UNC Loses Final Regular Season Game Against Rivalry Duke

Chapel Hill, NC – March madness has been kicked off with a popular rival game of UNC vs. Duke hosted at the Dean Smith Center during the Tar Heels Senior night that resulted in a score of 62-57 in Duke’s favor. In winning their sixth straight game, the Blue Devils (23-8, 14-6 ACC) secured a double-bye in the ACC Tournament, which gets off on Tuesday in Greensboro, North Carolina. UNC (19-12, 11-9 ACC) will hold the seventh seed.

 

 UNC had post-season on the line and their livelihood at risk following from being a #1 ranked team to not being ranked at all yet Coach Davis still decided to start his seniors, including some walk-ons, and that speaks character beyond the sport of basketball.

 

The Dean Smith Center was packed out with Carolina fans that definitely built momentum for The Tar Heels at the start of the game. The energy was exemplified once Bacot caught a slam dunk within the first minute to get the rivalry battle rolling however, Puff Johnson has shortly escorted out of the game due to an ankle injury that impacted the Carolina team. 

 

Both teams exchanged baskets during plays with good energy however, with every UNC point scored, came a point from Kyle Filipowski for Duke immediately after, enough for Duke to lead the majority of the first half and into halftime. Filipowski made the bigs for UNC work in the paint defensively, catching 9 rebounds and adding on 9 points within the first half. 

 

Going into the half, UNC was in a bit of foul trouble given the whole starting five had 2 or more fouls. Derrick Lively for Duke was also in foul trouble in an attempt to guard Armando Bacot in the paint, picking up 2 fouls before halftime. Duke led at the break with a score of 33-31.

 

Coming out of the half, UNC missed its first seven attempts and Duke used a 6-1 run to take a 43-36 lead. Filipowski added a rebound slam dunk, and Proctor tipped in his own missed shot. With 14:02 remaining, Mitchell’s dunk gave Duke a seven-point lead after Love missed two free throw attempts. But with 12:17 remaining, baskets by Caleb Love, Bacot, and a 3-pointer from Davis tied the score at 43. Throughout the course of the following eight minutes, as the teams traded punches, the lead changed eight times. With 7:23 remaining, the score was knotted as Duke scored baskets from Mitchell and Lively in response to UNC’s 49-45 lead. In the midst of all of this, Bacot has consistently broken records at his time with The Tar Heels and added another by surpassing Michael Jordan in the UNC Basketball all-time scoring list which was celebrated during a media timeout.

 

Filipowski made a pair of free throws in the final four minutes. His two free throws gave the Blue Devils a 58-57 lead with 1:33 remaining. 

 

Leaky Black of UNC missed a jumper at the rim with 1:15 remaining, and with 47.4 seconds left, Jeremy Roach drove the lane to score and give the Blue Devils a 60-57 lead. Before Filipowski’s layup ended the scoring with five seconds left, UNC had two opportunities with a chance to tie but failed to convert on either attempt.

 

The Blue Devils enter the postseason having won nine of their previous 11 games and six straight. They shot 37.9%, yet they still defeated UNC. Tyrese Proctor led Duke with 13 points, while Mark Mitchell and Roach each scored 10. Kyle Flipowski finished the game with 22 points and 13 rebounds. 30.4% was shot by North Carolina and the Tar Heels were led by Armando Bacot, who finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

 

North Carolina’s chances of receiving an at-large invite to the NCAA Tournament are virtually over because of the loss. A strong showing in the conference tournament the following week is probably the Tar Heels’ last chance of competing in the big dance since UNC has only one Quad One victory to date. The Tar Heels will wait in Greensboro for their official seeding after receiving a one-game bye in the ACC tournament. Starting on March 11th, North Carolina will begin its quest for a conference championship.