The No. 4-ranked Duke Blue Devils (21-2, 10-1 ACC) fell in heartbreaking fashion on Saturday night in Chapel Hill to No. 14 North Carolina (19-4, 7-3 ACC). After the Blue Devils held double-digit leads in both halves, the Tar Heels came storming back in the final five minutes, resulting in a buzzer-beating three from Seth Trimble to hand North Carolina a 71-68 victory.
As many could expect, buzzer-beaters, especially at home to win it in the most storied rivalry in college basketball, cause court storms. North Carolina fans actually stormed twice, as after storming following Trimble’s hitting the game-winning bucket and the buzzer sounding, the officials added time back on the clock.
Fans then had to clear the court just to do it all over again about a half a second later.
Some folks around college basketball love court storms, while others hate them. They’re an incredible scene to witness and have their place in the sport, but all of that becomes invalid when the opposing team is put in a dangerous position. That’s what Duke head coach Jon Scheyer took issue with after UNC’s court storm following Duke’s crushing defeat.
Jon Scheyer Unhappy With UNC Court Storm
To open his press conference after the loss, Scheyer expressed his frustration with the storm, saying that his staffers had been hit in the face.
“It’s hard to talk about the game when I was most concerned for the safety of our players,”Scheyer said in his press conference. “I don’t want to make it about that, but… I got staff members that got punched in the face… That’s not what this game is about. That was a scary ending.”
The scene is great, but there’s no place in the sport for the opposing team to have things thrown at them or have its players and staffers physically harmed. Despite fines being set in place by conferences to protect against court-storming, it is unlikely to stop. But there has to be a foolproof, safe way for the opponent to get off the floor when it occurs.
Scheyer Updates Health of Injured Staffer
Scheyer provided an update on his staff member who was hit in the face following the loss to the Tar Heels.
“He had a bloody lip,” Scheyer said. “He didn’t know what happened. He got punched in the face and trampled. But he’s doing better. He’s fine.”
The University of North Carolina was fined $50,000 for the incident, but instances like this have no place in college hoops.
