University of North Carolina Athletics
Today In UNC-Duke History: March 4, 2006
March 4, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Carolina's win at top-ranked Duke on the last day of the 2005-06 regular season would have been a memorable victory under any circumstances. But to truly understand what elevated it to one of the very best regular season wins of the Roy Williams era--and in contention for the top spot in that category--you have to understand the atmosphere of Tobacco Road basketball in 2006.
The Tar Heels were coming off a 2005 national championship that saw four players leave for NBA lottery pick riches. Now, we look back and realize how good the incoming recruiting class--featuring Tyler Hansbrough, Danny Green, Marcus Ginyard and Bobby Frasor--was going to be.
At the time, though, most expected the season to be mediocre. The ACC media picked the Tar Heels sixth. Sports Illustrated, as Williams enjoyed pointing out for most of the year, left Carolina out of its projected NCAA Tournament field. The Tar Heels were mostly expected to spend the year enjoying the shine from their 2005 trophy, and not much else.
Meanwhile, in Durham, J.J. Redick was concluding one of the most decorated careers in league history. Entering the Carolina-Duke game in Durham, Redick was fresh off becoming Duke's all-time leading scorer and the ACC's leading scorer within the past two weeks. The senior had been sensational in the first meeting between the two teams, scoring 22 of his 35 points in the second half in an 87-83 Duke win at the Smith Center.
Redick's senior day, which he shared with Shelden Williams, was expected to be more of a coronation than a competition. The Tar Heels had pushed into the top 25 at the start of February and were riding a six-game winning streak, but were not expected to be much of a threat at Cameron Indoor Stadium, where the program had not earned a victory since 2001.
But the young team, which was led by Williams and senior David Noel, had other ideas. Marcus Ginyard spent the entire game harassing Redick, who finished 5-for-21 from the field and made just one of his final 16 shots. In addition to his defensive efforts, Ginyard also scored 12 points.
"I hope it isn't cockiness," Roy Williams said after the game, "but I told them that I thought we were the only team in the country that could come in here and win this game. I believed that we could if we played."
Hansbrough, meanwhile, was making a stellar debut on the court he would dominate during his four years at Carolina, finishing with 27 points and 10 rebounds. The most memorable of those points came on a desperation three-pointer late in the shot clock that remains the signature shot from the game.
A late Duke rally gave the Blue Devils the ball down just three points with under a minute to play. But Green came up with a huge strip of Sean Dockery, the final defensive stand on a night when the Carolina defense was very good against a potent Duke offense.
With the lead still three and 23 seconds left, Frasor nailed a couple of clutch free throws, and Hansbrough also made a pair to seal the 83-76 win.
"When I knocked down those free throws, it hit me that we'd just come in here and beat Duke," the Poplar Bluff native said. "It doesn't get any better than this."
The most telling stat from the game: Carolina's four freshmen scored 55 points. Duke's four senior starters--Redick, Williams, Sean Dockery and Lee Melchionni--scored just 51.
Adam Lucas is the editor of CAROLINA.
