
File photo by Jeremy M. Lange
An outtake from a 2008 INDY Week cover shoot featuring Megafaun's Brad Cook
Let's not forget the 1997 game—Carolina prevailed 59-56 after trailing 56-47 with just two minutes to go—which ranks as one of the classic Carolina comebacks. And certainly State took great satisfaction from notching consecutive wins in Chapel Hill against Matt Doherty's last two teams in 2002 and 2003.
But close, tough games between two NCAA-caliber teams wearing red and light blue, in Chapel Hill? You have to go back to the Valvano years. Valvano's last State team finally got the win in Chapel Hill he craved, an 88-77 victory in 1990. That was State's first win in Chapel Hill since 1976. But several of the games in between were quite close: an 84-81 Tar Heel win in 1989 when State missed a potential game-tying three at the buzzer, and a 1988 overtime classic. Neither the 1985 or 1986 games, played in Carmichael Auditorium, were quite as tense at the end, but in both games the Heels had to play at a very high level to secure wins of 10 and 11 points, respectively. Carolina's wins in 1980 and 1981 in Carmichael over the Pack were by just three points a piece.
The real heyday of the Carolina-State rivalry in Chapel Hill, however, was 1973-1976. In four consecutive games played in Carmichael, the combined margin of victory was just ten points, with State taking three of those games (1973, 1974 and 1976).
Certainly there are plenty of folks around who remember those games vividly. But they are a minority of the fans of each school. For this basketball rivalry to regain its full luster, the younger generations need to see some examples of close, well-played games between two relatively strong teams, not just in Raleigh but in Chapel Hill.
Odds are strong those younger generations will get their chance to see such a game tomorrow night.