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Duke defeated North Carolina 82-69 on Saturday night in Chapel Hill.
The victory means Duke finishes the ACC regular season with a record of 19-1. The Blue Devils could have fallen to as far as the No. 3 seed in the ACC Tournament with a loss on Saturday, but instead they took care of business with another victory over their arch rivals.
Duke has now won 3 of the last 4 meetings between these 2 arch rivals in Chapel Hill. The Blue Devils lost at the Dean E. Smith Center last season but beat the Tar Heels on the road in both 2023 and 2022.
This is a devastating loss for North Carolina’s NCAA Tournament chances. The Tar Heels had won 6 straight games prior this defeat, but will now enter the postseason with just 1 Quad 1 win on their résumé. Without a deep run in the ACC Tournament next weekend, Carolina will be a big underdog to hear its name called on Selection Sunday.
Duke, meanwhile, is solidly expected to earn a No. 1 seed on Selection Sunday. Auburn is the favorite to be the No. 1 overall seed, although its home loss to Alabama on Saturday could change that. It’s worth noting Duke does have a head-to-head win over the Tigers from earlier this season.
This is Duke’s 2nd outright ACC regular season title in the last 4 seasons.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
