Duke Basketball: Blue Devils defeat North Carolina in an instant classic

The Duke Basketball team and the North Carolina Tar Heels went down to the final shot in an instant classic in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament.

That was a basketball game for the ages.

Well played by Duke, well played by North Carolina, and well officiated, by the most part.

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Duke vs. North Carolina always delivers and couldn’t be more true tonight.

Zion Williamson was healthy and he was the difference tonight after missing a shot, and tipping the rebound up and in to put the Blue Devils up by won.

The Tar Heels would come right back down the other way and a contested Coby White jumper from just inside the 3-point arc by Tre Jones and a tipped rebound by Javin DeLaurier as time expired gave the Blue Devils a 74-73 victory.

Zion led the way for the Blue Devils with 31 points and 11 rebounds on 13-of-19 shooting and two of three from 3-point range.

R.J. Barrett added 15 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, but he struggled with his shot and shot selection in the second half, making five of fifteen shots and just two of nine from 3-point range.

Barrett was three of six from the free throw line, two of those misses coming as the Blue Devils were up one in the closing seconds.

Tre Jones struggled with his shot once again tonight, but even though he only netted two steals, his defense was excellent tonight. Jones was 5-of-14 from the field and 1-of-5 from 3-point range for just 11 points.

Jones also added four rebounds and four assists.

Cam Reddish struggled once again for the Blue Devils.

Reddish was in foul trouble for a majority of the first half and did not start the second half. The freshman wing had six points on three-of-seven shooting and missing his two 3-point attempts, along with both of his free throw attempts.

Aside from his shooting troubles, Reddish also had a team high five turnovers and two rebounds and a block.

Javin DeLaurier started once again tonight for the Blue Devils, and in the opening minutes he really provided some great energy and effort, finishing with four offensive rebonds, six total on the night, along with five points, but missing a few shots from point-blank range and shooting two-of-five tonight.

However, two of the unsung heroes of tonights game are Jordan Goldwire and Antonio Vrankovic.

Combined the two had six points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block, but it was the hustle plays that both players had on defense, especially in the first half, that helped Duke comeback from a 13-point deficit to tie the game at the break.

Duke moves to 28-5 on the season and might have secured a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with the victory tonight.

The Florida State Seminoles defeated the Virginia Cavaliers in the first semifinal, so it will be the Blue Devils and the Seminoles tomorrow night at 8:30pm ET on ESPN in the ACC Championship Game.

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