ACC Championship Game 2011, Duke Vs. UNC Score: Blue Devils Defeat Tar Heels 75-58

The Duke Blue Devils have likely earned themselves a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament this afternoon, as they demolished the North Carolina Tar Heels 75-58 to win the 2011 ACC Tournament Championship game. North Carolina trailed from beginning to end, as Duke put together a fantastic full 40 minute performance. The Blue Devils faced a setback when they lost the regular season ACC title to North Carolina just a week ago, but revenge by way of an ACC tournament win over their bitter rivals will serve as a pretty good form of revenge.

Despite a 5-14 shooting performance from Kyle Singler and a 6-18 performance from Nolan Smith, Duke managed to shoot 50% from the field. Their opponents weren’t anywhere near as successful, throwing up a flurry of bricks en route to a 33.9% performance from the field. John Henson turned in a great performance on the glass for the Tar Heels with 18 rebounds, but the UNC forward shot just 4-15. Harrison Barnes struggled from the field, shooting 6-15, including a big miss with five minutes remaining in the game that killed any chance North Carolina had to come back into the game.

Duke has all but locked themselves into a No. 1 seed today, but North Carolina’s future seems less certain. A regular season ACC title and a run to the tournament final could be good enough to earn the Tar Heels a No. 2 seed, but based on the manner of this loss, it wouldn’t be shocking to see them slide down to the No. 3 line.