Whenever Duke and North Carolina play each other, the matchup often determines who wins the ACC, who gets ranked in the AP Top 25 poll, who gets seeded where in March and, potentially, who lands the most coveted recruits.
No. 16 North Carolina defeated No. 3 Duke on a last-second 3-pointer from Seth Trimble to win the game in dramatic fashion. The student section rushed the court and then stormed Franklin Street, like it always does when the Tar Heels beat the Blue Devils in Chapel Hill.
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Not only did the win confirm that North Carolina is here to stay as a national power, it also helped secure its future as well. Dylan Mingo, a five-star point guard from Long Island, New York, committed to the Tar Heels shortly after. According to Mingo, UNC’s thrilling victory over Duke was a big reason why.
“I chose North Carolina for North Carolina itself,” Mingo said on ESPN’s “First Take. “Seeing everything after they won the [Duke] game had a huge impact on my decision. It’s so joyful. The players looked so joyful. If you heard Seth Trimble and Caleb Wilson, if you heard them speak after, they talked about how much they loved their community and loved North Carolina. They would do anything for it.”
There has been debate the last couple of seasons about whether the Carolina-Duke rivalry has lost its luster. That perception is largely due to people holding onto nostalgia of what it used to look like, combined with Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski retiring in back-to-back seasons, along with the modern age of college basketball driven by the transfer portal and NIL.
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However, the game still holds weight, with Mingo making his decision largely based on UNC’s win over Duke and everything that came with it.
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Basketball: Dylan Mingo was swayed by Duke win
