The last Saturday of the regular season is often highlighted by Duke-North Carolina. Sometimes, the second of two games scheduled annually between the rivals even settles the ACC race. That’s always fun. And such will be the case this weekend thanks to Duke winning 79-74 at NC State on Monday to stay within a game of UNC in the league standings,
“I think the story of the night was our bench — Sean [Stewart], TJ [Power] and Ryan [Young],” said Duke coach Jon Scheyer. “The work they did was huge.”
Stewart, Power and Young were the only three reserves who played for Duke now that Scheyer has more or less settled into a seven- or eight-man rotation with freshman Caleb Foster sidelined by a leg injury. Those three combined for 17 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks, three assists and two steals at NC State while helping Duke score 46 points in the final 20 minutes to pull away and improve to 8-1 since losing at North Carolina early last month.
Again, Duke’s rematch with UNC is Saturday. But the Tar Heels still have one more game to play before traveling to Cameron Indoor Stadium — specifically, Tuesday night’s home finale with Notre Dame. With a win, North Carolina will clinch at least a share of the ACC title, meaning its game with Duke would then be for an outright championship and reduce Duke to playing for a share. However, if UNC loses to Notre Dame, both the Tar Heels and Blue Devils would be 15-4 in the ACC, at which point Saturday’s contest would determine the outright ACC champion.
Either way, the stakes will be high. In addition to a conference title being on the line, UNC and Duke are both still in contention to be the fourth No. 1 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. A victory Saturday would keep those hopes alive. A loss would damage them — and possibly end them.
North Carolina is No. 6, and Duke is No. 11, in Tuesday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college…
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