Justin Robinson had never started a game in his Duke career until Saturday, when the senior got the nod in his last game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The 6-foot-9 forward made it clear that it was more than just an act of charity.
Robinson tied a career-high with 13 points and hit a key 3-pointer with 4:27 left that helped the Blue Devils beat Tobacco Road rival North Carolina 89-76 in the regular-season finale for both.
Florida State's win over Boston College on Saturday ended Duke's chances of sharing an ACC regular-season title, and North Carolina entered knowing that regardless of what happened, it will still need to win five games in the ACC Tournament to make the NCAA Tournament.
But as the Blue Devils and Tar Heels played, it was clear there was plenty at stake in the final scheduled meeting of the rivalry's 100th anniversary season. North Carolina's Brandon Robinson returned from an injury after UNC coach Roy Williams declared him doubtful at halftime to help the Tar Heels close within 55-54 midway through the second half.
From there, Duke took over with a heavy dose of Tre Jones and Vernon Carey Jr. Jones finished with 21 points and 11 assists while Carey put up 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Blue Devils.
But Justin Robinson stole the show by setting or tying career highs in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and minutes.
Here are three takeaways from the Blue Devils' victory:
Duke doesn't move up: The win means Duke finishes the regular season tied with Louisville and Virginia for second place in the ACC. But because of the way the tiebreaker worked out, it will be the No. 4 seed in the league tournament next week just the same as it would have been with a loss. Likewise, UNC was going to be playing on the first day of the ACC Tournament even if it had won on Saturday. The only difference is the Tar Heels would have been the No. 11 seed instead of the No. 14 seed with a win. Either way, their potential second-round opponent is Syracuse. The ACC Tournament moved to a five-round format in 2014 following realignment. No team has ever made it to the championship game without at least having a first-round bye. That means the Tar Heels will have to make history in the ACC Tournament if they are going to make the NCAA Tournament.
Blue Devils' have dynamic duo: Are we sure Jones and Carey aren't the best guard-big man duo in the country? There's Devon Dotson and Udoka Azubuike at Kansas, Jalen Crutcher and Obi Toppin at Dayton and Anthony Cowan and Jalen Smith at Maryland, just to name a few. But Jones and Carey were unstoppable in the second half on Saturday. Collectively, they are younger than the duos from those other teams. And the Blue Devils are currently ranked below those three teams in the AP Top 25. But if Jones and Carey are on - and get a little help from the supporting cast - they could go down in history for what they do in the postseason.
Don't sleep on UNC in ACC tourney: This season has obviously been a disaster for North Carolina. In no scenario did anyone envision the Tar Heels entering the ACC Tournament as the lowest-seeded team in the bracket. But do you think Virginia Tech and Syracuse are happy at the prospect of playing UNC in the first two rounds? No, not at all. The Tar Heels had won three straight before giving Duke a great game on the road Saturday. UNC almost certainly lacks the depth to win more than a couple of games in the conference tournament. But the way the Tar Heels are playing, they could absolutely make things interesting and potentially give Louisville a tough game in the quarterfinals if they make it that far.