WATCH: Theo John called for flagrant foul against North Carolina

On a strange play during the first half of the Duke versus North Carolina rivalry game, Duke forward Theo John committed a flagrant foul. As a shot was rebounded by Caleb Love, John appeared to wrap up Love and drag him to the ground in a tackle to keep him from the basketball.

Theo John tackling Caleb Love pic.twitter.com/pXIWmJkHrb

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Theo John commits flagrant foul

In a closely contested first half, John’s foul showed just how hard the Duke players were willing to play to get their coach one last win over their rival. Unfortunately, tackling isn’t a normal basketball move and John was assessed a flagrant foul for his strange decision. The replay showed John quickly apologize to Love as they tumbled to the ground, seeming to realize he had made a big mistake while Love immediately got upset.

After they separated right away, officials went to review the foul and upgraded it to a Flagrant 1 foul.

As over 100 former Duke players were expected to show up on Saturday, tickets for fans could be seen on third-party selling sites for over $10 thousand each. Cameron Indoor Stadium is as much a part of the Duke experience as Krzyzewski has been, and the arena has sold out tickets for the 490th consecutive game — a streak that reaches as far back as 1990.

Coach K welcomed to court

As he prepared to coach his final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium with Duke, Coach K took the court to an incredible scene before tip-off. Coach K walked onto the court through a tunnel of his former players, each paying their respects to their coach as fans cheered. Afterwards, everybody on the court posed for a photo surrounding the legendary coach while wearing warm-up tops with the letter “K” in the Duke logo’s style.

Very few things are capable of overshadowing the basketball rivalry between the Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tar Heels, as they continue to be one of the fiercest matchups across all sports. Saturday’s farewell ceremony to the legendary Krzyzewski is poised to make the game itself look like a formality while everybody in attendance is ready to show their love and respect to Coach K.

“Just let it happen and see what the hell happens,” Krzyzewski said of the game.