North Carolina ruined Duke coach Mike Krzyszewski’s final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday with a 94-81 win over the No. 4 Blue Devils. According to CBS Sports Bracketology pundit Jerry Palm, that win could be huge for the Tar Heels on Qualifier Sunday. , as North Carolina is now in the predicted field of the NCAA Tournament.
Duke freshman Paolo Banchero dominated the first half with 15 points while the Blue Devils led by a full nine points. But a late surge topped by a three-pointer from R.J. Davis with just over a second left meant North Carolina was a manageable two points behind by halftime.
In the second half, Duke led with seven, but a few minutes later a 9-0 streak gave North Carolina the lead, an advantage the Tar Heels had never conceded and trailed by as much as 14 points.
Armando Bacot overcame a first-half foul to score 23, one of only four Tar Heels to score at least 20. Banchero finished with 23, although it took him 26 shots to get there.
Duke (26-5, 16-4 ACC) will be the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament next week, although the Blue Devils’ chances of becoming the No. 1 seed on Qualifying Sunday may have been reduced. North Carolina (23-8, 15-5) finished second with Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish took second place in the ACC tournament in a tiebreak.
Fab Five
North Carolina played the same five players throughout the second half: Caleb Love, R. J. Davis, Leaky Black, Brady Manek, and Armando Backot. And they were absolutely lethal, averaging 1,528 points per possession, with every player scoring at least 10 points except Black, who scored six.
The backcourt really picked up steam as Love moved his late game out of Syracuse into Saturday afternoon with 15 points and five assists. Davis was arguably just as devastating, as each of his 10 points and three assists seemed to come in the big moments.
North Carolina entered the game outside of the Palm NCAA Tournament field, but when Love and Davis play this way, the Tar Heels don’t just look like a team capable of entering the tournament, but also a team that can do some damage once they get there. get there.
Backot “point-minute”
Bakot only played 10 minutes in the first half after two fouls, but showed his influence by scoring 10 points. Although Backot couldn’t keep up that pace in the second half, he still played the full 20 minutes without committing a third foul and scoring 13 more points. He finished with 23 points on 10-of-11 shooting from the floor, with seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
His consistency gave the Tar Heels an edge in the second half as Duke Paolo Banchero’s star faded. Banchero scored 15 points on 7 of 13 shots in the first half, which was largely the reason the Blue Devils dominated the paint and led at half-time. But in the second half, Banchero’s 13 attempts yielded only four shots and eight points. Despite strong halves from Mark Williams (12 points) and Jeremy Roach (nine), Duke simply didn’t have enough firepower to keep up.
Consequences
After the game, Krzyzewski returned to the court in front of the still crowded Blue Devil fans and celebrities and apologized for the team’s efforts before the start of the coach’s ceremony.
“This is not part of the program, this is my impromptu: I regret today,” Krzyzewski said before calming down the fans. “Not. Please. No. Please everyone be quiet, let me say this is unacceptable. Today was unacceptable, but the season was very acceptable. And I will say… the season is not over yet.”
Instead, Duke adds his first ACC title since 2010 and first direct regular season championship since 2006 to his trophy. The Blue Devils’ longtime goal has always been to add to Krzyzewski’s significant postseason tally of 12 Final Fours and five national championships.