UNC men's basketball wins ACC regular season title with 76-72 victory over Duke

DURHAM — The ghosts of seasons past haunted the North Carolina men’s basketball team entering its regular season finale against Duke.

For four years, the Tar Heels hadn’t obtained a win at Cameron Indoor Stadium. For four years, they fell short of claiming the ACC regular season crown.

Since the start of the year, UNC’s seniors have talked about winning something significant, about dispelling those demons and leaving their mark on the program in their final season.

And on Saturday night, they did just that.

Propelled by a 7-2 run with less than five minutes left and eight made free throws in the final 30 seconds, the Tar Heels defeated the Blue Devils, 76-72, securing their first win in Durham and their first ACC regular season title since 2012.

North Carolina (25-6, 14-4 ACC) never trailed during Saturday’s game, and it stretched its lead into double digits twice during the first half.

But as was the case in their previous matchup with Duke — a 74-73 loss at the Smith Center — the Tar Heels allowed the Blue Devils (22-9, 11-7 ACC) to hang around.

After entering halftime with a 40-32 lead, UNC missed its first 11 shots of the second half. The Tar Heels’ abysmal shooting performance gave Duke the opportunity it needed, as the Blue Devils made 3-pointers on four straight possessions to tie the game at 49 with 11:56 left.

But despite tying the game for the first time since the opening tip, Duke never attained the lead.

With 4:37 left and his team clinging to a 61-57 lead, sophomore guard Joel Berry made his second 3-pointer of the game.

And after a made jumper by Duke’s Grayson Allen —who finished with a game-high 29 points — UNC responded with a dunk by Justin Jackson and a transition layup by Berry, giving the Tar Heels a 68-59 edge and forcing a Blue Devil timeout.

Duke cut North Carolina’s lead to two points with nine seconds left, but senior guard Marcus Paige went 4-for-4 from the free throw line the rest of the way to ice the game for UNC.

Quotable

“It’s surreal. It’s a great feeling just to be able to finally win one. We were so close freshman year and last year. To be able to win it here and to be able to play the way we did, it just felt great. I couldn’t help up but tear up a little bit, because it’s the first time I’ve won a conference championship since I’ve been here.” — UNC senior forward Brice Johnson on the emotions he felt following the win.

Notable

Saturday’s win marked the fourth time in the past 11 years that the Tar Heels dropped the first game at home against the Blue Devils and then defeated Duke on the road on its senior night. Before 2006, UNC accomplished the feat just one time since the beginning of ACC play.

Prior to Saturday’s victory, North Carolina hadn’t defeated a ranked team on the road since beating top-ranked Michigan State on Dec. 1, 2013.

Three numbers that matter

64: The Tar Heels outrebounded the Blue Devils 64-29 on Saturday, marking the team’s largest rebound margin since it outrebounded Nicholls State by 37 on Dec. 19, 2011.

20: North Carolina made 20 of its 23 free throws, including its final 10 shots from the charity stripe. The team shot 87 percent from the free throw line, marking its second-best percentage this season.

42: UNC tallied 42 points in the paint on Saturday, while Duke managed only 20. The Tar Heels are now 18-1 when they’ve scored 40 or more points in the paint this season.

What’s next?

As the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament, the Tar Heels will face the winner of Wednesday’s game between Pittsburgh and Syracuse at noon in Thursday’s quarterfinals at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.

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