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 and 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.
Playing without their standard bearer
Duke was forced to navigate critical stretches with freshman phenom Cooper Flagg off the floor. The Blue Devils’ National Player of the Year candidate exited after picking up his second foul with 12:53 remaining in the first half and Duke leading 17-12. With Flagg on the bench for over 7 minutes, Duke extended its lead to 39-28.
But when he picked up his third with a charge at the 3:18 mark and checked out again, the Tar Heels took advantage and closed the first half on a 10-2 run. Flagg did plenty to contribute as he finished with 15 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four blocks. Perhaps his best ability down the stretch was availability, as Flagg played the entire second half without ever picking up his fourth foul.
Rankings and Bracketology implications
With Auburn (27-4, 15-3 SEC) dropping its second game of week on Saturday against Alabama and Duke (28-3, 19-1 ACC) winning its eighth straight, voters will have a tough choice to make with who to put atop their ballots in Monday’s new polls. No. 3 Houston could also have a case to receive votes for No. 1 after running away with the outright Big 12 title.
When it comes to Bracketology, Auburn will remain the No. 1 overall seed in Jerry Palm’s projected NCAA Tournament field. With a 15-4 mark in Quad 1 games, the Tigers still have more than double the number of Quad 1 wins as Duke, which is now 7-3 in Quad 1. Because the ACC is in the midst of a down year, winning the conference’s outright title with a 19-1 record has only gotten the Blue Devils so far. However, Duke is still firmly tracking to be a No. 1 seed for the Big Dance.
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