Tar Heels Down Duke For ACC's Top Seed, 84-79

Saturday, March 9

Durham, N.C.

6:30 PM

North Carolina

25-6,17-3ACC

Duke

24-7,15-5ACC

North Carolina

Duke

Cormac Ryan

Photo by: Maggie Hobson

March 9, 2024 | Men's Basketball

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By: Matt Bowers

DURHAM, N.C.—Cormac Ryan poured in a career-high 31 points to lead North Carolina to an 84-79 win at No 9 Duke on Saturday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium, clinching the outright Atlantic Coast Conference regular season championship for the Tar Heels.

With the win, seventh-ranked Carolina (25-6, 17-3 ACC) captured the top seed in next week's ACC Tournament in Washington, D.C. UNC claimed its 22nd outright ACC regular season title (most in history) and first since 2017.

Duke never led in the game and fell to 24-7, 15-5. The Blue Devils will be the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament.
Ryan hit three three-pointers before the first media timeout and scored 21 in the second half in a career-best performance. His previous career high was 29 points with Notre Dame against Alabama in 2022. He also scored 28 points at Duke as a member of the Fighting Irish before transferring to UNC.

Ryan connected on 8 of 12 shots, 6 of 8 three-pointers and 9 of 10 free throws in 31 minutes. He is the seventh Tar Heel to score 30+ at Duke, joining Luke Maye, Billy Cunningham, Doug Moe, Michael Jordan, Hubert Davis and Lennie Rosenbluth. Ryan's 31 are the most points by a Tar Heel at Cameron Indoor Stadium since Davis had 35 on 3/8/1992.

"I was just enjoying the moment, I love competing, especially in these road environments," Ryan told the ACC Network after the game. "There's no better place to do it than in Cameron, and there's no better group to do it with than having my brothers alongside me. It's an honor and a blessing to be a part of this group and this family. I've only been here eight months, but I just feel so loved and welcomed by the Carolina Family. It makes it so much easier to celebrate wins like this because it's just joy, it's just love between us."

Harrison Ingram posted his 11th double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Armando Bacot had nine points and eight boards, and RJ Davis scored nine as Duke's defense limited him to 4 of 12 shooting.

In the past 20 years, Carolina has played Duke eight times in the regular season finale when UNC needed a win to finish first (outright or a share), and UNC has won all nine games. That includes wins in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2019 and 2024.

The Tar Heels ran out to a 15-point lead in the first half, led by nine at the break and held on as the Blue Devils rallied. Duke got as close as within a point at 43-42 early in the second half but Carolina never relinquished the lead.

"You have to give them credit the way they came out," Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said of UNC. "That was the story of the whole game to me. They came out and got a 15-point lead."

Kyle Filipowski led the Blue Devils with 23 points. Jared McCain added 19.

The Tar Heels have won six games in a row and are are the second team to win 17 ACC games in a season, joining Virginia (17-1 in 2017-18). Carolina finished 8-2 on the road this season (all in ACC play).

How It Happened
First Half
• Carolina raced out of the locker room to a 15-4 lead in the first 3:34. Ryan hit his first three three-point tries in the opening minutes to lead the way. UNC connected on 6 of its first 7 shots.
• Shortly thereafter, the Tar Heels built a 21-6 lead with field goals from six different players before the second media timeout.
• Duke cut it to single digits and trailed, 35-27, at the final timeout of the half. A tip-in by Jae'Lyn Withers in the final second made the score 40-31 Tar Heels at halftime.
• Carolina shot 50 percent from the floor (17 for 34) and 40 percent from three-point range (4 for 10). Duke shot 36.7 percent (11 for 30) and 2 for 11 (18.2 percent), respectively.
• UNC had a 21-17 rebounding edge and a 12-2 advantage in bench points in the opening 20 minutes.
• Davis was 2 for 6 for five points and Bacot was 1 for 4 for two points before the break.

Second Half
• Duke started the second half on a 9-3 run and got within one at 43-42 with 16:59 remaining in the half.
• UNC responded with a 7-0 run of its own to lead 52-43 after Duke had cut the lead to two at 45-43.
• Ingram drew Filipowski's fourth foul on a three-point play with 6:36 remaining. Filipowski scored 19 second-half points to finish with 23.

Postgame Tidbits & Notes
• Carolina is 145-117 all-time against Duke, including 51-56 on the road and 40-47 in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
• UNC has won six of the last nine meetings in the series.
• UNC has won three of the last four meetings in Durham.
• UNC (25-6) has clinched its NCAA-record 40th 25-win season.
• Carolina beat Duke, 93-84, earlier this season on February 3 in Chapel Hill to sweep the season series.
• The game was the 50th meeting in the series when both teams were ranked in the AP top 10. UNC is 26-24 in those games.
• Bacot played in his 163rd career game and made his 162nd career start. He has started more games than any player in ACC history has played.
• Ingram has 10 or more rebounds 15 times in 31 games this season.
• Carolina out-rebounded Duke, 39-28.

Up Next
Carolina is the No. 1 seed in the 2024 ACC Tournament and will open play in Washington, D.C., in the quarterfinal round on Thursday at noon against either No. 8 seed Virginia Tech or No. 9 seed Florida State.

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