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Neither team was ranked in the AP Top 25 for the 260th all-time meeting between Duke and North Carolina on Saturday, but the game was yet another epic thriller regardless as the Blue Devils escaped with an 62-57 win to complete a regular-season sweep of their arch rival. Kyle Filipowski led the way with 22 points and 13 rebounds as Duke won its sixth straight game entering the postseason.
North Carolina (19-12, 11-9 ACC) desperately needed a victory to solidify its NCAA Tournament resume entering next week’s ACC Tournament. The Tar Heels rallied from a 43-36 deficit with a 13-2 run to take a 49-45 lead following a Pete Nance 3-pointer with 8:32 remaining but couldn’t hang on from there.
Filipowski hit a clutch 3-pointer with 6:37 remaining to return the lead to Duke (23-8, 14-6) and then put the Blue Devils ahead again with 1:38 remaining by hitting a pair of free throws. The Tar Heels had a chance to tie it with under 10 seconds to play, but Caleb Love’s contested 3-pointer missed, and Filipowski put the finishing touches on the win with a bucket on the other end.
When Duke won the first meeting 63-57 on Feb. 4 it attempted 15 free throws while North Carolina attempted only three. The story was different this time as the Tar Heels made 18 of 21 attempts from the line compared to 14 of 18 for Duke, but the Tar Heels could not overcome a 30.4% shooting percentage and a 30-16 deficit in paint points.
A common issue
North Carolina entered shooting just 31.2% from 3-point range, which ranked 330th nationally. In conference games, the Tar Heels ranked last in the ACC at 30.7% from beyond the arc. It was more of the same against Duke as UNC made just 5 of 23 attempts from beyond the arc, including 3 of 14 in the second half. Aside from RJ Davis, who was 3 of 5, the rest of the team combined to shoot 2 of 18 from 3-point range.
Senior center Armando Bacot was great with 17 points and 11 rebounds on the interior. But without much firepower from the outside, UNC’s offense wilted when it couldn’t play in transition. Caleb Love’s 3-of-12 shooting performance stood out as another inefficient outing. Often a hero during last season’s Final Four run, the junior guard has been too inconsistent for the Tar Heels to depend on this season.
UNC’s tournament hopes
North Carolina likely needs to make a run in the ACC Tournament in order to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, according to CBS Sports Bracketology Expert Jerry Palm. The Tar Heels entered the day as one of the “First Four Out” of Palm’s projected field and did themselves no favors by failing to pick up what would have been just their second Quad 1 win of the season.
This team is just 4-6 over its last 10 games since standing at 15-6 (7-3) following a win at Syracuse on Jan. 24. UNC’s victories since then are against Clemson, Notre Dame, Virginia and Florida State. Of those four, only Virginia ranks inside the top 60 of the NET — and the Cavaliers are just 30th.
Though an 11-9 league record would often be good enough for an at-large bid, UNC fumbled its chances with a lackluster nonconference performance. The Tar Heels lost four straight games in late November and early December to the likes of Iowa State, Alabama, Indiana and Virginia Tech. That losing streak, combined with a stretch of five losses in six games to begin February, has this team in desperation mode after returning four starters from a Final Four squad.
Duke’s development
Duke entered the day projected as just a No. 6 seed for the NCAA Tournament, according to Palm. But the Blue Devils will be a menacing matchup for teams in the postseason as they continue to demonstrate growth with a new cast of key characters.
Though Filipowski stood out with his 14th double-double, other freshmen continued stepping up as well. Tyrese Proctor scored 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting and finished with three assists against only one turnover. Mark Mitchell also provided 10 points, including a 3-pointer in the first half that put Duke ahead 18-14.
When these teams met for the first time this season, junior guard Jeremy Roach led the way with 20 points as the Blue Devils’ lone veteran returner from last season’s squad. As the weeks have gone by, Duke’s young nucleus has continued to develop. Thus, even on a 4-of-16 shooting night for Roach on Saturday, Duke still managed to pull out a victory on the road against its biggest rival.
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