No. 2 Duke claimed the outright ACC title and the No. 1 seed in next week’s ACC Tournament with an 82-69 victory over rival North Carolina on Saturday. The win completed a season sweep of the Tar Heels for the Blue Devils, who could also be in line to jump Auburn for the top spot in next week’s polls.
Duke’s win denied North Carolina (20-12, 13-7) a desperately needed Quad 1 victory after the Tar Heels entered the day among the “First Four Out” of Jerry Palm’s projected NCAA Tournament field. Now just 1-11 in Quad 1, the Tar Heels will likely enter the league tournament with work to do in their pursuit of an at-large bid to the Big Dance.
Had Duke (28-3, 19-1) lost, it would have shared the regular-season title with Clemson and Louisville been relegated to the No. 3 seed for the ACC Tournament. For a time, it appeared the Blue Devils might be in trouble as the Tar Heels sought to avenge their 87-70 loss to Duke from Feb. 1.
North Carolina closed the first half on a 12-2 run behind an offensive outburst from senior guard RJ Davis and began the second half on a 15-6 run. The multi-half spurt helped turn a 15-point deficit into a seven-point lead as UNC took a 56-49 edge with under 16 minutes to play.
But Duke found its top gear from there while showing the form that has made it the most dominant team in college basketball. Freshman guard Kon Knueppel led Duke with 17 points while Tyrese Proctor added 16.
This story will be updated
