Rivers’ defining moment adds to rivalry
Capel’s runner, Williams’ put-back, Duhon’s coast-to-coast.
Now, Rivers’ dagger.
Yet another thrilling chapter to the storied Duke-North Carolina rivalry was capped by Austin Rivers’ buzzer-beating three-pointer to lift the Blue Devils to a 85-84 win in Chapel Hill.
There’s some ice old royal blue blood running through the freshman’s veins.
It would have been easy to leave Duke for dead when it trailed 82-72 with 2:39 left to play, but it would have made no sense whatsoever. In most cases — almost any one but this — the Blue Devils’ 13-2 run would be called shocking, improbable even, but when these two teams take the court together, nothing is impossible.
Tyler Zeller’s tip-in of a Duke three-pointer with 18 seconds left isn’t supposed to happen. But it did. Zeller isn’t supposed to miss 2-of-4 free throws in crunch time. But he did.
The Blue Devils showed an element of resolve and focus that they had been heavily criticized for lacking in recent weeks. On the same night that Florida State was stunned on the road by Boston College to shake up the race for the ACC title, Duke turned it on its head. The league is entirely up for grabs for the time being.
As for Rivers, the final shot put the finishing touches on easily the best game of his young career. He’s endured more than a fair share of scrutiny over the past three months, but there was little to criticize about his performance Wednesday.
Rivers’ style does not fit with Duke’s system, plain and simple. He does not facilitate the ball in the half court, and he does not move well without the ball unless it’s for a spot-up jumper. Carolina allowed Rivers to play at a pace far more conducive to his style, and the results speak for themselves. He finished with 29 points on 6-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc. Through all of the ups and downs that Rivers has been and will go through this season, he will always have this night as a staple of his legacy. This game matters that much.
The Tar Heels have spent all season in the nation’s spotlight. They are supposed to be champions. That’s not the goal. That’s the expectation. Champions do not squander ten-point leads in the final two and a half minutes to anyone. Again, another instant classic in this rivalry is far from surprising, but it does not serve as an excuse for a Carolina team that quite simply isn’t as good as everyone wants it to be.
Losing Dexter Strickland for the season with a torn ACL is a much bigger problem than it appeared on the surface even before tonight. It is forcing Kendall Marshall to play 3-4 minutes per game more than he was accustomed to, which will add up by season’s end and will by a significant hindrance the further the Heels go in March.
P.J. Hairston’s slump continued Wednesday, and he’s now averaging three points per game on 17 percent three-point shooting. The backcourt depth that was supposed to be a strength this year with Strickland and Leslie McDonald is non-existent.
Kentucky made a very loud and very clear statement Tuesday that it was the prohibitive national championship favorite with a 20-point win over seventh-ranked Florida at home. Carolina had a golden opportunity to respond Wednesday, but it couldn’t. It’s now clear that Kentucky is in a class of its own with Syracuse as only elite teams in the country. North Carolina is a cut below those two teams, along with Ohio State. The Tar Heels are better than Duke, but not Wednesday, and that’s what mattered.
Within moments, one legacy was built while another is now at risk of falling by the wayside.
Just another night on Tobacco Road.
