Duke Falls To North Carolina In The Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Semifinals

In round three between the two rivals  at the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Duke's comeback fell short as North Carolina advanced to the championship game where they will play top ranked Virginia.

 Luke Maye scored 17 points, including North Carolina's last field goal with 5:33 remaining, and No. 12 North Carolina held off a late rally by No. 5 Duke to advance to the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship game with a 74-69 victory on Friday night. "according tohttp://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211705180

The sixth-seeded Tar Heels (25-9) will face top-seeded and top-ranked Virginia on Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn in a rematch of the 2016 ACC championship, won by North Carolina. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211705180

North Carolina led by 15 when Maye hit a jumper with 5:33 left and it looked as if it would cruise into the title game. But the Tar Heels went cold and second-seeded Duke went on a 13-0 run, drawing within three on Gray Trent Jr.'s 3 with 50 seconds left."according tohttp://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211705180

The Tar Heels turned the ball over on consecutive possessions, but an offensive foul by Grayson Allen and then a missed 3 by Allen, trying to draw contact on Maye, stymied Duke (26-7). "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211705180

Theo Pinson made two free throws with 3.2 seconds left to seal it and the Tar Heels snapped a six-game losing streak in the ACC Tournament to their most heated Tobacco Road rivals -- and they even the series in Brooklyn at 1 each. Duke beat the Tar Heels in Barclays last season. "according http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211705180

Pinson had seven of North Carolina's 24 assists on 28 field goals as the Tar Heels cut up Duke's zone most of the night. Joel Berry II had 13 points and six assists and Kenny Williams had 10 and six. Maye rebounded from a 1-for-15 shooting performance in the quarterfinals against Miami to shoot 8 of 18 with 10 rebounds and four assists."according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211705180

Marvin Bagley III followed up his 33-point, 17-rebound game against Notre Dame on Thursday with 19 points and 13 rebounds for Duke. Fellow freshmen Trent added 20 points and Wendell Carter Jr. had 14 points and nine rebounds." according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211705180

BIG PICTURE

North Carolina: A night after Duke earned its 100th ACC Tournament victory, the Tar Heels did the same and put themselves in position to earn a 19th conference championship. That would leave them one behind Duke for the most. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211705180

Duke: The Blue Devils had six turnovers on their first 14 possessions and just one field goal in the first 10 minutes of the game. North Carolina led by as much as 13 points, before Bagley got going and scored eight points in the last 10 minutes. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211705180

UP NEXT

North Carolina: The Tar Heels scored 49 points in a home loss to Virginia on Jan. 6 "accoprding to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211705180

Duke: The Blue Devils will find out Sunday if it did enough to earn a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211705180