UNC basketball vs. Duke: 10 debuts that stand out for Tar Heels, Blue Devils since 2014

Duke basketball and UNC will renew college basketball’s most intense rivalry Feb. 3 in the first of two regular-season games.

National contenders on track as the favorites to win the ACC championship, the Blue Devils and Tar Heels tipoff at 6:30 p.m. (ESPN) that Saturday evening at the Dean E. Smith Center.

Coming off a sweep of UNC in Jon Scheyer’s debut season as head coach, Duke will look to keep it rolling against third-year coach Hubert Davis, who appears to have his best squad yet in Chapel Hill.

Duke had four newcomers in the starting lineup of last season’s first meeting with UNC at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Freshmen guards Jared McCain and Caleb Foster could get that honor for the Blue Devils this year at the Smith Center.

As for UNC, the Tar Heels could have three starters – freshman Elliot Cadeau, along with transfers Harrison Ingram and Cormac Ryan – making their debut in the rivalry.

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Looking at the first UNC-Duke games of each season going back to 2014, a freshman has been the leading scorer in four of those 10 games.

So, what are some of the best performances for first-time players over the last 10 years in the rivalry? From Zion Williamson in Charlotte to Caleb Love at a fan-less Cameron Indoor Stadium, here are 10 debuts that stood out.

Tyus Jones leads Duke basketball comeback in 2015

Trailing by 10 points with less than four minutes left, Duke turned to freshman Tyus Jones. He scored nine straight points as the catalyst who sparked the comeback and got the game to overtime. Jones finished with 22 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in a 92-90 win.

Brandon Ingram’s scoring, Derryck Thornton’s block for Blue Devils in 2016

Kinston native Brandon Ingram, who chose the Blue Devils over the Tar Heels, played all 40 minutes in his debut against UNC. Ingram finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in Duke’s 74-73 victory. Fellow freshman Derryck Thornton had the biggest play of the night for the Blue Devils. In the final seconds, Thornton blocked Joel Berry’s shot in the lane to seal the victory.

Jayson Tatum’s second-half show against UNC

Before he became a star for the Boston Celtics, Jayson Tatum contributed to an 86-78 win against UNC at Cameron in 2017. In his rivalry debut, Tatum scored all 19 points in the second half and added nine rebounds. His first basket was a one-handed dunk over Kennedy Meeks that got Cameron rocking.

Cameron Johnson becomes fan favorite for UNC basketball in 2018

After three years at Pitt, Cameron Johnson joined the Tar Heels ahead of the 2017-18 season. It didn’t take long for Johnson to become a fan favorite. In his first taste of the Duke-UNC rivalry, Johnson had 18 points and 13 rebounds in an 82-79 win against the Blue Devils at the Smith Center.

Coby White helps UNC basketball win Zion Williamson shoe game in 2019

One of the most anticipated games in the rivalry’s history, Duke and UNC met in 2019 at Cameron Indoor Stadium with President Barack Obama sitting on the baseline. Just 33 seconds into the game, freshman Zion Williamson slipped and ripped through his shoe. The right knee injury sidelined Williamson for the rest of the night and the Tar Heels won 88-72. It was mostly a senior-led effort (Luke Maye had 30 points), but freshman Coby White had nine points, five rebounds and three assists for the Tar Heels.

Zion Williamson’s true debut for Duke against the Tar Heels

The 2019 ACC Tournament delivered one of the all-time great games between Duke and UNC. This one has an asterisk beside it, because technically Williamson made his debut against the Tar Heels at Cameron. But he was on the court for 33 seconds that night. In his true debut against UNC, Williamson scored the go-ahead bucket with 30 seconds left in a 74-73 win for the Blue Devils in Charlotte. He finished with 31 points and 11 rebounds in 35 minutes.

Wendell Moore’s buzzer-beater for Duke at UNC

Perhaps the ugliest jersey game in the history of the rivalry, Duke and UNC delivered another classic at the Smith Center in 2020. Trailing by 13 points with just under five minutes left, Duke rallied and won 98-96 in overtime. Sophomore guard Tre Jones was the headliner – his buzzer-beating jumper got the game to overtime – but freshman Wendell Moore scored on a putback as time expired in overtime. Moore finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds in his rivalry debut.

UNC’s Caleb Love shines at fan-less Cameron Indoor Stadium

Caleb Love’s shot in the Final Four against Duke will be his lasting legacy, but he made a splash right away in the rivalry. Love had 25 points and seven assists as a freshman in a 91-87 victory at Cameron, which didn’t feature fans because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Duke’s AJ Griffin powers rout of UNC

In Mike Krzyzewski’s final trip to the Smith Center as Duke’s head coach, freshman AJ Griffin had 27 points in an 87-67 win for the Blue Devils. Griffin had a personal 10-0 run in the second half of his debut against the Heels.

Dereck Lively sets record to help Jon Scheyer get win vs. UNC

It wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing game, but freshman Dereck Lively II helped Duke earn a 63-57 win against UNC in Jon Scheyer’s first taste as head coach in the rivalry. Veteran guard Jeremy Roach did the scoring down the stretch, but Lively finished with eight blocks – a program record in the rivalry – and 14 rebounds against the Tar Heels.

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Duke vs. UNC: Caleb Love, Zion Williamson, more elite debuts