North Carolina Battle Back and Stun Duke in Final Seconds

The North Carolina Tar Heels hosted the Duke Blue Devils at the Dean E. Smith Center on Saturday night in a pivotal ACC matchup.

If the Tar Heels wanted any chance of winning the ACC regular season title, which was already slim, a win was necessary. Here is how the North Carolina-Duke contest played out on Saturday night.

First Half

Feb 7, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Caleb Wilson (8) and Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) fight for the ball in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Most of North Carolina's roster did not have experience in this specific matchup, and it showed, as Duke jumped out to a 14-5 lead, forcing head coach Hubert Davis to burn an early timeout. With 14:54 on the clock, the Blue Devils led 14-5. Seth Trimble accounted for all five points for the Tar Heels.

Duke would push the lead to 18-5 coming out of the timeout, which prompted Caleb Wilson to impose his presence on the offensive end of the floor. The freshman forward commanded the ball in the post time and time again, scoring four quick points while drawing two fouls on Blue Devils' forward Maliq Brown. Duke leads 20-9 with 11:45 on the clock and Wilson set to shoot two free throws.

Wilson would be directly involved in the Tar Heels next 14 points, scoring 11 of those points. The freshman phenom had his fingerprints all over this game, and that extended onto defense, as he drew Cameron Boozer's second foul of the game with 9:33 left in the first half. The Blue Devils' lead was trimmed to 22-20 at the under-eight timeout.

Feb 7, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Caleb Wilson (8) shoots as Duke Blue Devils forward Maliq Brown (6) and guard Cayden Boozer (2) defend in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

It was becoming a common theme for Wilson to draw a foul on a key player, this time forcing Patrick Ngongba II to pick up his third foul at the five-minute mark. Duke leads 30-27 with 3:52 remaining in the first half.

Duke closed out the first half on an 11-2 run, taking a 41-29 lead into halftime. Wilson played all 20 minutes, scoring 17 points while shooting 5-of-7 from the field and 6-of-6 from the free throw line.

Second Half

Feb 7, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Caleb Wilson (8) with the ball as Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) defends in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

North Carolina's offense continued to run through Wilson, who scored the team's first four points of the second half. The Tar Heels did not learn their lesson from the first half and repeatedly left Sarr unoccupied on the perimeter, who hit another uncontested three from the left corner. Duke's freshman forward had 13 points while shooting 5-of-5 from the field, including 2-of-2 from three-point range. The Blue Devils lead 49-38 at the first media timeout, but Ngongba picked up his fourth foul.

Pace was the narrative within the next four minutes, as both teams were running up and down the floor, trading quick baskets in transition. Suddenly, Boozer had 19 points and seven rebounds. With Ngongba off the court, the Tar Heels forced the ball to Henri Veesaar, who had zero points in the first half. However, the Arizona transfer bullied Boozer on consecutive possessions, scoring six quick points. With 10:57 left in the game, Duke leads North Carolina 59-52.

Feb 7, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Maliq Brown (6) with the ball as North Carolina Tar Heels center Henri Veesaar (13) defends in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

It was a defensive slugfest in the ensuing stretch before the next media timeout, with both teams combining for four points over that span. The Blue Devils lead 62-53 at the under-eight timeout.

Despite being down the entire game, the Tar Heels continued to battle, trimming the deficit to 66-62 with a little over three minutes remaining in the game.

After picking up a defensive stop, the Tar Heels had possession of the ball with 10 seconds left coming out of a timeout. Derek Dixon would drive and kick to a wide-open Trimble, who hit a three-point shot with 0.4 seconds remaining. It was North Carolina's first lead of the game.

Final: North Carolina 71, Duke 68

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