Duke vs. North Carolina score, takeaways: Tar Heels spoil Coach K's last home game with upset of Blue Devils

UNC picked up a huge 94-81 victory over No. 4 Duke in Mike Krzyzewski's finale at Cameron Indoor Stadium

North Carolina spoiled Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski's final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday with a 94-81 victory over the No. 4 Blue Devils. That win could be a huge one for the Tar Heels on Selection Sunday, with North Carolina now in the projected NCAA Tournament field, according to CBS Sports Bracketology Expert Jerry Palm.

Duke freshman Paolo Banchero dominated in the first half, scoring 15 points as the Blue Devils led by as many as nine points. But a late surge, capped by a 3-pointer from RJ Davis with just over a second remaining, meant North Carolina trailed by a manageable two points at halftime.

In the second half, Duke led by as many as seven, but a few minutes later, a 9-0 run pushed North Carolina into the lead, an advantage the Tar Heels never ceded and pushed to as many as 14 points late.

Armando Bacot overcame first-half foul trouble to score 23 points, one of four Tar Heels with at least 20. Banchero finished with 23, although it took him 26 shots to get there.

Duke (26-5, 16-4 ACC) will be the No. 1 seed in next week's ACC Tournament, though the Blue Devils' chances of being a No. 1 seed on Selection Sunday may have been dented. North Carolina (23-8, 15-5) finished tied with Notre Dame in second place. The Fighting Irish have the tiebreaker as the No. 2 seed in the ACC tourney.

Fab Five

North Carolina played the same five players for the entirety of the second half: Caleb Love, RJ Davis, Leaky Black, Brady Manek and Armando Bacot. And they were absolutely lethal, averaging 1.528 points per possession with each player scoring at least 10 points -- except Black, who scored six.

The backcourt truly kicked into high gear with Love carrying over his late play from the Syracuse game into Saturday's second half, scoring 15 points and dishing out five assists. Davis might have been just as devastating, with each of his 10 points and three assists seemingly coming at the biggest possible moments.

North Carolina entered the game outside Palm's NCAA Tournament field, but when Love and Davis play that way, the Tar Heels don't just look like a team capable of making the tourney, but one that can do some damage once the they get there.

Point-a-minute Bacot

Bacot played just 10 minutes in the first half after picking up two fouls but showed his impact by recording 10 points. While Bacot couldn't quite keep up that pace in the second half, he did play all 20 minutes, never picking up a third foul, and scored 13 more points. He finished with 23 points on 10-of-11 shooting from the floor while chipping in seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

His consistency gave the Tar Heels a leg up in the second half as Duke star Paolo Banchero faded. Banchero scored 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting in the first half, a big part of the reason the Blue Devils dominated in the paint and led at halftime. But in the second half, Banchero's 13 attempts only produced four makes and eight points. Despite strong halves from Mark Williams (12 points) and Jeremy Roach (nine), Duke just didn't have enough firepower to keep up.

The aftermath

Following the game, Krzyzewski returned to the court in front of a still-packed house of Blue Devil fans and celebrities, and apologized for the team's effort before the ceremonies honoring the coach began. 

"This isn't part of the program, this is impromptu by me: I'm sorry about this afternoon," Krzyzewski said, before quieting the fans. "No. Please. No. Please, everyone be quiet, let me just say, it's unacceptable. Today was unacceptable, but the season has been very acceptable. And I'll tell … the season isn't over."

Instead, Duke adds to its trophy case with its first ACC title since 2010 and first outright regular season championship since 2006. The long goal for the Blue Devils has always been to add to Krzyzewski's sizable postseason haul: 12 Final Fours and five national championships.

Live updates
(68)
See New Posts
Pinned
@DukeMBB via Twitter
March 6, 2022, 3:18 AM
Pinned
@UNC_Basketball via Twitter
March 6, 2022, 3:16 AM
Pinned
@UNC_Basketball via Twitter
March 6, 2022, 3:16 AM
Pinned
@UNC_Basketball via Twitter
March 6, 2022, 3:03 AM
Pinned
@UNC_Basketball via Twitter
March 6, 2022, 2:23 AM
Pinned
@UNC_Basketball via Twitter
March 6, 2022, 1:49 AM
Pinned
@DukeMBB via Twitter
March 6, 2022, 1:43 AM
Pinned

North Carolina takes down No. 4 Duke in Mike Krzyzewski's final game coaching at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils led by as many as seven points in the second half, though the game got away late, with the Tar Heels winning 94-81.

Pinned
@UNC_Basketball via Twitter
March 6, 2022, 1:26 AM
Pinned

Hard to argue with the North Carolina fight. The Tar Heels were down seven in the second half, but are now up 12 points with a little more than 44 seconds left. Duke struggled to stay in front of North Carolina's guards, and when the Tar Heel guards can give Armando Bacot that kind of help, North Carolina is some kind of dangerous.

Pinned
@UNC_Basketball via Twitter
March 6, 2022, 1:22 AM
Pinned
@UNC_Basketball via Twitter
March 6, 2022, 1:19 AM
Pinned

North Carolina built its biggest lead of the game at eight points at 79-71 before Wendell Moore made a huge 3-pointer to cut the Tar Heel advantage to 79-74 with 2:57 left.

Don't be surprised if the Tar Heels tap into RJ Davis down the stretch; he has 21 points and has caused problems when he's been able to attack switches.

Pinned
@DukeMBB via Twitter
March 6, 2022, 1:13 AM
Pinned
@UNC_Basketball via Twitter
March 6, 2022, 1:12 AM
Pinned

North Carolina currently enjoys an advantage from the free throw line: 11-14 to 4-6. With both teams sitting at five second-half fouls heading into the final 6:04, it will be interesting to see if the Tar Heels can hold onto that edge. North Carolina is making 78.7% of its free throws in ACC play, the league's top mark, so a free throw shooting contest would seem to favor the Tar Heels.

Pinned
@DukeMBB via Twitter
March 6, 2022, 1:05 AM
Pinned

North Carolina has played the same five for the entire second half, rolling with Love, Davis, Black, Manek and Bacot. That group has the Tar Heels up three at the under-eight timeout. Bacot has been the consistent force, but Love, Davis and Manek have all hit big shots in North Carolina's second half burst.

North Carolina 70, Duke 67 with 6:04 left in the game.

Pinned

North Carolina ties the game on an RJ Davis transition layup, then takes the lead on another bucket from Armando Bacot. Brady Manek adds a stick back with Duke whistled for goaltending and all of a sudden, North Carolina leads by by four.

Pinned

Duke made 62.5% of its 2-point shots in the first game, and the Blue Devils are at 22-of-38 (57.9%) against North Carolina tonight. The Blue Devils' ability to get points inside the arc is a big part of the reason Duke is clinging to a tight two-point lead.

Pinned
@UNC_Basketball via Twitter
March 6, 2022, 12:50 AM
Pinned

Armando Bacot's ability to stay on the court in the second half has been huge for North Carolina. He's still right around his point-per-minute rate he carried from the first half: 19 points in 18 minutes. He's also the only Tar Heel player to play multiple minutes and have a positive plus-minus, at plus-seven.

Bacot hasn't picked up his third foul yet after sitting much of the first half with two, meaning he's in good shape heading into the final 11:40.

See More