CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — That’s why it’s the best damn rivalry in college sports, folks.
Despite No. 4 Duke leading for over 39 minutes of Saturday’s rivalry tilt at No. 14 North Carolina, despite the Tar Heels almost singularly relying on star freshman Caleb Wilson for offensive juice, despite the Blue Devils having only lost one game all season, the game was there for the taking when it mattered most.
Only 10.6 seconds on the clock. Tied at 68. May the best team win.
On Saturday, that was the Tar Heels, who didn’t lead all game … until senior guard Seth Trimble’s game-winning 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left, a shot which will live forever in Tobacco Road lore.
SETH TRIMBLE WINS IT FOR NORTH CAROLINA 😱
OUR SPORT>>>> https://t.co/LetlawFb6y pic.twitter.com/oSMZvxphLj
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) February 8, 2026
It was UNC’s first game-winning shot with less than a second left since Luke Maye’s epic Elite 8 dagger against Kentucky in the 2017 NCAA Tournament. The roaring Tar Heels crowd stormed the court, were removed so the clock could rewind for the last .4 seconds, then did it all over again as Trimble and company disappeared in another sea of Carolina blue.
In what was billed as a battle of top-five freshmen. Instead, it was North Carolina’s longest-tenured player — Hubert Davis’ lone four-year player, and the only Tar Heel who had played in the rivalry before Saturday — who made the difference when it mattered most.
Trimble finished with 16 points and two rebounds, including the last one of the game, arguably the most pivotal of his career, off a missed Cam Boozer layup. He also had just one turnover in his final home game against the Blue Devils.
Boozer and Wilson, the pair of future-lottery-pick freshmen, more than delivered. The future All-Americans combined for 47 points and 15 rebounds — 23 and four for Wilson, 24 and 11 for Boozer — and largely steered the game.
That is, until the very last second.
Jon Scheyer’s Duke team grabbed control of the game immediately, bursting out of the gates for an 18-5 advantage in the opening minutes. Much of that lopsidedness came defensively, as the Blue Devils’ physicality forced UNC into a dismal 2-for-9 start. UNC, on the other hand, practically escorted Duke’s cutters and drivers to the rim — especially Isaiah Evans and Dame Sarr, who combined for 19 first-half points — while allowing Scheyer’s squad to start 6 for 7 on layups. Paint dominance, established.
But with UNC teetering at the under-12 media timeout, Wilson, North Carolina’s 19-year-old leading scorer and emotional weathervane, took over. After barking in the Tar Heels’ huddle, Wilson proceeded to score on four out of five consecutive possessions, eviscerating Duke with his baseline jumper and drop step. That surge eventually made it 22-20, at which point the sellout Dean Smith Center crowd finally roared to life.
Duke — as it had previously this season in high-profile wins over Kansas, Arkansas and Michigan State — responded with an 8-0 run of its own to regain a double-digit lead. By halftime, the lead stood at 12, with Duke leading 41-29 despite “only” nine first-half points from Boozer, the current Wooden Award frontrunner.
Wilson’s carrying of North Carolina continued early in the second half, as he scored UNC’s first two baskets after intermission in flashy fashion: a turnaround, contested jumper over Boozer and an up-and-under layup in transition. But then, after a deferential first half, Boozer put this thumb on the game’s scale for good. Racking up Duke’s next 11 points by himself, the 6-foot-9 wrecking ball kept the Tar Heels at bay.
It wasn’t until the final six minutes, with time running out, that Davis’ team mounted one final charge. By fouling out Duke center Patrick Ngonba with 6:18 left, plus getting fellow Blue Devil center Maliq Brown into more foul trouble, UNC finally faced less interior resistance and started feeding Henri Veesaar inside. All 13 of the 7-footer’s points came in the second half, as he finally looked like the interior complement he’s been to Wilson all season.
Duke had a chance to win, calling a timeout with 39.4 seconds to play and setting up its last look. That unsurprisingly went to Boozer, who missed in rare fashion at the rim and cracked open the door for UNC one last time.
Turns out, that was all Trimble and the Tar Heels needed.