Duke staffers 'got punched in the face' as UNC fans stormed court after upset win, coach says

Duke Blue Devils unit members "got punched successful the face" arsenic North Carolina Tar Heels fans stormed the tribunal successful solemnisation of their rivalry win, caput manager Jon Scheyer said Saturday.

No. 14 North Carolina topped No. 4 Duke, 71-68, aft Tar Heels defender Seth Trimble deed the go-ahead 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left. Tar Heels fans deed the tribunal reasoning the crippled was implicit but had to beryllium corralled backmost to their seats erstwhile officials added little than a 2nd backmost to the clock.

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Duke Blue Devils caput manager Jon Scheyer reacts successful the archetypal fractional astatine Dean E. Smith Center connected Feb. 7, 2026. (Bob Donnan/Imagn Images)

Scheyer said immoderate of the team’s unit members took hits during the fracas.

"For maine it's hard to speech astir the crippled erstwhile I was astir acrophobic conscionable for the information of our players aft the game," Scheyer said. "I don't privation to marque it astir that, due to the fact that Carolina, they played a large crippled to win. And that's a heartbreaking nonaccomplishment for our team.

"I got unit members that got punched successful the face. My family, pushing radical away, trying to not get trampled. That's not what this crippled is about."

North Carolina diversion manager Bubba Cunningham said helium apologized for the incident, but didn’t person details connected immoderate injuries.

"When they rushed the court, a fig of radical got knocked over," Cunningham said. "But past we had to wide the tribunal again. So erstwhile we usually person thing similar conscionable rushing the tribunal and the crippled is over, we bash person a enactment by the benches to get radical disconnected safely.

North Carolina fans instrumentality the level and observe aft the squad defeated Duke successful the last seconds connected Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, successful Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)

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"Obviously, if idiosyncratic got injured, that's conscionable really, truly disappointing. We'll bash the champion we tin to marque definite that doesn't happen, but again, my apologies to Duke for that."

A Duke authoritative told aggregate outlets that 1 idiosyncratic tied to the programme had been injured but had nary different details.

Scheyer and Duke had a akin incidental hap aft their mislaid to Wake Forest successful 2022. Then-Blue Devils subordinate Kyle Filipowski was shaken up aft a Demon Deacon instrumentality collided with him during their celebration.

Scheyer, who wondered successful 2022 erstwhile court-storming was going to beryllium banned, was asked whether helium inactive believed it should beryllium prohibited.

"Just shouldn't person radical getting punched successful the face," helium said. "Shouldn't enactment our players successful presumption wherever they're face-to-face with radical who tin bash thing astatine that time. It conscionable takes 1 reaction. Even today, I had to propulsion radical distant conscionable to effort to support our players.

North Carolina defender Seth Trimble celebrates with fans aft the Duke game, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, successful Chapel Hill. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)

"They won, they should celebrate. They privation to court-storm, court-storm. But conscionable let's get our guys disconnected safely, that's it. That's wherever I'm astatine with that."

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Duke fell to 21-2 connected the play with the loss. North Carolina improved to 19-4.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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