Duke's Scheyer Details Concerns After Court Storm

The No. 4-ranked Duke Blue Devils (21-2, 10-1 ACC) fell in heartbreaking fashion to No. 14 North Carolina on Saturday night after holding double-digit leads in both halves. Duke had a chance to take the lead with less than 15 seconds to go, but a missed layup by freshman sensation Cameron Boozer gave the Tar Heels a chance to win it at the buzzer.

North Carolina did just that. Tar Heel guard Seth Trimble hit a buzzer-beating three with less than half a second left on the game clock to hand UNC a 71-68 victory in an instant classic.

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Now, the buzzer-beater led to a wild court storm by North Carolina fans, and justifiably so. It's an appropriate reaction to a win in that fashion, especially at home in the best rivalry in all of college basketball.

There were actually two storms by UNC fans. The court was stormed after Trimble hit the game-winner as the buzzer sounded out loud. The officials then elected to put 0.4 seconds back on the game clock, so the court had to be cleared just for it to be taken over quickly after.

veesaa — Feb 2, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Kyan Evans (0) and center Henri Veesaar (13) and forward Jonathan Powell (11) react in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Storming the court in a win like that is valid until the opposing team is put in a dangerous position. That's what Jon Scheyer felt occurred while the Tar Heel faithful ran onto the floor.

Scheyer opened his press conference after the loss detailing how his staffers were hit in the face.

UNC students hitting Jump Around following the (second) court storm pic.twitter.com/1SFPMMWxm7
— Brian Rauf (@brauf33) February 8, 2026

"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."

UNC Athletic Director Makes Statement After Court Storm

University of North Carolina Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham also made a statement after the game, relaying his priority for safety and sending an apology to Scheyer and the rest of the Duke team.

“Rivalry games are tremendous," Cunningham said. "Court storming, absolutely fabulous. And it’s really tough, and I feel for our event staff. When they rushed the court, a number of people got knocked over, but then we had to clear the court again. And so when we normally have something like just rushing the court, and the game is over, we do have a line by the benches to get people out safely. So again, I apologize to Coach, his family, obviously if somebody got injured that’s just really, really disappointing. But, we’ll do the best we can to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

scheye — Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer yells in the first half as his team fell behind by 10 points in the first half. The Duke Blue Devils rallied from being down nine points at the half to beat Louisville 84-73 Tuesday night at KFC Yum Center January 6, 2026. | Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Court storming has been a hot topic of debate in college basketball over the last few years, and this incident could bring up conversations even more.

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