during the first half last night I began to think maybe I ' ve been doing it for too long . " He then added this infamous dig : " I thought Naismith invented basketball , not Deansmith . " " December 5 , 1980 : # 10 North Carolina 78 , Duke 76 " . North Carolina led by as many as 11 in the first half of the Big Four Tournament contest before Duke trimmed the lead to five at halftime . North Carolina played much of the second half shorthanded as Al Wood and Sam Perkins got into foul trouble ; Perkins would foul out with 7 : 55 to go . James Worthy did his best to pick up the slack , leading the Tar Heels with 26 points and hitting eight straight shots at one point in the second half . Nevertheless , Gene Banks was able to give Duke only its second lead of the game , 73 – 71 , with 2 : 36 left to play . North Carolina came back to tie the game at 76 . Future Tar Heel head coach Matt Doherty , a freshman at the time , was then fouled , and hit a free throw with 12 seconds remaining to provide the winning margin . A Jimmy Braddock free throw in the final second gave North Carolina the 78 - 76 victory . " February 28 , 1981 : Duke 66 , # 11 North Carolina 65 ( OT ) " . Duke struggled in its first season under Coach Mike Krzyzewski , going 17 – 13 overall and 6 – 8 in the ACC . However , the Blue Devils ' regular - season finale was one to remember . On Senior Night , Duke ' s Gene Banks put on a tuxedo and threw roses to the crowd at Cameron Indoor Stadium before the game . North Carolina controlled the game early , then went scoreless over a four - minute stretch of the second half to allow Duke to take a 46 - 45 lead late in regulation . The Tar Heels fought back to go ahead 50 - 49 , and the teams traded baskets until two Sam Perkins free throws gave Carolina a 58 - 56 lead with two seconds to play . Duke inbounded to midcourt and called time out with one second left . Banks took the inbounds pass and nailed a jumper at the buzzer to force overtime . The Blue Devils took a 62 - 59 lead early in the extra session , but North Carolina rallied to take a 65 - 64 lead on the strength of an Al Wood jumper and two free throws by Mike Pepper . Duke ' s Vince Taylor misfired on a short jumper , but Banks rebounded and banked home the game - winner with 19 seconds to go . Banks led Duke with 25 points , while Perkins scored 24 for Carolina . " March 3 , 1984 : # 1 North Carolina 96 , Duke 83 ( 2OT ) " . The final home game for Matt Doherty , Michael Jordan , and Sam Perkins , was a memorable one for Tar Heels fans . North Carolina looked to be finished when Duke ' s Mark Alarie converted a three - point play with 20 seconds to go in regulation and the Tar Heels missed a jumper that would have tied the game . However , after the Blue Devils missed the front end of a one - and - one , Matt Doherty took the inbounds pass the length of the court and hit a 15 - footer with one second remaining to force overtime . The teams traded baskets during the first overtime and headed for the second extra session tied at 79 . Michael Jordan opened the second overtime with an ally oop and a free throw , but Johnny Dawkins cut the North Carolina lead to 82 - 81 with a short jumper . Duke would get only one more basket as Jordan and Sam Perkins carried the Tar Heels to the 96 - 83 final , and North Carolina became the first ACC team in 10 years to go undefeated in conference play ( 14 - 0 ) . Alarie led all scorers with 28 points , while Jordan topped Carolina with 25 . " March 10 , 1984 : # 16 Duke 77 , # 1 North Carolina 75 " . After losing two close games to North Carolina in the regular season , Duke finally upset the Tar Heels in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament . Johnny Dawkins and Tommy Amaker led the Blue Devils to a 40 - 32 halftime advantage . Nevertheless , North Carolina went on a 12 - 2 run to open the second half , tying the score at 44 - 44 in a game that was close the rest of the way . David Henderson hit four late free throws to keep Duke in the lead , but Michael Jordan closed the gap to 77 - 75 . North Carolina regained possession with three seconds left in the game , but the Tar Heels comeback bid ended with Matt Doherty ' s errant inbounds pass . Jordan led all scorers with 22 points , while Doherty scored 20 and grabbed 10 rebounds . JJ scored 32 " January 21 , 1988 : # 9 Duke 70 , # 2 North Carolina 69 " . Duke opened the game with an 11 - 2 run and eventually led 29 - 15 , but North Carolina cut the lead to three before the Blue Devils took a 44 - 39 halftime lead . North Carolina still trailed 55 - 44 with 12 : 53 left when J . R . Reid took over the game . Reid scored 14 of Carolina ' s final 16 points to help the Tar Heels tie the score at 69 with 1 : 24 to go . A Danny Ferry free throw with 52 seconds remaining provided the winning margin for Duke , but not before North Carolina forced a turnover and failed to convert on four field goal attempts in the final 30 seconds . Kevin Strickland scored 22 points and Ferry added 19 for Duke , while Reid dropped in 27 for the Tar Heels . This would become the first of three Duke victories in a season sweep over North Carolina in 1988 , including the ACC Tournament . " March 12 , 1989 : # 9 North Carolina 77 , # 7 Duke 74 " . In one of the most intense games in the rivalry ' s history , North Carolina defeated Duke 77 - 74 in the ACC Tournament final at the Omni in Atlanta to secure the Heels ' first ACC Tournament title in seven seasons . The teams had split the two regular season meetings ; North Carolina defeating top ranked and then undefeated Duke 91 - 71 in Cameron in January ( a game notable for the infamous " J . R . Can ' t Reid " placard displayed by some Duke fans ) then Duke returned the favor in Chapel Hill in the season finale , knocking off North Carolina 88 - 86 . Tensions between coaches Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski boiled over during Tournament week , stemming from the Reid sign in Durham in January , and by the time the two teams inevitably met in the conference championship , the game had developed the atmosphere of a heavyweight title fight . North Carolina led for much of the game , including a 39 - 35 halftime lead , but never could pull away . North Carolina ' s J . R . Reid , however , outplayed Duke ' s Naismith Award - finalist and ACC Tournament MVP Danny Ferry . The game saw an incredible 49 fouls called between the two squads , and Carolina prevailed , but only when Ferry ' s 3 / 4 court shot rimmed out as time expired . " February 5 , 1992 : # 9 North Carolina 75 , # 1 Duke 73 " . In a rough game between the Blue Devils and Tar Heels that featured blood and broken bones , Duke used an early 9 - 0 run to take a 16 - 11 lead with 12 : 55 to go in the first half . Hubert Davis ' three - point play capped off a North Carolina run to give the Tar Heels a 20 - 19 lead . The teams exchanged the lead 10 times before a Thomas Hill baseline jumper gave the Blue Devils a 39 - 38 halftime lead . The Tar Heels opened the second half with a 10 - 0 spurt , but then saw its offense disappear . Duke went five minutes before scoring a second - half basket but fought back with tough defense , holding North Carolina without a field goal over the last 9½ minutes of the game . North Carolina hit 12 of 14 free throws during that stretch ; including two by Derrick Phelps with 44 . 5 seconds remaining to give the Tar Heels a 75 - 73 lead . Christian Laettner had two shots to tie the game in the final 24 seconds , but missed both . However , the lasting image from this game had to be North Carolina ' s Eric Montross who took a couple of rough elbows to the face and looked more like a boxer than a center as he sank two late free throws with blood streaming down his face . Bobby Hurley broke his foot during the game , but continued playing . Brian Davis led Duke with 16 points , while Davis scored 16 for North Carolina . " February 2 , 1995 : # 2 North Carolina 102 , Duke 100 ( 2OT ) " . With Mike Krzyzewski on leave of absence for the year , the Blue Devils suffered through their worst season in well over a decade . They seemed out - manned on their home court from the opening tip , falling behind 26 - 9 in the first half , highlighted by alley - oops by Carolina ' s Rasheed Wallace and a reverse jam by Jerry Stackhouse over two Blue Devils . However , Duke rallied in the second half and led by as much as 12 , before North Carolina staged a rally of its own . The two squads exchanged leads four times at the end of regulation before heading into overtime . With three seconds left in the first overtime , Carolina led 95 - 92 and sent Serge Zwikker to the foul line with the chance to ice the game for the heavily favored Tar Heels . However Zwikker missed both free throws , setting up Duke ' s Jeff Capel for a running , 37 - foot heave that tied the game as the buzzer sounded , sending Cameron into a state of euphoria . With the game still tied late in the second overtime , Donald Williams scored for the Heels and Jeff McInnis stole the inbounds pass for an easy layup , putting North Carolina up 102 - 98 . Duke answered with a basket of their own and after stopping the Tar Heels , had a chance to force a third overtime or win the game outright . Nevertheless , Steve Wojciechowski ' s jumper missed and Greg Newton ' s putback drew nothing but air , preserving North Carolina ' s 102 - 100 victory . " January 31 , 1996 : # 8 North Carolina 73 , Duke 72 " . Duke led 37 - 20 over North Carolina with less than five minutes to go in the first half and took a 42 - 30 advantage into the locker room at halftime . North Carolina managed to close the gap to 44 - 42 with 14 : 14 remaining in the game , but the Blue Devils stretched the lead back to 11 with 8 : 44 left . The Tar Heels fought back and pulled within one behind scoring from six different players over the next few minutes . Steve Wojciechowski hit a three - pointer to give Duke a 72 - 68 lead with 1 : 13 to go . Shammond Williams answered with a three to cut the Duke lead to one with 58 seconds left , and North Carolina forced a turnover on the ensuing inbounds pass . Jeff McInnis drove the lane and fed Serge Zwikker , whose shot was blocked by Greg Newton , but Dante Calabria was there for the tip - in and a 73 - 72 Carolina lead . Duke ' s Ricky Price could not connect on a jumper at the buzzer , and the Tar Heels escaped . " February 28 , 1998 : # 1 Duke 77 , # 3 North Carolina 75 " . Just two months removed from a broken foot that most assumed would sideline him for the season , Duke freshman Elton Brand rallied the Blue Devils from a 64 - 47 second - half deficit with 12 minutes remaining to a 77 - 75 victory over North Carolina . The victory earned Duke the ACC regular - season championship and Coach Mike Krzyzewski his 500th victory in the most memorable game of the college season . Duke tied the game at 75 - 75 on a slashing floater by sophomore Chris Carrawell with 2 : 00 remaining and took the lead for the first time on a driving basket by Roshown McLeod one minute later as the North Carolina offense lapsed into a series of turnovers and errant shots . Both point guard Ed Cota and freshman center Brendan Haywood had a chance to tie the game from the free - throw line in the waning seconds , but both missed the first of two free throws , and the Tar Heels were unable to turn intentional misses on the second attempts into points . " February 3 , 2000 : # 3 Duke 90 , North Carolina 86 ( OT ) " . The Tar Heels were unranked coming into the game for the first time since 1990 . Shane Battier scored 14 first - half points for Duke and North Carolina turned the ball over 14 times to give the Blue Devils a 17 - point halftime lead . Duke eventually took a 19 - point lead early in the second half . North Carolina then turned the tide down the stretch , scoring on 19 of its final 22 possessions , including a three - pointer by Joseph Forte with 5 . 2 seconds left to send the game to the extra period at 73 - 73 . The Blue Devils scored on their first six possessions in overtime and got seven points from Carlos Boozer in the extra frame to hold on for the 90 - 86 victory . " February 1 , 2001 : # 4 North Carolina 85 , # 2 Duke 83 " . Brendan Haywood , who entered shooting 48 percent from the line , made a pair of free throws with 1 . 2 seconds left and the Tar Heels beat the Blue Devils 85 - 83 in Cameron Indoor Stadium . Joseph Forte had 24 points and a career - high 16 rebounds for North Carolina . Duke tied it for the last time with 9 . 3 seconds left on a three - pointer by Mike Dunleavy , Jr . , who had missed his first five three - point attempts . Shane Battier fouled out when he crashed into Haywood 30 feet from the hoop with 1 . 2 seconds left , leading to the game - winning free throws , the outcome only decided after freshman Chris Duhon ' s half court heave drew back iron at the buzzer . " March 9 , 2003 : North Carolina 82 , # 10 Duke 79 " . In the two teams ' meeting in Chapel Hill , North Carolina coach Matt Doherty and Duke assistant coach Chris Collins " bumped heads " after North Carolina player Raymond Felton was injured by Dahntay Jones while both players were looking for a rebound . Subsequently , Duke player Andre Buckner bumped Doherty and several players from both teams became involved in shoving matches before officials finally restored order . North Carolina prevailed 82 - 79 when Jones ' 30 - footer that would have tied the game was waved off for coming after time had expired . " February 4 , 2004 : # 1 Duke 83 , # 17 North Carolina 81 ( OT ) " . In the first game in the Duke - Carolina rivalry pitting Mike Krzyzewski against new UNC head coach Roy Williams , Chris Duhon ' s reverse layup with 6 . 5 seconds left in overtime gave Duke its 16th straight victory overall and fifth victory in the last six years on North Carolina ' s home court . Duke turned up the defense late in regulation and went on a 10 - 0 run , taking a 72 - 69 lead on two free throws by Luol Deng with 1 : 06 left . Sean May scored on a rebound with 53 seconds to go , but J . J . Redick restored the three - point lead on a drive with 38 seconds left . After a Carolina timeout , Jawad Williams hit a game - tying three - pointer with 18 seconds to go and Daniel Ewing missed a potential game - winner for Duke with 3 seconds left . In the first overtime , Shelden Williams had two blocks and his defense forced North Carolina into a 35 - second shot clock violation with 22 seconds left . Redick then made two free throws to make it 81 - 78 and Rashad McCants drilled the game - tying three that set the stage for Duhon ' s heroics . " February 9 , 2005 : # 7 Duke 71 , # 2 North Carolina 70 " . In arguably the most anticipated game in the rivalry since 1998 , the Tar Heels came up Highway 15 - 501 to visit the Blue Devils for a heavily hyped , prime time ESPN broadcast . The game did not disappoint . Despite a below average shooting night , Duke led much of the way behind an 18 point performance by J . J . Redick , while freshman reserve guard DeMarcus Nelson added 16 . The Duke defense also led to 23 North Carolina turnovers . North Carolina big man Sean May keeping the Tar Heels within reach with a 23 - point , 18 - rebound effort , as well as gritty play by point guard Raymond Felton . North Carolina was down by nine with five minutes to go , but fought back in the hostile environment , a layup by Rashad McCants pulling North Carolina within a point at 71 - 70 with less than a minute to play . North Carolina opted not to foul and played defense for the Blue Devils ' next possession , and the effort paid off , as J . J . Redick shot an air ball as the shot clock expired to give the Tar Heels one play to win or lose the game . Predictably , North Carolina got the ball into the hands of Felton , who looked to run a set play . Duke ' s Daniel Ewing made a play on the ball , but Felton sidestepped him and had an open lane to the goal . However , rather than drive to the rim , Felton attempted to continue to run the play that had been called , but Duke ' s defense had the play scouted , and Felton , having picked up his dribble , had nowhere to go . He tried a desperate pass to David Noel by the sideline , but the ball was tipped away and the horn sounded , the Tar Heels unable to get a shot . " March 6 , 2005 : # 2 North Carolina 75 , # 6 Duke 73 " . On Senior Day in Chapel Hill , before the largest crowd to see a college game on - campus in the state of North Carolina ( 22 , 125 ) , the Tar Heels had a chance to win their first outright ACC regular - season title since 1993 . However , they trailed Duke 73 - 64 with three minutes to play . Offensive rebounds and subsequent put backs by North Carolina ' s Jawad Williams and Marvin Williams , the latter set up by a Duke turnover , cut the lead to five with two minutes to go . Duke ' s DeMarcus Nelson missed the front end of a one - and - one , giving the ball back to North Carolina . Sean May then rebounded a miss of his own , was fouled on the put back , and converted the free throw to complete the three - point play , trimming the lead to 73 - 71 with 1 : 45 to go . Missed jumpers by Lee Melchionni and J . J . Redick gave the ball back to the Tar Heels , but Duke ' s Shelden Williams came up with a huge block to regain possession for the Blue Devils with less than a minute to go . Duke inbounded the ball and looked to move it quickly up court , but North Carolina ' s David Noel chased down Daniel Ewing from behind and knocked the ball away before he could get a pass off . Raymond Felton came up with the loose ball in a scrum and called for time , setting up a game - tying possession for the Tar Heels - an eerily similar scenario to the game one month earlier at Cameron Indoor Stadium . This time , Felton took the ball to the hoop and drew a foul . Felton nailed the first free throw to cut the lead to one , but missed the second one . However , Felton redeemed himself for his failure at Cameron , and managed to tip the rebound to Marvin Williams , who took it straight back up , put the ball in the hoop and drew a foul , giving the Tar Heels the lead and blowing the roof off the Smith Center in the process . The free throw made it 75 - 73 , and Duke called time to set up one final play . The ball went to sharpshooter Redick , but his three - pointer rimmed out , and Ewing ' s desperation jumper at the buzzer fell short . " March 4 , 2006 : # 13 North Carolina 83 , # 1 Duke 76 " . Coming into the game ranked # 1 in both polls , Duke hosted senior night , honoring the National Player of the Year and all - time ACC leading scorer J . J . Redick and two - time National Defensive Player of the Year Shelden Williams . North Carolina , the defending national champions , had lost the whole core of the team that won it all the year before , but came into the game on a 7 - game winning streak . Freshmen Tyler Hansbrough and Danny Green led North Carolina as well as veterans Reyshawn Terry and David Noel . ESPN broadcast the game on all three of its channels as part of its first " ESPN Full Circle " coverage , showing a marathon of past games hours before tipoff . Duke led early 13 - 2 as Redick caught fire and hit his first five shots . The Tar Heels fought back , cutting the deficit to one by halftime . The Tar Heels stormed out to a 72 - 62 lead as Hansbrough and Terry starting hitting their shots in the second half . After a timeout , Duke ' s Williams hook shot pulled Duke back within eight , but Hansbrough recovered a loose ball 25 feet from the hoop answered with a three pointer to beat the shot clock . DeMarcus Nelson then hit 3 - pointers on 3 successive possessions to put the Devils back to within 3 with 1 : 31 left . However , that was as close as it would get . The Heels hit their free throws down the stretch , Redick missed 15 of his last 16 shots , and DeMarcus Nelson shot an air ball that resulted in a shot clock violation that prevented a late Duke rally , leading to a final score of 83 - 76 . The game was watched by 3 . 78 million households on ESPN and ESPN2 . " March 4 , 2007 : # 8 North Carolina 86 , # 14 Duke 72 " . North Carolina beat Duke at the Dean Smith Center 86 - 72 , completing the season sweep of the Blue Devils . The most memorable part of this game was a combative foul by Gerald Henderson when his fist contacted Tyler Hansbrough ’ s nose on a hard foul attempt with 14 . 5 seconds on the clock and the result of the game clearly determined . The contact broke Hansbrough ' s nose , drawing blood . The officials charged Henderson with a combative foul and ejected him from the game . After the foul , Hansbrough jumped up with blood streaming from his nose , but was calmed by his teammate Dewey Burke , before heading to the locker room for medical attention . Since then , both Hansbrough and Henderson have stated the foul was unintentional . To protect his broken nose , Hansbrough wore a face mask throughout the ACC tournament , and into the second round of the NCAA tournament . " March 8 , 2008 : # 1 North Carolina 76 , # 6 Duke 68 " . In a rare show of camaraderie between the rivals , Duke students wore Carolina blue ribbons and both teams held a moment of silence in honor of UNC Student Body President Eve Carson who was murdered in Chapel Hill on March 5 , 2008 . Carolina won the game and # 1 seeding in the A . C . C . tournament after pulling out a close victory . Coach Roy Williams commented , " “ Duke was gracious in the moment of silence , the wearing of ribbons . To me , it showed what a great conference we have , what a great relationship we have . ” " February 11 , 2009 : # 3 North Carolina 101 , # 5 Duke 87 " . Having not lost in Cameron Indoor Stadium since 2005 , UNC looked to extend its streak to 4 in this highly anticipated matchup of two top 5 nationally - ranked teams . UNC led most of the way through the first half leading by as many as 11 , but Duke clawed back and took the lead with under 6 minutes left in the half . Duke held an 8 - point advantage going into the locker room . In the second half , Duke simply had no answer for Ty Lawson ' s relentless penetration . Ty Lawson scored a game - high 25 points , with 21 of them coming in the 2nd half . UNC broke the game open midway through the second half , rolling to a 101 - 87 victory over the Blue Devils . This game marked the first time since 2000 that Duke allowed 100 points on its home floor . This game also assured that UNC seniors Tyler Hansbrough and Danny Green would finish their college careers undefeated at Cameron . " March 8 , 2009 : # 2 North Carolina 79 , # 7 Duke 72 . With the ACC regular season championship on the line for both teams , the game was very close throughout , with neither team leading by more than 3 points in the first half . Duke took a 3 - point lead into halftime . Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler led Duke in scoring with 24 and 23 points , respectively . Their efforts were not enough , as Tyler Hansbrough led the Tar Heels with 17 points and Ty Lawson fell just short of a triple - double as the Tar Heels opened up a late 10 - point lead and cruised to a 79 - 71 victory . This victory gave UNC its 3rd outright ACC regular season crown in the last 5 years and its second regular season sweep over the Blue Devils in the last three seasons . It also marked UNC ' s 6th win in the last 7 matchups with Duke . " March 6 , 2010 : # 4 Duke 82 , North Carolina 50 " . After struggling mightily during much of the regular season , unranked UNC came into the matchup with a 16 - 14 record , while heavily - favored # 4 Duke was 25 - 5 . The Blue Devils were fighting for a share of the ACC regular season championship and a # 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament . Duke led the game throughout and Nolan Smith , Kyle Singler , and Jon Scheyer all hit consecutive three pointers in the first half in route to a 53 - 26 halftime lead . The " Big 3 " combined for 65 of Duke ' s 82 points . The 32 point victory over the Tar Heels marked the largest margin of victory ever for Duke over UNC at home . The victory gave Duke the regular season sweep over North Carolina , and a share of the ACC regular season crown with Maryland . The victory ensured that the 2010 team finished a perfect 17 - 0 at home during the season . " February 9 , 2011 : # 5 Duke 79 , # 20 North Carolina 73 " . This game had major implications in the ACC regular season race , as both teams entered the game with only one conference loss . Seeking revenge after a 32 - point defeat at Duke the previous year , North Carolina started strong to take a 16 - point lead late in the first half , led by Tyler Zeller with 24 points and 13 rebounds ; and John Henson , who finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds . However , in the second half , the Blue Devils came storming back thanks to a career - high 34 points for Nolan Smith and a season - high 22 for Seth Curry , who scored 18 in the second half . Duke took the lead for good on a Ryan Kelly 3 - pointer with 9 : 14 left , and sealed the victory with a deep pass to Smith , who beat his defender for a dunk with 15 seconds left . This performance gave the Blue Devils their third straight win over the Tar Heels , improving Duke ' s record to 22 - 2 overall ( 9 - 1 in conference ) and an unblemished 14 - 0 at home , while UNC dropped to 17 - 6 on the season . The victory by Duke following a 14 point deficit at halftime also represented the largest comeback from halftime by a Duke team since 1959 . " March 5 , 2011 : # 13 North Carolina 81 , # 4 Duke 67 " . The Tar Heels and the Blue Devils entered the game tied atop the ACC , with the winner of this game clinching the outright ACC regular season title and the top seed in the ACC Tournament — only the fifth winner - take - all game in the history of the rivalry . With North Carolina hosting the contest on Senior Night , they looked to exact revenge on Duke for the 79 - 73 defeat in Durham on February 9 . Down 19 - 18 early in the going , the Tar Heels outscored Duke 33 - 20 to close the half , leading by a score of 51 - 39 at halftime and never relinquishing the lead after that , despite 30 points from Nolan Smith and 20 points from Seth Curry , constituting 50 of Duke ' s 67 total points . Harrison Barnes scored 18 points , while Kendall Marshall scored 15 points and recorded 11 assists as North Carolina snapped a three - game losing streak against Duke and won its 28th ACC regular season title . The game was nationally televised by CBS — the first time that the final regular - season clash has been televised over - the - air in prime time . " March 13 , 2011 : # 6 Duke 75 , # 7 North Carolina 58 " . Duke defeated UNC in the finals of the ACC tournament to capture its record third straight ACC title . The victory gave Duke its 19th ACC Championship and a # 1 seed in the West Region . Nolan Smith had 20 points and 10 assists to lead the Blue Devils and was named the tournament MVP . Kyle Singler added 11 points for the Blue Devils , who ran out to a 18 - point lead in the first half and never looked back . Seth Curry had 11 points , including a 3 - pointer after the Tar Heels had pulled to within nine in the second half . Ryan Kelly added another 3 a few minutes later that helped silence North Carolina ' s last - gasp push and finished with nine points . Duke shot a blistering 62 % in the first half and 50 % for the game . The Blue Devils also shut down North Carolina ' s transition offense behind Smith , who harassed point guard Kendall Marshall so much that Williams yanked the normally steady freshman twice in the first 7 1 / 2 minutes . " February 8 , 2012 : # 10 Duke 85 , # 5 North Carolina 84 " . UNC held a lead of 10 points or more for most of the second half and were leading by 10 points until 2 : 09 when Duke ' s Tyler Thornton hit a 3 point shot quickly followed by another 3 point shot by Seth Curry to close the margin to 4 . With just 14 seconds left in the game , Tyler Zeller accidentally tipped the ball into the Duke basket on a Duke 3 point shot by Ryan Kelly . Duke was awarded 2 points on the tip in by Zeller leaving Carolina with a 1 - point lead . Duke ' s Tyler Thornton fouled Zeller who made his first shot but missed his second leaving Carolina with a 2 - point lead . Duke brought the ball up court following the defensive rebound off Zeller ' s missed free throw and Duke guard Austin Rivers drained the game - winning 3 pointer as time expired . Rivers finished the game with a career high 29 points , including six three pointers . Rameses , UNC ’ s famed live mascot , passed away the next day . Ann Leonard , Ramses ’ owner , said the 8 - year - old ram died peacefully , most likely of old age . Some students at UNC sympathetically believed he died of a " broken heart . " " March 3 , 2012 : # 6 North Carolina 88 , # 3 Duke 70 " . On March 3 , UNC and Duke found themselves in the same situation as in 2011 — tied atop the ACC standings , with the winner getting the outright regular season title . Still smarting from their loss a month earlier on an Austin Rivers ' buzzer - beating 3 , North Carolina came into to Cameron Indoor Stadium on a mission to exact revenge . The video of the Austin Rivers ' game winner was replayed on the videoboard as the Tar Heel lineup was being announced before the game . This did not go unnoticed by the Tar Heel players . The Cameron Crazies were relegated to stunned silence just minutes into the contest , as UNC started the game on fire and rushed out to a 22 - 5 early lead . Duke had trouble finding any sort of offensive rhythm , and UNC had Duke doubled up 48 - 24 at the half . It was the largest halftime deficit ever for Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium and the largest halftime deficit anywhere for Duke since it trailed UNC by 24 at halftime in Chapel Hill in 1990 . In the second half , UNC led by as many as 26 points . Determined to make a run , however , Duke managed to hit some critical three pointers and cut the deficit to 11 , and had a chance to cut it to 8 , as a Seth Curry 3 was just off the mark with five and half minutes to play . UNC regained its stranglehold on the game shortly after and cruised to a 88 - 70 win and its second straight regular season title . It would prove to be Duke ' s worst loss in Cameron to UNC since 1989 . " February 13 , 2013 : # 2 Duke 73 , North Carolina 68 " . The second - ranked Blue Devils beat its top rival the North Carolina Tar Heels 73 - 68 . Duke shot 44 percent during the first half , and 52 percent in the second half . The Blue Devils erased a slow start with a timely run and win its sixth straight this season and sixth in eight meetings in college basketball ' s fiercest rivalry . For North Carolina , P . J . Hairston matched a career high with 23 points and Reggie Bullock had 15 points with four 3 - pointers . The Tar Heels led for the first 26 minutes , but went on to lose its second straight game . The win was a nice present for Krzyzewski , who was celebrating his 66th birthday . " March 9 , 2013 : # 3 Duke 69 , North Carolina 53 " . Both teams started the basketball year ranked in the top 25 . Duke came into Chapel Hill and dominated from the opening tip on its way to a convincing 69 - 53 victory . This give the Blue Devils its first regular season sweep of North Carolina in three years heading into the ACC Tournament . Duke started the game with a large lead of 14 - 0 . In all the Blue Devils made 18 of 26 shots over the opening 20 minutes of the game ( 69 . 2 percent ) , compared to just nine of 33 shots for the Tar Heels ( 27 . 3 percent ) . Duke built a 42 - 24 by the end of the first half . The Tar Heels put together a brief 13 - 2 rally to cut the lead within 14 points in the final seven minutes , but that ' s as close as North Carolina would get , as Duke pushed the advantage back up to 18 points by the four - minute mark . Results . Scores of games ( 1945 – 2013 ) . Winning team is shown in bold . Ranking of the team at the time of the game by the AP poll is shown in parenthesis next to the team name ( failure to list AP ranking does not necessarily mean the team was not ranked at the time of the game ) . Football . The football rivalry was once as bitter as the basketball rivalry , but has been less intense for much of the last quarter - century . North Carolina has won 21 of the last 23 meetings with Duke on the field ( two UNC wins have since been vacated ) . While both schools agree that North Carolina holds a large lead in the series , the two schools disagree on an 1889 game in which both teams thought they were supposed to be the home team . North Carolina claims a 58 - 36 - 4 lead ; Duke claims UNC leads 57 - 37 - 4 . On 10 / 20 / 12 , Duke beat UNC in football for the first time since 2003 . Nonetheless , there is some tradition behind the rivalry . The two teams first met in 1888 , and the rivalry has been renewed every year since 1922 . In the 1920s Duke began appearing as the last game of the North Carolina football season with some regularity , Virginia being the other team with that spot ( see the North Carolina Media Guide The Tar Heels - Blue Devils matchup would be the last regular season game for both teams for all but a few years from the 1930s until the ACC split into two divisions in 2005 . Although UNC and Duke were both placed in the Coastal Division , North Carolina State frequently became the last game on the Tar Heels ' schedule . Other sports . The rivalry between Duke and North Carolina has spilled over into other arenas . Beginning in 2001 , the rivalry has been strengthened by the creation of the Carlyle Cup . This cup is given each year to the school that has the most combined head - to - head wins against the other school in all of the shared varsity sports . UNC has claimed the cup 7 times , winning in 2002 , 2005 , 2006 , 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , and 2011 . Duke has won the cup 3 times , in 2001 , 2003 , and 2004 . UNC and Duke tied for the cup in 2007 . Duke and North Carolina have also developed a strong women ' s college basketball rivalry since the 1990s as Duke and North Carolina field two of the strongest women ' s basketball teams in the nation . Duke made four Women ' s Final Four appearances in 1999 , 2002 , 2003 , and 2006 but has not won a championship . North Carolina won its first NCAA Women ' s Division I Basketball Championship in 1994 , and made three Women ' s Final Four appearances in 1994 , 2006 , and 2007 . In 1992 North Carolina defeated Duke by a 9 - 1 score in the NCAA championship game in women ' s soccer in a game played in Chapel Hill ' s Fetzer Field , a decided home advantage for the Tar Heels . UNC was led by future Team USA legends Kristine Lilly and Mia Hamm . This is the only time the two schools have ever met for a national championship in any sport . In 2007 , 2008 , and 2010 , Duke and North Carolina played each other in the NCAA Lacrosse Quarterfinals , with Duke winning each time . Twenty four students from the two schools got together from January 14 – 16 , 2006 in order to attempt to break the world record for the longest continuous game of basketball ever recorded . The game set a new world record at 57 hours , 17 minutes and 41 seconds with Duke winning the game 3699 - 3444 . All $ 60 , 000 raised from the marathon benefited the Hoop Dreams Basketball Academy , an organization which helps children with life - threatening illnesses develop successful life skills through basketball . School newspapers . As a tradition , one day prior to a Duke - North Carolina basketball game , " The Chronicle " , Duke ' s student newspaper , publishes a spoof cover page for the day ' s edition with the title " The Daily Tar Hole " . Contained within are fake news stories poking fun at " The Daily Tar Heel " and the North Carolina Tar Heels . " The Daily Tar Heel " typically publishes former columnist Ian Williams ' " Insider ' s guide to hating Duke " for the two basketball match - ups each year . There is a longstanding agreement that if Duke wins the first matchup , " The Daily Tar Heel ' s " masthead is printed in Duke blue , and if North Carolina wins the first matchup , " The Chronicle ' s " masthead is painted Carolina blue . The losing school ' s paper also has to put the other school ' s logo in a conspicuous location and claim that the winning school is " still the best . "