Duke's Cameron Crazies lost their collective minds on Saturday night.
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The No. 7-ranked Duke men's basketball team suffered a shocking upset 80-76 loss at home to an unranked Pitt squad on Saturday. One player's celebration of the huge victory — which was Pitt's first win at Duke's home stadium since 1979 — almost caused Duke's iconic "Cameron Crazies" student cheering section to riot.
As soon as the final buzzer sounded Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium, Pitt forward Blake Hinson jumped onto the table in front of the student section, spread his arms wide and blew kisses as he talked his trash to the Cameron Crazies. He then basked in the volley of boos, taunts and middle fingers thrown his way.
Pitt’s Blake Hinson letting the Cameron Crazies hear it after the Panthers upset Duke in Cameron.
Hinson finished with a game-high 24 points. pic.twitter.com/g9eVBj6Rns
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) January 21, 2024
Hinson's victory celebration created some awesome photos and videos, and many people across social media are saying that it's something any player would want to do if they produced such a historic, upset victory at Duke.
Truly, one of the coolest college basketball photos I’ve seen in a long time. Win on the road, hop on the scorer’s table in front of the entire wild Duke student section. Shout out Blake Hinson. pic.twitter.com/AqtJYNrY2v
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) January 21, 2024
As for Hinson, he was asked about the now-iconic postgame celebration and explained what went into his decision.
"Man, first of all, no disrespect, honestly," Hinson said. "This is one of the most hardest places to win in the nation. So that was just an example of you climbing Mount Everest and looking at it from up top, and saying 'I did it.'"
Hinson — who led all scorers with 24 points in the game, and shot a perfect 7 of 7 from 3-point range — continued: "It's nothing but respect. I mean, you can get mad at it, that's just your opinion. But the way I look at it is respect to them."
While Hinson's Mount Everest quote makes the celebration seem even cooler, Duke surely doesn't share that sentiment. In fact, when talking with media after the game, Duke player Kyle Filipowski noted why Hinson's actions irked him.
"It was really disrespectful what they did so you know we're going to have to take that with a grain of salt and remember that for next time whenever anyone steps in the building again."
Kyle Filipowski shares his thoughts on the way Pitt celebrated their win at #Duke tonight. pic.twitter.com/3JvW2KQqWX
— Jordan Crammer (@JordanCrammer) January 21, 2024
"You know, they played a really good game," Filipowski said. "And of course, whoever comes into Cameron, they're gonna see this as their championship. And it was really disrespectful what they did, so you know we're gonna have to take that with a grain of salt and remember that for next time, whenever anyone steps into the building again."
While Hinson is now public enemy No. 1 in Durham, Pitt's team deserves props for accomplishing something its program hasn't been able to do in over 40 years.
Saturday night will be something that Hinson and his Pitt teammates will remember forever — especially because Hinson will have a few iconic photos and videos to reminisce with.
