Cormac Ryan had a career night on Saturday in Durham, as he led the UNC basketball program to a victory over rival Duke, a win that secured the ACC regular season title outright for the Tar Heels.
Ryan was on-fire from the jump, scoring a career-high 31 points while knocking down six three-pointers in the process. He was clutch down the stretch, draining four free throws in the closing minute to seal the deal.
With his 31-point effort, Ryan became just the seventh Tar Heel ever to score 30 or more points at Duke. The rest of the list is a rather impressive one:
Luke Maye
Billy Cunningham
Doug Moe
Michael Jordan
Lennis Rosenbluth
and a guy by the name of... Hubert Davis
Cormac Ryan is the seventh Tar Heel to score 30+ at Duke, joining Luke Maye, Billy Cunningham, Doug Moe, Michael Jordan, Hubert Davis and Lennie Rosenbluth.
— Carolina Basketball Stats & Info (@UNCMBBStats) March 10, 2024
Ryan's 31 are the most points by a Tar Heel at Cameron Indoor Stadium since Davis had 35 on 3/8/1992. pic.twitter.com/qOBvFc7gPF
Speaking of Davis, Ryan's performance was one that came very close to what his head coach accomplished back on March 8, 1992. Davis scored 35 points while also knocking down six triples.
Now, 32 years later, Davis was on the sidelines watching his current player absolutely dominate. The only difference between the two performances was that this year's team won the game.
If you haven't seen highlights from Davis' performance, we suggest you look it up. Davis was simply BALLIN'.
Special performance 💫 pic.twitter.com/5jqkb8sotD
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) March 11, 2024
As we all know, it simply means more when a UNC basketball player goes off against Duke. Cormac Ryan not only led his team to a win and an outright ACC title but etched his name into this historic rivalry by putting together a performance that will always be remembered.
Not bad for a guy who only will play for the UNC basketball program for a single season.