No. 3 North Carolina beats No. 7 Duke 93-84, extends ACC lead (2024)

Tar Heel phenoms Harrison Ingram and Armando Bacot scribbled their Hanco*cks all over the latest chapter of Duke and UNC's storied rivalry, combining for 46 points on 18-25 shooting in a game UNC led by double digits nearly the entire second half and ultimately claimed 94-83 from Chapel Hill.

North Carolina certainly brought the energy needed to win college basketball's fiercest rivalry, as the Heels' fourth-ranked defense swarmed early and fueled punishing opportunities in transition — the average UNC possession lasted just 10 seconds in the opening six minutes. Eleven seconds after a Jared McCain layup, UNC's star freshman point guard Elliot Cadeau surged down the floor and found an open Cormac Ryan, who nailed Carolina's first triple of the game that gave his team an early 13-8 lead.

Jeremy Roach, one of three Blue Devils with 20-points Saturday, found the range with consecutive triples and tied the game at 22. However, Carolina's pesky defense once again fueled an immediate response — UNC outscored Duke 19-7 on the afternoon in points off turnovers — as Ryan poked free a steal near mid-court and converted a layup through contact in transition to cap off an 8-1 run. A balanced scoring approach remained fruitful for the Heels, with six players scoring at least four points by the break, and a Bacot layup sent UNC into the locker room up 45-35.

Bacot remained hot out of the locker room, joining with Ingram to take complete control of the second-half UNC offense.The duo combined UNC's first 12 points after intermission, with Ingram splashing a pair of contested triples while Bacot converted three tries in the post and continued to dominate his interior counterpart Kyle Filipowski.Bacot's final basket in that stretch, a pretty left-handed hook shot along the baseline, gave the Tar Heels 57-46 lead entering the second half's first media timeout.

Despite his immortalizing afternoon in Chapel Hill, Ingram proved he wasn't above the dirty work either, rolling to the tan hardwood up 10 with six minutes remaining for an offensive rebound and flinging the loose ball back toward a well-placed Tar Heel guard. The massive hustle play allowed UNC to attack a scrambling Duke defense, and Cormac was left wide open in the left corner to connect on yet another three.

Trailing by nine and searching desperately for a way back with less than a minute remaining, Duke received a lifeline from the review table, as the officials determined that R.J. Davis committed a hook-and-hold penalty against Duke's Kyle Filipowski. Receiving two free throws and the ball back, Duke could trim the deficit to just four in a matter of seconds, but North Carolina's elite defense stepped up once again.Braving a deafening roar from the Chapel Hill faithful, Filipowski could only manage a split at the line, and a botched Blue Devil inbounds routine saw North Carolina force an eleventh turnover and quash Duke's fleeting comeback bid.

Trailing by nine and searching desperately for a way back with less than a minute remaining, Duke received a lifeline from the review table, as the officials determined that R.J. Davis committed a hook-and-hold penalty against Duke's Kyle Filipowski. Receiving two free throws and the ball back, Duke could trim the deficit to just four in a matter of seconds, but North Carolina's elite defense stepped up once again to secure a 93-84 victory.

Braving a deafening roar from the Chapel Hill faithful, Filipowski could only manage a split at the line, and a botched Blue Devil inbounds routine saw North Carolina force an eleventh turnover and quash Duke's fleeting comeback bid.

Harrison Ingram penned his inspiring chapter in the lengthy epic of Duke versus UNC Saturday night, stuffing the stat sheet with 21 points, including five made threes, 12 rebounds and four steals. The Stanford transfer's latest rebound exemplifies his gutsy performance, as after rolling along the tan hardwood for an offensive rebound, Ingram flung the loose ball back toward a waiting Tar Heel guard. Duke's scrambling defense left Cormac Ryan all alone in the left corner, who drilled his opportunity and gave UNC a 77-64 lead as the clock ticked inside six minutes.

Have a night, @Harrisoniingram!

21 pts | 10 reb | 8-12 fg | 5-9 3fg

Heels up 10 | 9:35 to go pic.twitter.com/RQYSk9ryro

— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) February 4, 2024

With Duke trailing by as much as 15 just minutes earlier, a Kyle Filipowski and Jeremy Roach-led run draws the Blue Devils within eight as they make a late surge against the Tar Heels. Heading into the under-8 timeout, bodies have hit the floor on consecutive possessions and the Tobacco Road Rivalry's physical reputation is shining through as we approach crunch time.

Stay tuned for the final eight minutes from Chapel Hill, as Duke leads 72-64

While it was a balancing scoring effort — six UNC players scored at least four points in the first half — that led the Tar Heels to a 10-point lead at the break on 50 percent shooting, UNC stars Armando Bacot and Harrison Ingram have taken complete control out of the locker room. The duo has combined for all 12 of UNC's second-half points, with Ingram splashing a pair of contested threes while Bacot converted three tries in the post and continued to dominate his counterpart Kyle Filipowski in the post.

Bacot's final basket, a pretty left-handed hook shot along the baseline, gave the Tar Heels 57-46 lead entering the second half's first media timeout.

Unlike so many of UNC's hyper-talented offensive squads, defense has been the centerpiece of this year's Tar Heel team, and that identity has shown through during Carolina's late-half run. After a layup from Jared McCain pulled Duke within three, the Blue Devils would miss three of their final five attempts of the half while committing two crucial turnovers. Takeaways have fueled UNC's offense all afternoon long, holding a 10-0 edge in points off of turnovers, and a Harrison Ingram steal resulted in Elliot Cadeau layup to put the Heels back up eight.

Carolina stretched its lead to 10 thanks to another layup from Armando Bacot — UNC's star center leads all players Saturday with 12 points and eight boards — as halftime neared, and a late miss from Tyrese Proctor ensured the Tar Heels entered the locker room ahead 45-35.

Falling behind by as many as six due to UNC's energetic start, Duke has pulled themselves even thanks to some much-needed perimeter shooting from Jeremy Roach. The Blue Devils' early offensive success came around the rim, scoring all but one of their first 10 makes from within 10 feet of the basket. Roach snapped this streak, cashing in an assist from teammate Jared McCain before sinking another 3 in isolation to level the game at 22 with eight minutes left in the first half.

Jerm's locked in. Has 10 of our 22.

24-22 🐏 | 7:33 1H pic.twitter.com/e3aWpuCP3i

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) February 3, 2024

Roach now leads all scorers with 10 points.

North Carolina has certainly brought the energy needed to win college basketball's fiercest rivalry, as the Heels' fourth-ranked defense has been swarming early while their offensive has punished the Blue Devils in transition — the average UNC possession lasted just 10 seconds in the opening six minutes.

Eleven seconds after a Jared McCain layup, UNC's star freshman point guard Elliot Cadeau surged down the floor and found an open Cormac Ryan, who nailed Carolina's first triple of the game that gave his team an early 13-8 lead.

Often branded as college basketball's fiercest rivalry and one of the greatest in all of North American sports, Duke and North Carolina have remained mortal enemies for more than a century due to their geographic proximity and excellence on the court. Separated by just eight miles on US Hwy 15-501, better known as Tobacco Road, the Blue Devils and Tar Heels have collectively captured 77 percent of ACC regular-season titles and more than a quarter of the national titles win since 1977.

As far as the rivalry's individual history, Duke and North Carolina met for the first time at "The Ark," Duke basketball's former home, in January 1920 and have played at least twice in every season since. The Heels dominated in this interwar era, claiming 17 of the first 19 iterations, but while UNC maintains a healthy 143-117 all-time advantage, it's Duke that takes a two-game winning streak into the Dean Dome Saturday.

Duke and North Carolina's reputation for legendary, hard-fought bouts on the hardwood has continued into the modern era, as the last 12 matches have resulted in a 6-6 split, and the last three games have been decided by three possessions or fewer, including a meeting in the 2022 Final Four.

Here's a complete look at the last 12 meetings between the Tar Heels and the Blue Devils:

It never gets old! Despite nearing 300 meetings between the two schools, Duke and UNC's twice-annual battles continue to be the biggest events of college basketball's regular-season calendar. Here's everything you need to know to watch the Tar Heels and Blue Devils face off Saturday night:

• ⏰ Time: 6:30p.m. ET
• 🗓️ Date: Saturday, Feb. 3
• 📺 TV channel: ESPN
• 📍 Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina | Smith Center
• 📈 Live stats:Click or tap here