Duke’s recent win against North Carolina was the latest in a long list of historic victories against the Tar Heels. In our latest version of Blast from the past, the Blue Zone takes a look at the Blue Devils’ 1960 ACC Tournament run which included a win against their arch-rivals:
Last Saturday marked a monumental win for the Blue Devils this season. After Duke beat North Carolina by a 17-point margin to continue a now 16-game win streak, it once again affirmed its position at the top of the ACC food chain. Long before the days of Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach, though, the Blue Devils first found success in the conference during their first ACC Championship-winning run.
On March 5, 1960, a Duke men’s basketball team that had struggled in the regular season shouldered its way into the postseason. Coming off a 12-10 win-loss record and two blowout losses to the Tar Heels, the Blue Devils' hopes of conquering their conference were low, even more so after Duke was scheduled to play North Carolina in the tournament semifinals.
Despite their regular season mishaps against their rival down the road, the Blue Devils played valiantly against their nemesis, eking out a narrow 71-69 victory that would send them to face yet another North Carolinian unit in the conference championship: Wake Forest. Joe Bowles — a Chronicle reporter at the time — described the game as a team effort in which “it would be hard for the careful observer to single out one outstanding player.”
This trend continued in a stellar defensive performance that allowed Duke to triumph against the Demon Deacons in a hard-fought 63-59 win, as the Blue Devils won their first ACC tournament championship in school history.. Bowles noted that the championship-caliber defense Duke displayed was led by Jack “Moon” Mullen: “‘Moon’...was the key man in the Blue Dukes’ defensive plans… a 1-1-3 zone defense for all three games with Mullen as the runner, or point man.”
Ultimately, Duke’s ACC championship victory would not amount to similar success in the NCAA tournament. The Blue Devils advanced to the regional semifinals following a 24-point routing of Princeton and a desperate two-point triumph over Saint Joseph’s. In the semifinals, though, Duke stumbled, losing to New York University in a 15-point trouncing.
The March 5, 1960, victory is a landmark in the history of the Blue Devils. As one of the earliest conquests of the burgeoning Blue Blood, winning its first conference championship was a crucial turning point in the team’s history. This success also served as a roadmap for future Duke men’s basketball units. This season’s Blue Devil corps has adopted a similar recipe for success as the 1960 team, prioritizing elite defense and great rebounding.The 2024-25 Blue Devils look like a reborn version of one of Duke’s earliest champions; only this time, their sights are set much higher than just a conference tournament victory.
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