- Duke Cheerleader’s photo captures the attention of fans during the intense rivalry game against North Carolina.
- In the first year of the Jon Scheyer era, Duke swept the regular season series against North Carolina with a victory on Saturday night.
- While Duke may not be a strong contender for the national title in March, they could make a promising run in the NCAA Tournament.
Duke Cheerleader’s photo captures the attention of fans during the intense rivalry game against North Carolina. On Saturday evening, the highly-anticipated rivalry, which is considered the best in college basketball was on display.Â
In the first year of the Jon Scheyer era, Duke swept the regular season series against North Carolina with a victory on Saturday night.
Duke’s cheerleaders were thrilled with the win and proudly wrote, “Our blue is best 😈 #BEATUNC.”
Fans also expressed their excitement and support for the team on social media, with one fan exclaiming, “THATS MY CAPTAIN,” and another wishing the team good luck.Â
While Duke may not be a strong contender for the national title in March, they could make a promising run in the NCAA Tournament.
Blue Devils complete regular-season sweep against Tar Heels in a thrilling game
In the 260th meeting between Duke and North Carolina on Saturday, neither team was ranked in the AP Top 25, but the game still turned out to be an epic thriller.
The Blue Devils won 62-57, completing a regular-season sweep of their arch-rival, with Kyle Filipowski leading the way with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
Duke has won its sixth straight game entering the postseason, while North Carolina needed a win to solidify its NCAA Tournament resume.
The Tar Heels rallied from a 43-36 deficit with a 13-2 run, taking a 49-45 lead following a Pete Nance 3-pointer with 8:32 remaining but could not hold on from there.
Filipowski hit a clutch 3-pointer with 6:37 remaining to return the lead to Duke and then put the Blue Devils ahead again with 1:38 remaining by hitting a pair of free throws.
The Tar Heels had a chance to tie it with under 10 seconds to play, but Caleb Love’s contested 3-pointer missed, and Filipowski put the finishing touches on the win with a bucket on the other end.
In the first meeting between the two teams, Duke attempted 15 free throws while North Carolina attempted only three, but the Tar Heels made 18 of 21 attempts from the line compared to 14 of 18 for Duke this time around. However, the Tar Heels could not overcome a 30.4% shooting percentage and a 30-16 deficit in paint points.
North Carolina entered the game shooting just 31.2% from 3-point range, ranked 330th nationally, and made just 5 of 23 attempts from beyond the arc, including 3 of 14 in the second half.
Senior center Armando Bacot was excellent, with 17 points and 11 rebounds on the interior, but UNC’s offense struggled with little firepower from the outside.
UNC’s tournament hopes are now in jeopardy, and the team likely needs to make a run in the ACC Tournament to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Tar Heels entered the day as one of the “First Four Out” of CBS Sports Bracketology Expert Jerry Palm’s projected field and did themselves no favors by failing to pick up just their second Quad 1 win of the season.
The team is 4-6 over its last ten games since standing at 15-6 (7-3) following a win at Syracuse on Jan. 24.
On the other hand, Duke entered the day projected as just a No. 6 seed for the NCAA Tournament but will be a bad matchup for teams in the postseason as they continue to demonstrate growth with a new cast of key players.
Other first-year students like Tyrese Proctor and Mark Mitchell stepped up, and even with Jeremy Roach having an off night, Duke still managed to pull out a victory on the road against their biggest rival.