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It’s not exactly 2022, but it’s kinda close.
Carolina and Duke faced each other for the first time in the NCAA Tournament three years ago. It is happening again this afternoon with their women’s teams.
In 2022, their men’s teams were fixtures in the NCAA Tourney, and each got lucky on the way to the Final Four.
Carolina used clutch shooting of Caleb Love to defeat UCLA in the Sweet 16 and then did not have to play No. 3 seed Purdue, which had been upset by Saint Peters. Predictably, UNC won that game easily to reach the Final Four in Hubert Davis’ first season as head coach. (BTW, Love outscored Cooper Flagg 35-30 in Arizona’s Sweet 16 loss to Duke Thursday night.)
Second-seeded Duke beat Texas Tech in the 2022 Sweet 16, but the Red Raiders had trouble scoring that season. Then the Blue Devils avoided having to play No. 1 seed Gonzaga, which was upset by Arkansas for another favorable match-up in their regional finals game.
So, the historic national semifinal was set, the blue bloods from Tobacco Road, only 10 miles apart. And we remember who won that game.
While it is not the same magnitude, the archrival women square off today at the Sweet 16 in Birmingham. Both are trying to rebuild their great programs of the 1990s and early 2000s. Sylvia Hatchell’s Tar Heels won the national championship in 1994 and reached two more Final Fours in 2006 and ’07. Duke had seven-time ACC Coach of the Year Gail Goestenkors, who led her teams to the NCAA Sweet 16s, Elite 8s and a national championship game in her 14 years in Durham.
Just as the men had it in 2022, the archrival women’s teams get the same privilege. And their 2025 teams had good enough regular seasons to be awarded the second and third seeds in their regional. The Tar Heels have last been there in 2022, Duke has last been there in 2018.
Their current coaches were both star players, Duke’s Kara Lawson at Tennessee and then 12 years in the WNBA. Carolina’s Courtney Banghart was a record-setting shooter for Dartmouth before coaching Princeton for 11 seasons.
They split their regular season games by both winning at home, but the Blue Devils have the fondest recent memory of a blowout on senior night while Carolina played without starters Alyssa Ustby and Reniya Kelly.
While Canadian freshman Toby Fournier is the leading scorer with a 13-point average, Duke’s deadly outside shooters are veterans Ashlon Jackson and Reigan Richardson, who attempt more than half of the team’s long balls.
If you haven’t seen her, watch why Ustby made first-team All-ACC for the deep Tar Heels and is the best all-around player in the conference for her defense, rebounding and shot blocking inside, plus a consistent short scoring game.
UNC leads the all-time series over Duke, 56-54. Their 111th meeting should live up to the rivalry.
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Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jeffrey A. Camarati
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
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