Duke Holds On to Defeat UNC in ACC Tournament Semifinal Without Cooper Flagg

The Duke Blue Devils nearly squandered a 24-point advantage against their fierce rivals, the UNC Tar Heels, in the ACC Tournament semifinals.

On March 14, 2025, at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC, Duke’s Kon Knueppel (7) was challenged by UNC’s Drake Powell (9) in the first half. Despite leading by 24 points at one stage, Duke held on to win 74-71 after UNC mounted a strong comeback in the second half. The Tar Heels had a chance to tie the game with 4.1 seconds left, but a critical mistake negated a free throw opportunity.

In the final moments, Ven-Allen Lubin was fouled by Khaman Maluach, giving him two free throws with Duke leading by just one point. Lubin missed the first attempt, making the second one a high-pressure situation for UNC. After being substituted in, Jae’Lyn Withers attempted to fake his way into the lane to distract Duke, but he made a costly error, stepping into the lane before the shot, resulting in a lane violation.

Lubin made the second free throw, but the shot didn’t count due to the violation, and Duke regained possession. With only an inbound play left, the Blue Devils managed to run down the clock, and UNC committed another foul on Duke’s top scorer, Kon Knueppel. Knueppel calmly sank two free throws, extending the lead to three points.

UNC got the ball past halfcourt in two seconds, calling a timeout to set up a sideline play. However, Duke’s defense was solid on the inbound, forcing UNC to pass to Lubin, who struggled with his shooting. His attempt barely grazed the rim as time expired, sealing the win for Duke.

Duke played without their leading scorer and star player, Cooper Flagg, who had injured his ankle during their quarterfinal win against Georgia Tech the day before.

The Blue Devils had balanced scoring across the board, with Knueppel leading with 17 points. Three other Duke starters scored in double digits, and Patrick Ngongba II added 12 off the bench. Duke shot an impressive 49.1% from the field but struggled from three-point range, shooting only 22.7%.

Duke now awaits the result of the Clemson-Louisville game to determine their opponent for the ACC Championship, set for Saturday, March 15, at 8:30 p.m. EST.