The Duke basketball team had its backs up against the wall.
A 21-point halftime lead was on the brink of vanishing and the Blue Devils could not turn to superstar Cooper Flagg, who was out with an ankle injury.
Instead of clawing its way to the finish line, North Carolina let the ACC regular season champions off the hook after Khaman Maluach committed a foul that put Ven-Allen Lubin on the free throw line with 4.1 seconds remaining trailing by one, 72-71.
Lubin missed the first free throw with all the pressure mounting on him, but Lae’Lyn Withers stepped into the lane before Lubin put the second free throw in the air. The ball went in, but it didn’t count – a lane violation.
UNC was called for a lane violation on the potential game-tying free throw 😳
— ESPN (@espn) March 15, 2025
Duke won the game to advance to the ACC tournament final. pic.twitter.com/TyaWtF4htu
Kon Knueppel would hit two free throws on the other and as a last effort 3-pointer from Lubin was no good and Duke won, 74-71, to advance to the ACC Tournament Championship.
The loss should keep North Carolina from the NCAA Tournament while Duke, despite already clinching a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance, proved it can still win without the favorite for the National Player of the Year.
The freshmen, again, led the way as Knueppel had 17 points but more impressively the Blue Devils got 12 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting from Patrick Ngongba with 13 points from Khaman Maluach.
The effort Duke put together in the first half was as well as they could play without Flagg and Maliq Brown, but its offense stalled in the second half as a desperate Carolina squad chipped away.
Still, the Heels never led after a 9-8 advantage early in the first half.
Duke has not provided an update on the status Cooper Flagg for Saturday’s ACC Tournament Championship (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) as the Blue Devils will play either Louisville or Clemson.