UNC Basketball: The 5 best Duke wins of the Roy Williams era

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ST. LOUIS – APRIL 04: Sean May #42 of the North Carolina Tar Heels celebrates after defeating the Illinois Fighting Illini 75-70 to win the NCAA Men’s National Championship game at the Edward Jones Dome on April 4, 2005 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

March 6th, 2005: UNC 75 Duke 73

This game was intense and exhilarating to watch, because it came to down to the final seconds. Duke led by seven points with 2:03 left in the second half. North Carolina fans got to watch Duke collapse over the games closing moments, though, making this one of Tar Heel Nation’s favorite Duke/UNC memories. Duke didn’t score for the final 3:05 of the game, and seeing J.J. Redick miss shot after shot that would put the game away for Duke, was a glorious moment for UNC fans.

Raymond Felton played 37 minutes for UNC, and had 11 points and five assists. The player of the game, however, was Sean May. He totaled 26 points and 24 rebounds in what was arguably the best overall game of his NCAA career. Redick struggled against UNC once again. He finished with 17 points on 5-for-13 shooting, and never found a consistent rhythm. Freshman forward Marvin Williams had the biggest play of the game on a rebound and put-back that gave UNC the lead late in the game.

North Carolina was ranked second in the country, while Duke was sixth, only adding to the importance of the game. UNC did it the old fashioned way, too. The Tar Heels only made one three-pointer, while Duke made 11. To this day, it’s still one of the best wins that

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