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University of North Carolina Athletics
Today In UNC-Duke History: March 6, 2005
March 6, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Nearly ten years later, with the benefit of the hindsight provided by two national titles and three Final Fours, it seems fairly obvious: Carolina's 75-73 win over Duke in the 2005 regular season finale was the most important regular season win of the Roy Williams era.
Up to that point, Williams had directed the Tar Heels to some big victories. The victory over top-ranked Connecticut at the Smith Center in his first season as a head coach was a good one, and Carolina already had four wins over ranked teams during the 2004-05 season.
But Duke was different. The Tar Heels had fumbled away a chance to win at Cameron Indoor Stadium earlier that season, and to that point were 0-3 against the Blue Devils during the Williams era, with the combined margin of defeat a frustrating eight points in those three games. Duke had won 10 of the past 11 games in the series. It felt like Carolina was back, but they needed to beat their rival to finally prove it.
This time, they'd get their chance with the ACC regular season championship at stake, as both teams entered the game at 13-2 in the league. It was also senior day for an important trio of Jawad Williams, Melvin Scott and Jackie Manuel that had been through some of the program's toughest years, and was now emerging with a chance to be one of the most beloved classes in program history.
It was all there: the seniors who wanted to go out with a win, and the head coach desperate to have them leave with a victory. A winner-take-all title game. A program trying to reestablish itself at the top of the league.
All those factors combined to create a Smith Center environment that was perhaps the closest recent equivalent to the Feb. 20 win over the Blue Devils, which was the most intense wire-to-wire atmosphere in the building's history. The sellout crowd of 22,125, the largest in Smith Center history, roared when the seniors were honored before the game. They murmured as J.J. Redick helped Duke build a 19-11 lead, but were fully back in the game by the time the Tar Heels grabbed a 47-41 halftime advantage.
Duke seized the lead back again midway through the second half, and eventually led by nine points after a Lee Melchionni three-pointer with 3:07 remaining.
And that's when it all started.
"I love the competitiveness of our team when we were down nine inside three minutes," Roy Williams said. "I told them that if they were to make a total commitment to every possession on the defensive end and every possession on the offensive end, we would still have a chance at the end."
Jawad Williams scored on an offensive rebound, and then Marvin Williams hit a pair of free throws. DeMarcus Nelson helped by missing the front end of a one-and-one, and then Sean May--who was on his way to an incredible 26-point, 24-rebound performance, his eighth straight double-double--converted a three-point play.
Carolina had cut the deficit to just two points in less than 90 seconds. Redick missed a three-pointer, but Raymond Felton's potential game-tying shot rimmed out. Felton quickly made up for it, however, as David Noel poked the ball away from Daniel Ewing with 33 seconds remaining and Felton helped gobble it up. Twelve seconds later, the junior point guard made one of two free throws after being fouled on a drive.
The second of those free throws bounced off the rim to the right, and caromed to Marvin Williams. The freshman banked through the offensive rebound and drew a foul on Shelden Williams, sparking one of the two loudest single moments in Smith Center history (the other was George Lynch's steal against Florida State in 1993). To this day, Roy Williams says that moment was the loudest single burst of noise he has heard in any arena at any point in his career.
Marvin Williams made the free throw, the Tar Heels survived missed jumpers by Redick and Ewing, and the celebration began as soon as May corralled the final rebound.
"It's been a long journey," said Manuel, whose defense helped Redick to 5-for-13 from the field, of the trip from 8-20 to ACC regular season champions. "To be honest, I didn't really know if we could do it. You really appreciate the highs when you've been at the bottom and seen the worst."
If you're going to relive it, you really need the Woody Durham/Mick Mixon soundtrack to go with it:
After rewatching the UNC-centric version of One Shining Moment put together by Jones Angell for the championship DVD, it's possible it may have gotten even better with age. From start (Dean Smith cameo) to middle (Super Dave Harder cameo) to finish ("Don't even worry...") there are chills all over the place.
Adam Lucas is the editor of CAROLINA.