CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — How many times must Seth Trimble have practiced that shot?
Maybe dozens of times on his backyard halfcourt in Menomonee Falls, Wis. Hundreds more, in all likelihood, in North Carolina’s practice gym, across many late-night shooting sessions in his four seasons as a Tar Heel. And, quite probably, more than he can count on this very floor, inside the illustrious Dean Smith Center, where six NCAA championship banners and oodles of legendary jerseys dangle overhead.
How many times must he have heard that imaginary countdown in his head, precious seconds ticking away? Three, two, one … How many times must he have dreamed of this moment? Of becoming a piece of North Carolina lore? Of stamping himself — somehow, some day, some way — in the fabric of college sports’ greatest rivalry?
All to live it just once.
For one night.
For Saturday: No. 14 North Carolina 71, No. 4 Duke 68.
Call it a buzzer beater. A game winner. A history maker.
Call it what it is: The Seth Trimble game, for tonight and forevermore.
SETH TRIMBLE WINS IT FOR NORTH CAROLINA 😱
OUR SPORT>>>> pic.twitter.com/oSMZvxphLj
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) February 8, 2026
“He’s deserving of being remembered forever,” said UNC coach Hubert Davis. “That shot was made by the perfect person at the right time.”
And in poetic fashion, too. In an era of college sports where eligibility and name, image and likeness deals dominate headlines, where the transfer portal acts as de-facto free agency each spring, what a cosmic coincidence that North Carolina’s only four-year player — and Davis’ only four-year recruit — was the one who ultimately downed Duke, in his final home game against his school’s most hated rival.
Especially considering Trimble dipped his toes in the transfer portal following his sophomore season, only to withdraw his name two weeks later.
“He stayed the course because he loves this university,” Trimble’s father, Trevor, told The Athletic. “He loves the people that make up this university, and the history of this university. So to see him get to share this moment and be a part of a chapter of Carolina basketball, it’s incredible.”
The play itself, the one fated to be replayed for decades to come? Its official name is “Philly 25,” a common action the Tar Heels run either in the halfcourt, or — as they did with Saturday’s game on the line — in sideline out of bounds (SLOB) settings. In effect, it’s a high pick-and-roll with shooters spaced to the corners. Once the ballhandler — freshman guard Derek Dixon, in this case — gets downhill, it’s all about forcing the defense to make a choice:
Do we sell out to stop the roller, Caleb Wilson, North Carolina’s leading scorer and five-star freshman stud, or hang back with Trimble, the corner shooter?
“Usually,” Wilson said, grinning, “they would choose me.”
Understandably, Duke did. As Dixon knifed through the defense and steamrolled toward the rim, three different Blue Devils collapsed on him, walling off any possible dump-off pass to Wilson. Somehow, though, Dixon saw through the forest of limbs and contorted his body to throw a rocket baseline pass to Trimble, giving his backcourt mate a chance to officially cap a 13-point comeback.
“A green release, as us youngins would say,” Trimble joked. “I knew it was good.”
So did Wilson, who watched the ball fly directly overheard from his position in the paint. His only thought while watching the ball fly off Trimble’s fingers?
“Damn, that s–t’s cash.”
And it sure was.
On the surface, Trimble’s game winner may feel more fortuitous than fated. The 6-foot-3 senior had only made 13 treys all season, an underwhelming total even when accounting for the nine games he missed with a broken left forearm. A career 31 percent 3-point shooter was suddenly going to make the biggest shot of UNC’s season?
Yes. Because quietly, in the days leading up to the Duke game, Trimble — the only UNC player on Davis’ remade roster who’d previously played in the rivalry — had done everything to put himself in position to succeed. His longtime trainer, Drew Dunlop, who’s worked with Trimble since the seventh grade, flew to Chapel Hill for extra work with one of his oldest clients. So did Trimble’s mental skills coach, with whom he started working after an up-and-down sophomore year.
Then on Friday night, Trimble’s mother, Laurence, visited her son’s apartment to make him a special pregame meal: one of his favorites, an African stew called Maafe, with peanuts, sweet potatoes and chicken.
“He ate probably the whole pot himself,” his mother joked. Nothing fancy, but exactly the kind of comforting night the veteran knew he needed. That, and then a few episodes of one of his favorite shows, “The Traitors,” as a nightcap.
“He was so relaxed,” she added. “He’s been through this how many times? He’s used to it.”
That was evident early Saturday, when Trimble scored UNC’s first five points amid a jittery start in which his team fell behind 18-5. Eventually, he gave way to Wilson, who single-handedly carried UNC back from the brink of a blowout with four scores in five Tar Heel possessions. Then Henri Veesaar took over late in the second half, scoring all 13 of his points in the game’s final 20 minutes by taking advantage of a foul-riddled Duke frontcourt.
But with the game on the line? Pride? Bragging rights? Another year of Duke fans chirping about their supremacy after sweeping the Tar Heels in three meetings last season?
Trimble was the one who grabbed the game — and a pivotal rebound on Duke’s failed final possession — with two hands.
The one to deliver UNC’s first game winner with less than a second left since Luke Maye’s dagger against Kentucky in the 2017 Elite Eight.
The one to clinch UNC’s tightest margin of victory in a win over Duke since Marvin Williams’ famous and-1 in 2005, which coincidentally completed another Tar Heel comeback against then top-10 Duke.
“I don’t really know how else to say it,” Trimble said, “but you gotta have some big balls to shoot a shot like that and knock down a shot like that.”
Looking beyond the one shot, it’s rare during a 30-plus-game college basketball season that one contest can swing a team’s trajectory. But Duke-North Carolina is one of the few, especially when the winning side scrapes and claws the way Davis’ team did Saturday. When UNC, as the coach has said before, finally “joined the fight.”
Much of that unwillingness to quit, especially early, came from the 19-year-old Wilson, who draped a bedazzled blue-and-white belt over his shoulders when speaking to reporters, in reference to the TikTok slang “BTA.” (It’s worth the Google.) Then there were flashes from Veesaar, from Dixon, newcomers riding the high of their first blue blood battle.
Seth Trimble said “night night” to Duke after his game-winning 3. (Grant Halverson / Getty Images)
But nobody compared to Trimble, who imitated Steph Curry’s famous “night night” celebration after hitting the biggest shot of his life. Then came the mobbing from teammates. Two court storms.
And finally, a chair to lean back in and to start processing a forever memory.
“Adversity, it’s your greatest friend,” Trimble finally mustered. “Being able to go through adversity, being able to struggle and being able to overcome it, builds you much more than anything else can.”
Back on the Smith Center court, Trimble’s parents drank in the moment. Other parents and program icons kept ping-ponging around, all wanting to share congratulations and show off their Trimble jerseys. To show they believed, even before.
Eventually, Trevor locked eyes with one of UNC’s greatest basketball exports: Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown, who played for the Tar Heels when Dean Smith was first making his name and began his coaching career on North Carolina’s sidelines. When Brown saw Trevor, he stopped on the fringe of the court and extended a celebratory fist over the scorer’s table. For a second, Trevor and Brown both leaned in to touch knuckles — just close enough for Brown to whisper one thing.
“Never in doubt.”