The first part of the classic rivalry between Duke and North Carolina at Cameron Indoor Stadium was not the same without Zion Williamson.
Williamson, the 6-7, 285-pound freshman phenom who is the overwhelming favorite to win the national Player of the year awards, suffered a non-contact mild knee sprain just 33 seconds into the game and did not return. Duke looked shell shocked and was never the same afterwards.
Eighth-ranked North Carolina (21-5) blew out the undermanned, neighboring top-ranked Blue Devils, 88-72, in college basketball’s best rivalry before a sellout crowd of 9,314 that included President Barrick Obama, Spike Lee and Ken Griffey. The ESPN televised game was so hyped by the presence of Williamson that one fan paid $10,000 for a good seat and the cheapest ticket was going for $2,500. That’s Super Bowl prices. Hope they enjoyed warm ups.
Duke (23-3) moved up to No. 1 in the AP poll this week, but the night belonged to Carolina’s 6-8 forward Luke Maye, who took advantage of Williamson’s absence to score 30 points on 14 of 24 shooting and grab 15 rebounds to help push the Tar Heels into a three-way tie for first place in the ACC with Duke and Virginia with 11-2 records.
This was Carolina’s most lopsided win at Cameron in 30 years and their first win over a No. 1 since they defeated Michigan State in 2013.
The Tar Heels, who got 26 points from 6-9 fifth year senior forward Cam Johnson, shot 50 percent despite making just 2 of 20 three-point attempts and won the rebounding battle, 46-41, and dominated points in the paint with 62.
Freshman wing RJ Barrett led Duke with a season high 33 points and 13 rebounds and freshman forward Cam Reddish added 27, but Duke was outworked the entire game, shooting just 34.1 percent and turning the ball over 20 times.
The Devils are a different, more vulnerable team without Williamson, who was injured when his left foot came completely through his PG 2.5 Thunder star Paul George’s signature Nike basketball shoe as he planted hard while dribbling near the free throw line. The blue rubber sole ripped loose. Williamson appeared to grab the back of his right knee as his leg slid out. It initially looked like an ankle injury, but Duke later called it a knee injury. Williamson walked off the court under his own power, with a slight limp and headed for the locker room with no shoes on his feet.
Williamson availability for Saturday’s game against red hot Syracuse, which defeated Duke in overtime at Cam earlier this season and is coming off a 20-point win over Louisville, will be determined Thursday.
“We’re very concerned about Zion,’’ Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said in the post-game. “We will know about the length of time tomorrow, but it’s stable so that’s good, but it changes the game. We were knocked back a bit, but we fought like crazy.’’
Williamson and Barrett have said their goal is to win an NCAA championship before they declare for the NBA draft, where they should be the first and second picks overall. And anything short would be a failure.
The second half of this special rivalry will be held March 9 at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill.
