NEW ORLEANS – The ball was in North Carolina guard Caleb Love’s hands, and there was absolutely no doubt it would leave there in one of only two ways. Somehow a Duke defender would manage to steal it from him, unlikely in the moment, or he’d be launching some sort of shot at the basket in front of him. This was not a moment for anyone to be thinking about a pass, and you could see it in the demeanor of the other nine players on the court as the final half-minute of this Final Four game approached.
Three of the Carolina players stood far removed as he dribbled away half the shot clock. Forward Leaky Black was closest, wondering if it would be wise to drag electric Duke center Mark Williams near to the play by setting a screen. Black glanced over his shoulder, toward coach Hubert Davis, and soon was dashing across the court to throw a block on the Blue Devils’ Trevor Keels that would have made Super Bowl champion Harris Barton proud.
There was so much for Duke to ponder in that tiny splinter of time. Literally 4/10ths of a second advanced from the time Keels collided with Black until Love read Williams’ intentions. Duke would protect the lane, given all the damage Love, Armando Bacot and the Heels had visited upon the Devils in and around the goal.
In such brutally beautiful moments are the best of basketball games won or lost.
And this was on that list.
The first NCAA Tournament meeting ever between rivals North Carolina and Duke, a chance for revenge for the Tar Heels spoiling the final regular season game at Cameron Indoor Stadium for Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski, an opportunity for Carolina to send him into retirement with an “L” he’d never be able to counter and reach the title game against Kansas – all of this consequence was crammed into 40 minutes of basketball that featured so many breathtaking moments it will be discussed among such semifinal classics as Duke-UNLV 1991, Gonzaga-UCLA 2021 and maybe even UCLA-NC State 1974.
It ended, officially, with North Carolina owning an 81-77 advantage over Duke. It ended, practically, when Caleb Love made a 3-pointer that will rank among the best shots in the school’s rich history, especially if it leads to greater things Monday night.
CALEB LOVE IN THE CLUTCH FOR UNC
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“Our most consistent way against their set defense to be able to create shots was off ball screens,” Davis told The Sporting News. “And so whether it was our guards shooting behind the screens a 3, or penetrating and getting to the lane, or Armando rolling to the basket, against Duke’s defense and drawing Mark out a way from the basket, that gave us the best chance to be able to score.
“Very few guys in that situation are looking for that type of shot. Caleb is one of them. He has the confidence to be able to knock it down.”
The difference between Davis’ apprehension and Love’s intent was stark. A 3-pointer would give North Carolina a 4-point lead with less than 25 seconds remaining. It would hardly be over at that point, but the Heels would be in the garage getting ready to park the car. A drive would open up a number of possibilities, but a successful layup would leave the Devils still in 3-point range.
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By the time Williams realized Love had stopped to fire from 21 feet, it was too late – even for a 7-footer with arms that could reach the roof of the Caesars Superdome and quickness like a sprinter leaving the blocks. Williams had dropped his right foot just above the foul line and his left foot touched the top of the key. It was too much distance to cover in too little time.
Love made it seem like there were other choices for Carolina in this moment, eager to meld into the team rather than stand above all as a hero. His backcourt partner, RJ Davis, again had been brilliant. Davis was the hero of the North Carolina victory at Duke that invigorated the Tar Heels’ season. And here he had scored 18 points, passed for four assists and made half his four 3-point attempts.
Davis is not quite as clever at creating his own shot, though, and Love had demonstrated in scoring 27 second-half points against an airtight UCLA defense in the Sweet 16 – more than a third of Carolina’s output in a 73-66 victory – the sporting courage to seize an entire half of basketball if necessary.
“Coach puts the ball in me or RJ’s hand and tells us to make a play,” Love said. “RJ and me have been doing it all season. Whoever has the ball, we both made great plays. And it just happened to be in my hands, so I made the play. And we came out on top.”
There will be photographs that make it appear as though Williams’ challenge were on time, but the ball was far enough gone by the time his left arm appeared to block Love’s vision. The net moved just enough as the ball ripped through for Carolina fans in the vast stadium to recognize their dream was coming true.
Krzyzewski was finished.
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“That’s something I’ve never thought about and would never think about,” Davis said. “All I’m thinking about are these kids, these players. And I told them how happy I am to get a front-row seat for them to go through this season and these experiences. It’s a blessing for me. It’s a privilege. It’s an honor.”
The Tar Heels are not. Finished, I mean.
It looked as if they were when they started the ACC season with a 4-3 record, perhaps more so when Duke visited the Dean E. Smith Center and slapped a 20-point loss on them and most of all when Pitt, the ACC’s 13th-place team, which didn’t win another game all season, visited Chapel Hill and left with a 9-point victory over a Carolina squad Davis was constantly insisting, inside the program, was good enough to win the NCAA title.
“I would say our belief all year was strong that we could get to this point,” Bacot said. “I don’t know if it was belief or it was just us being delusional … I mean, at every point of the season we knew if we came together as a team that we can get to the championship. And that’s what we did.”
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