For the first time in their historic rivalry, Duke and North Carolina They faced off with college basketball eyes on Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The schools, separated by just 10 miles, faced off as top-10 opponents for the 49th time as a sellout crowd filled the Smith Center.
RJ Davis (4) of the North Carolina Tar Heels battles Mark Mitchell (25) of the Duke Blue Devils for a loose ball during the first half of a game at the Dean E. Smith Center on February 3, 2024, in Chapel Hill, NORTH CAROLINA (Grant Halverson/Getty Images)=)
The Carolinian faithful did not leave disappointed.
DUKE AND NORTH CAROLINA RIVALRY BEGINS FOR 261ST TIME, 49TH AS TOP-10 TEAMS
No. 3 North Carolina trailed by just 53 seconds, giving No. 7 Duke its third CAC loss with a 93-84 victory in Chapel Hill.
A roaring crowd cheered North Carolina to a 10-point halftime lead and a fifth-year senior. Armando Bacot He showed why he will be remembered as a great Carolina player.
Bacot scored 12 points in the first half and grabbed eight rebounds, while junior forward Harrison Ingram went 3-6 from 3-point range, contributing 11 points, six rebounds, two steals and a block.
Bacot finished his night with 25 points and 10 rebounds, and Ingram shot 5-for-9 from deep with 21 points and 12 rebounds.
North Carolina forward Armando Bacot, right, tries to control a loose ball in front of Duke guard Tyrese Proctor, left, during the first half on Feb. 3, 2024, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina . (AP Photo/Chris Seward)
Duke turned the ball over 11 times, which North Carolina turned into 19 points.
“The biggest story for me was the fumbles,” Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said. “If you look throughout the game, they were hungrier to get them. And it became – I'll go back and watch the film and see – but I bet about 15, maybe even 20 points. And you have to give them credit for that.
“They have a really good team. They play really well together. Their defense is great. And yet, we scored 84 points. We can score. Our thing was getting stops tonight. Which we just couldn't do.”
Scheyer was dissatisfied with his team's effort in the loss and said he was disappointed with the way his Blue Devils competed.
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“I just wasn't happy with the way we competed,” Scheyer said. “And that's disappointing to me. Look, you can play really well and compete hard, and still lose to them. Because they're a really good team. But we don't compete at the level that you need, to “I have a chance to beat this team.” tonight. And that's what disappoints me.”
Duke couldn't recover after digging a hole in the first half.
The two guards were Duke's offense in the first half, with senior guard Jeremy Roach knocking down two of three attempts from beyond the 3-point arc for 10 points in the first half, while freshman Jared McCain scored nine points and seven rebounds.
Second year student Kyle Filipowskiwhich ranked seventh in the ACC in points (17.5) per game heading into the matchup, was largely kept in check in the first half, scoring just six points on 3-7 shooting from the field.
The sophomore got going in the second half, finishing the night with 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting, but it was too little, too late for Duke.
Jared McCain (0) of the Duke Blue Devils shoots against Elliot Cadeau (2) of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the first half of a game at the Dean E. Smith Center on Feb. 3, 2024, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
On Thursday, North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis highlighted the challenges Filipowski poses for a defense. The third-year head coach was pleased with the way his team, specifically Bacot, handled the sophomore on Saturday.
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“One of the things we always do, even as a player, defensively, yeah. It's tough, but you have to attack it on the defensive end,” Davis Filipowski said. “And I thought Armando did that. I thought Armando made him play defense. And that's something I think he really helped us with tonight.”
Carolina's win snaps a two-game losing streak at home to Duke, and the Tar Heels are now two games up in the loss column in the blue devils in the CAC.
