CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – In the end, a despondent Brice Johnson collapsed to the floor of the Dean E. Smith Center, the gut-wrenching reality crashing down before him. As North Carolina’s lanky forward rested on the historic hardwood, his arms propped atop his knees, a mosh pit of Duke players celebrated just a few feet away. When a Tar Heel teammate approached Johnson to help lift him to his feet, the senior remained on the ground. He needed time for reality to set in.
A packed house of 21,750 shell-shocked North Carolina fans could empathize with Johnson’s sudden bout with gravity.