North Carolina Beats Duke 81-67, Secures ACC Championship

North Carolina didn’t get the outcome it wanted in Durham earlier this season. But now, in Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels are getting almost everything they want — and could definitely come away with the ACC’s regular season championship. At the under-eight media timeout, UNC lead Duke, 71-59.

For North Carolina, it’s been about balance all night. The Tar Heels have nine players with points, six with six or more, and three — Kendall Marshall, Harrison Barnes, and Tyler Zeller — in double figures. Barnes has 18 and leads all Tar Heels in scoring; he also threw down an monster dunk that ignited the Dean Dome crowd just before the media timeout.

North Carolina’s Roy Williams started his seniors for tonight’s Senior Night festivities in Chapel Hill against Duke. That might only have slowed his Tar Heels’ roll; they’re looking fairly unstoppable at halftime, with the score 51-39 in the boys in light blue’s favor.

The Tar Heels have gotten offensive production from all corners, but it’s Kendall Marshall that has the machine running smoothly. He has 12 points and five assists, and has helped Carolina shoot a sizzling 57.9% from the field in the first half.

College basketball’s most heated rivalry appeared headed for another close, contentious iteration in Chapel Hill tonight. Duke and North Carolina were keeping things close in the first half, but the Tar Heels broke open a double-digit lead.

Seth Curry leads all scorers in the primetime showdown, with 12 points on four three-pointers. For the Tar Heels, scoring balance — nine players have chipped in, none more than Dexter Strickland’s six — led to an 11-point lead that Curry cut to eight with a subsequent three-pointer.

UNC and Duke will write another chapter in college basketball’s biggest rivalry on Saturday night, and this time, the ACC title is at stake. With both No. 13 North Carolina and No. 4 Duke tied in the ACC standings, the regular-season finale will give the winner outright ownership of the title. As game time nears, here are the basics.

Time: 8 p.m. Eastern.

Channel: CBS. Broadcasters are Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg.

Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Rivalry history: This will be the 231st meeting of the teams. UNC leads the series all-time, 130-100.

Last meeting: on February 9th, then-No. 5 Duke beat then-No. 20 UNC, 79-73.

How to follow: while watching the game, follow along with fans at our North Carolina blog, Carolina March, who will be discussing the game as it unfolds.

For further reading: Kevin Berger’s preview breaks down Saturday night’s game.