ACC Fines UNC After Court Storm Against Duke

On today's episode of the Duke Blue Devils Insider Podcast, we discussed the ACC fining the University of North Carolina following its fans' court storm against Duke.

Jan 31, 2026; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer watches his team against the Virginia Tech Hokies during the second half against Virginia Tech Hokies at Cassell Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bishop-Imagn Images | Brian Bishop-Imagn Images

On Saturday night, No. 11 North Carolina (19-4, 7-3 ACC) sent its fans into a frenzy after guard Seth Trimble knocked down a buzzer-beating three to hand the Tar Heels a 71-68 victory in Chapel Hill over archrival No. 4 Duke (21-2, 10-1 ACC). North Carolina gave the Blue Devils their first loss in conference play and snapped the team's 10-game win streak.

An appropriate reaction after a team wins at home off a buzzer-beater in the most storied rivalry in the history of college basketball, UNC fans stormed the court. They actually stormed twice, as after the final buzzer sounded following Trimble's shot, the officials elected to add 0.4 seconds back onto the game clock.

Watch Today's Full Episode Below

The Tar Heel faithful then had to be cleared from the court just to rush it again a few seconds later.

Duke head coach Jon Scheyer was not pleased with the court storm, beginning his press conference by saying that one of his staffers had been punched in the face.

Jan 24, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer gestures during the second half against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images | Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

"It's hard to talk about the game when I was most concerned for the safety of our players," Scheyer said in his press conference. "I don't want to make it about that, but... I got staff members that got punched in the face... That's not what this game is about. That was a scary ending."

Duke declined to reveal the identity of the staffer who was allegedly punched in the face for privacy purposes. However, Scheyer did release an update on Monday on the staffer's health.

Jan 24, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer (right) talks to forward Isaiah Evans (3) during the second half against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images | Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

“He had a bloody lip," Scheyer said. "He didn’t know what happened. He got punched in the face and trampled. But he’s doing better. He’s fine.”

Dec 12, 2024; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham at Loudermilk Center for Excellence. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

ACC Fines UNC for Court Storm

Conferences have their own rules set in place for court storms alone, and UNC received a $50,000 fine by the ACC for violating "the league's event security policy."

"We accept the ACC's fine for having unauthorized people on the court before Duke and the officials could completely clear the floor on Saturday," the school said in a statement. "The video we have confirms we followed our protocols to get Duke's players and bench personnel and the game officials off the floor safely. We will continue to review our protocols to provide the highest measures of safety in the event fans rush the court."

Feb 7, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Caleb Wilson (8) on the court in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Duke and North Carolina are set to meet one more time this season at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 7.

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