One of the biggest showdowns in men鈥檚 college basketball is in the history books.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill beat Duke University on Saturday night at the Final Four in New Orleans, making it the last game for legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Blue Devils.
Carolina Tar Heel fans flooded downtown Chapel Hill after the big 81-77 win over Duke. There were parties on every corner with fans chanting: 鈥淭ar! Heels! Tar! Heels! Tar! Heels! Tar! Heels!鈥�
One of the loudest fans was UNC freshman Audrey Xie, who was about to lose her voice from cheering so hard.
鈥淚t was so close and yet, we did so well,鈥� Xie said.
Caleb Love鈥檚 three-pointer with seconds left in the game solidified UNC鈥檚 win.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 do it without my guys and my coaches. And so, I give all my credit to them,鈥� Love said after he scored a game-high 28 points. 鈥淭hey put me in position. It was a team effort. And so, one game away from a national championship, what else can you say.鈥�
This is Hubert Davis鈥� first year as UNC鈥檚 head basketball coach. He played in a Final Four as a Tar Heels鈥� player in 1991 under Dean Smith.
Davis said his team deserves to celebrate.
鈥淎ll I鈥檓 thinking about are these kids, these players,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淎nd I told them that 鈥� how happy I am that I get a front row seat鈥� For them to go through this season and go through these experiences. It鈥檚 a blessing for me, it鈥檚 a privilege, it鈥檚 an honor. Those are the things I鈥檓 thinking about.鈥�
In Minneapolis, coach Courtney Banghart celebrates the Tar Heels鈥� victory over Duke.
— 蜜桃传媒 (@wunc)
The hype surrounding this showdown was enormous. Earlier this week, Gov. Roy Cooper proclaimed North Carolina the 鈥淐enter of the College Basketball Universe.鈥�
And in all these years that the UNC and Duke men have made it to the NCAA Tournament, they had never played each other in the postseason, until Saturday.
鈥淎nd tonight was a battle,鈥� Krzyzewski said. 鈥淚 mean it was a game that, the winner was going to be joyous and the loser was going to be in agony.鈥�
Krzyzewski 鈥� the 75-year-old Hall of Fame coach for Duke 鈥� addressed how emotional his team was after this loss. He knows they wanted to win for him, his last season and his last game as the leader of the Blue Devils.
鈥淚 wanted my seasons to end where my team was either crying tears of joy or tears of sorrow, because then you knew that they gave everything,鈥� Krzyzewski said. 鈥淎nd I had a locker room filled with guys who were crying.鈥�
鈥淭here were also tears at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Duke鈥檚 campus in Durham, where thousands of students watched the game on a huge screen. And then they silently walked outside, huddling in groups to talk. One of them was Chloe Abi Zeid Daou, a graduate student at Duke.
鈥淭o think about the fact that Coach K鈥檚 final moment doesn鈥檛 define his legacy. Look at me writing an essay,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t sucks, but I mean, his career was great. So, that鈥檚 something to celebrate, I guess.鈥�
Monday night, Carolina will see if it can go all the way, when they face the University of Kansas in the championship game.
