CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Duke coach Jon Scheyer said multiple Duke staff members got punched in the face late Saturday when North Carolina fans stormed the court following Seth Trimble’s game-winning 3-pointer.
“It’s hard to talk about the game when I was most concerned just for the safety of our players,” Scheyer said after No. 4 Duke lost to No. 14 UNC, 71-68. “I’ve got staff members that got punched in the face. My family, pushing people away, trying to not get trampled. That’s not what this game is about.”
A Duke spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request asking for further explanation of which staffers were involved.
North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham apologized to Scheyer postgame, noting that at least one person was injured in the court storming, although he did not say who that was.
“That was just unfortunate,” Cunningham said, “and I hope it doesn’t happen again.”
DOUBLE COURT STORM ⛈️
VIBES ARE UP IN CHAPEL HILL ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/9Kk8nyi8bQ
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) February 8, 2026
Trimble’s 3-pointer — which dealt Duke its second loss this season — appeared to be a buzzer-beater at first, sending UNC fans cascading out of the Dean Smith Center stands and onto the floor. Scheyer and other Duke officials immediately sprang to the Blue Devils’ defense, trying to create a barrier against charging fans. Scheyer specifically helped protect junior guard Caleb Foster from a mob of contact, but at least one fan appeared to throw something in the Blue Devils’ direction.
“That was a scary ending,” Scheyer added, “and this rivalry is not about that.”
Ultimately, though, officials determined after review that there were 0.4 seconds left to play, and the game temporarily stopped while fans cleared the floor. When the final moments expired after a failed full-court pass shortly thereafter, fans who had moved off the floor and into the wings once again flooded the hardwood while Duke exited for its locker room.
Cunningham said he was on the floor near Duke star Cameron Boozer during the initial court storm, and Boozer said to Cunningham that he thought there was still time left after Trimble’s 3. Cunningham said he then asked Boozer to stand under the basket to avoid any altercations or fans rushing into him.
“He moved over, and I actually thanked him after the game. Total class act, and stood there motionless,” Cunningham said. “He was terrific. So, ton of credit for the way their players handled it, didn’t react.”
This is the second time in three seasons that Duke has been on the other end of a court storming gone wrong. In February 2024, after Duke lost to Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C., Blue Devils star forward Kyle Filipowski was struck by a fan on the floor and appeared to be injured, holding an icepack over his right kneecap when he spoke to reporters postgame. “I absolutely feel like it was personal,” Filipowski said at the time.
In the wake of that incident — and a similar one involving then-Iowa women’s star Caitlin Clark the same week — there was debate around the sport about whether court storms needed to be banned moving forward, lest players be injured during them.