'He's psychotic': Cormac Ryan's career-high 31 points lift No. 7 UNC to win over No. 9 Duke
UNC graduate guard Cormac Ryan (3) celebrating after making a shot during the men’s basketball game versus Duke on Saturday, March 9, 2024, at Cameron Indoor Stadium. UNC beat Duke 84-79.
DURHAM — Cormac Ryan is a man of many faces. He yells. He shushes. And if he's really feeling it, he’ll stick his tongue out and waggle it. Senior guard RJ Davis calls it his “signature look.” He remembers the first time he saw the celebration. He thought Ryan was “insane.”
On Saturday, graduate forward Armando Bacotoffered a concurring diagnosis.
“He’s psychotic! He’s sick in the head! Take him to a mental hospital!” Bacot yelled as he ducked into the visitor’s locker room following No. 7 UNC's 84-79 win over No. 9 Duke.
Ryan looked down, almost bashfully, and laughed.
One of my favorite moments from last night:
Cormac Ryan is interrupted by Armando Bacot as he speaks to the media following No. 7 UNC's 84-79 win over No. 9 Duke.
Bacot: “He’s psychotic! He’s sick in the head! Take him to a mental hospital!”
— Shelby Swanson (she/her) (@shelbymswanson) March 10, 2024
“That’s just who I am," Ryan said. “I can’t control it."
That’s putting it lightly. When he wasn’t maniacally laughing or slapping Coach K Court,he was draining 3-pointers — six, to be exact — en route to a career-high 31 points. With RJ Davis face-guarded the entire game and Bacot battling intense pressure in the post, Ryan kept the Tar Heels’ offense alive.
It was the highest scoring total for a Tar Heel at Cameron Indoor Stadium since Hubert Davis in 1992.
"I'm glad it happened today," the head coachsaidof Ryan's performance. "We needed it."
Ryan kicked off the night with back-to-back 3-pointers 16 seconds apart. With each shot, he turned and yelled profanities at the Cameron Crazies.
“You gotta not give Ryan two open threes to start the game," Duke head coach Jon Scheyer told reporters after the game. "You would feel pretty good if coming into Cameron, it’s just two wide-open threes to start off. And that sets the tone for the night.”
UNC quickly established a 10-2 run and a 15-point lead. North Carolina, behind Ryan, maintained its lead the entire game.
And on Saturday, Ryan’s older brother, Thomas, could tell from early on his sibling was confident. He was shooting in rhythm. He had a quick release.
“When he gets that look in his eye,” Thomas Ryan toldThe Daily Tar Heel, “he’s in for a big night.”
UNC graduate guard Cormac Ryan (3) at the men’s basketball game versus Duke on Saturday, March 9, 2024, at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
A big night it was, complete with kickout threes, crowd-silencing shots, taunting and, at the end, game-clinching free throws.
This performance hardly came as a surprise for Bacot or RJ Davis, who both remember when Ryan dropped 28 for Notre Dame at Cameron Indoor Stadium in 2021.
“When you got a guy like that that’s so psycho, that has no conscience, it’s going to come a time where he just bursts out and has those types of games,” Bacot said. “I’m just so happy for him.”
Despite being labeled the entire season as a “green light” shooter by Hubert Davis, Ryan has struggled at times. At one point in February, the graduate guard was shooting a career-worst 29.4 percent from deep on more than five attempts per game.
He disappeared in big moments, namely the Jimmy V Classic against UConn where Ryan went 0-of-6 from three.
“Having a game where you’re challenged in that way just builds your confidence and builds your resolve,” Cormac's mother, Rosemary, told The Daily Tar Heel on Saturday, later adding, “He’s just really stayed the course and his preparation and his experience is really paying off now.”
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Saturday's victory secures UNC sole share of the ACC regular season title for the 22nd time. The game also marked the Tar Heels' first victory without RJ Davis or Bacot scoring in double figures since November 2021 — in Hubert Davis’ first contest as a head coach.
Ryan's heating up at the right time and, in the words of his mother, is "sort of built for March."
But first, the graduate is taking some time to soak in the win — literally, seeing as the Cameron Crazies took to spraying water on the Tar Heels as they exited the court.The celebrations continued in the locker room, on the bus ride back, and finally, on Franklin Street.
With the team bus parked, Ryan climbed on top. Of course he did. With an ACC regular season trophy in hand, he yelled. He stuck his tongue out. He pointed.
The "psychotic" behavior ignited earlier in the night was still burning bright. It begs the question: Is there something about Cameron Indoor that brings out the best in Cormac Ryan?
“I couldn’t tell you,” he said with a grin, “I wish I could play more games here.”
Shelby Swanson is the 2023-24 sports editor at The Daily Tar Heel. She has previously served as an assistant sports editor and senior writer. Shelby is a junior pursuing a double major in media and journalism and Hispanic literatures and cultures.
