North Carolina ruined Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski’s farewell at home at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday night as the Tar Heels upset the No. 4 Blue Devils, 94–81.
But Sunday’s game isn’t the last match to grab attention. What drew attention on Monday was the previous two-program competition at Chapel Hill in February.
North Carolina chose not to honor Coach K in his final Dean Dome game, overruling the efforts of other competing schools in the ACC who chose to do so in Coach K’s final season with the Blue Devils. The lack of a gesture from North Carolina reportedly upset some associated with the Duke basketball program.
Duke entered the toughest stretch of the season: four games in eight days, five in 12. They became coded mantras – 4 out of 8, 5 out of 12 – and the whole program was frozen in combat mode, like a warship that sounds common quarters and turns on the red light,” wrote Wright Thompson of ESPN. “Duke won that first game against Carolina – people on the program were outraged that the Tar Heels didn’t honor Krzyzewski during the game – and then turned around and lost to Virginia, a well-trained team that gives Duke a nervous breakdown.”
While it may seem a bit surprising that Coach K wasn’t honored at Chapel Hill, it’s understandable why the bitter rivalry between the two schools made UNC hesitant about honoring him.
If those associated with the Duke program are as frustrated by North Carolina’s lack of gesture as the article suggests, it’s likely they could be even crazier now as the Tar Heels ruined Coach K’s last home game on Saturday.
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