Duke-UNC game muted by student's death

As a cold rain fell Friday afternoon in Chapel Hill and Durham, the enthusiasm for Saturday’s Duke-North Carolina basketball game was muted.

The top spot in the ACC standings will be at stake when the teams meet in Durham, but this week’s tragedy in Chapel Hill cast a pall over the buildup for the game. North Carolina student body president Eve Carson was shot to death Wednesday, and Duke will pay respect to her before tonight’s game.

North Carolina coach Roy Williams read about Carson in the Daily Tar Heel on Friday and was touched to learn that she loved the quad in the spring and the arboretum in the fall.

“We’re talking about a young person,” he said in disbelief.

At Duke, the loss of Carson affected coach Mike Krzyzewski because he has three daughters.

“Our hearts go out to the North Carolina community,” he said.

The business of the basketball game will go on. Outside Cameron Indoor Stadium on Friday, students huddled in tents that provided only modest shelter to keep their positions in line so they can get into the game.

ESPN’s college basketball “Gameday” show will go on at Cameron as planned Saturday with live segments from 11 a.m. to noon and 8-9 p.m.

But the game doesn’t seem to matter as much anymore. Because this week, everybody lost. – Ken Tysiac