The Duke Blue Devils are headed Saturday’s to the ACC Tournament Championship after defeating UNC, 74-71, in a thrilling semifinal game in Charlotte.
It was all Duke in the first half of the contest and if you decided turn the channel at the 17:01 mark of the second half with the Blue Devils up a commanding 24 points, you missed a classic Duke/North Carolina thriller.
The Tar Heels gradually chipped away at what many thought was an insurmountable lead against the number one team in the country – cutting their deficit to one with 32 seconds remaining. A foul on Duke center Khaman Maluach sent UNC big-man Ven-Allen Lubin to the free throw line with four seconds on the clock and the Tar Heels down 72-71. Lubin missed the first three throw and made his second – but it was negated by a lane violation call against Jae’Lyn Withers.
After Duke inbounded the ball RJ Davis quickly fouled Kon Knueppel, who drained the two free throws that sealed the game.
“Mindset is the biggest thing and I want our guys to have that mindset of going for it,” head coach Jon Scheyer said after the win. “Just go for it. I remind them all the time, you’re right where you want to be. This is what you signed up for. You signed up for these hard moments and I want our guys to embrace that.”
The Blue Devils had five players finish with double-digit scoring, led by Kon Knueppel’s 17 points. Duke’s Khaman Maluach finished one rebound shy of a double-double, logging 13 points and nine boards.
North Carolina’s Ven-Allen Lubin recorded his third double-double of the ACC Tournament, finishing with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Duke advances to the ACC Tournament championship game for the 36th time, boasting an all-time record of 22-13 in the title game and is now 6-4 against North Carolina under head coach Jon Scheyer.
