CHARLOTTE – Over the first 39 minutes of their ACC Tournament semifinal matchup Friday night, North Carolina was blown out by Duke before the Tar Heels blew out the Blue Devils.

Then the final minute came with Duke leading by a point. UNC had two opportunities but couldn’t cash in, with a lane violation taking a game-tying point off the scoreboard in what was a 74-71 Duke victory at Spectrum Center.

The Blue Devils led by 21 points at halftime and by as much as 24 points three minutes into the second period. But Carolina’s furious 43-20 run put it in position to steal the game and possibly sway the NCAA selection committee to include it in the field of 68.

But the Heels didn’t get it done. They couldn’t take full advantage of Duke forward and ACC Player of the Year Cooper Flagg missing the game or key sixth man Maliq Brown.

The loss leaves UNC at 22-13 and as the most talked about team in the nation with respect to its NCAA viability. Duke improved to 30-3 and will play Louisville on Saturday night for the ACC championship.

Ven-Allen Lubin led UNC with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Elliot Cadeau scored 15 points, Seth Trimble added 14, and Drake Powell had 10. RJ Davis ended with 8 points, his second-lowest total of the season.

Here is a Deep Dive into UNC’s performance: