The North Carolina Tar Heels completed the season sweep of their longtime rival, defeating the Duke Blue Devils 84-79 on Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium. With the win, North Carolina clinched the ACC regular-season championship.
But it wouldn’t be a Duke-UNC rivalry game without some added drama.
At the six-minute mark of the first half, Blue Devils center Kyle Filipowski, while lying on the floor near the top of the key, stuck his leg out and tripped UNC forward Harrison Ingram as he was running back in transition. Officials never stopped play, but managers started wiping that area of the court wildly. As Filipowski got up, he stomped his feet a bit as if he were injured.
After the game, Ingram said he hadn’t seen the video of the incident but he told referee Ted Valentine in the moment that he thought Filipowski tripped him.
“I thought he did,” Ingram said. “I’m not sure if it’s a basketball play.”
Filipowski said that he wasn’t sure “how that whole situation happened,” adding that he was just “getting up” and that his “foot slipped.”
“I don’t know how I caught him,” Filipowski said. “I don’t see him coming from anywhere. I didn’t even know he was back with me. I thought I was the only one left.”
This incident occurred two weeks after Filipowski appeared to be injured leaving the floor as Wake Forest fans rushed the court following the Demon Deacons’ 83-79 home victory on Feb. 24. Fans hurried onto the court as the final buzzer sounded, and the 7-foot Filipowski — who was walking from near midcourt back to the postgame handshake line — got caught in the flood of people. He appeared to make contact with multiple fans before needing assistance exiting the floor, surrounded by a wall of Blue Devils players and staffers. Filipowski reportedly said postgame that he injured his knee. He did not miss a game.
Filipowski appearing to trip Ingram is reminiscent of past Duke guard Grayson Allen’s incidents. On Feb. 8, 2016, Allen received a flagrant foul for sticking his leg out and tripping Louisville player Ray Spalding. He was suspended indefinitely after tripping Elon guard Steven Santa Ana on Dec. 21, 2016. On March 9, 2018, Allen received a flagrant 1 foul for hip checking North Carolina’s Garrison Brooks during the ACC tournament semifinals.
Filipowski entered Saturday’s game averaging 16.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. He finished the contest with a team-high 23 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the floor. Ingram posted 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field.
UNC senior guard Cormac Ryan led the Tar Heels in scoring with 31 points. He also had a game-high six 3-pointers.
North Carolina won 93-84 over Duke during their first meeting on Feb. 3. It’s the first time UNC’s captured an outright ACC regular-season title since 2017.
The Tar Heels will be the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament while the Blue Devils will be the No. 2 seed. Both teams could meet in the ACC tournament title game for the first time since 2011.
The ACC tournament tips off on March 12.
What does this win say about UNC’s season?
That these Tar Heels — even despite some defensive slippage earlier in February, after these teams’ first meeting — are still national contenders. North Carolina was the aggressor from the opening tip, racing out to a 15-4 lead before the first official media timeout. Duke got things close in the second half, after a Jeremy Roach 3-pointer made it a one-point game, but UNC quickly rattled off a 7-0 run to re-establish control. The fact that Duke never led, on its home floor and with a share of the ACC title on the line, is all hard to believe — but it speaks volumes about the focus and intensity the Tar Heels had. They’re rightfully the ACC champions, and still have an outside shot at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Plus, if Ryan can become more of a consistent threat from deep, it suddenly changes the calculus for UNC’s offense. Ryan has mostly been the fourth option this season — behind likely ACC Player of the Year R.J. Davis, Armando Bacot and Ingram — but has always had the potential to break out as a 3-point shooter. Teams have already had their hands full with that aforementioned trio, so adding another lights-out shooter to the mix? Good luck to all future opposing defenses. — Brendan Marks, UNC/Duke beat writer
What does this loss say about Duke?
That for as high-powered as the Blue Devils’ offense is, its defense still needs to tighten up to make a deep NCAA Tournament run. Duke is now 0-5 this season when allowing 80 or more points. And in two matchups against UNC, Jon Scheyer’s team led for only a combined 16 seconds. (Yes, really.) Duke has had a top-10 offense for most of this season — it came into the game No. 7 nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom — but the defense has been much less consistent. Without a legitimate rim protector on the roster, Scheyer largely has to play Filipowski at center, despite the sophomore profiling better as a stretch forward.
Then, when Filipowski does get into foul trouble — like he did Saturday — Scheyer’s only real bench options at center are graduate Ryan Young and freshman Sean Stewart, who combined for seven fouls and no points in 26 minutes vs. UNC. Duke’s perimeter defense is usually solid, especially with the way Tyrese Proctor and Jeremy Roach can guard on-ball, but those interior shortcomings can leak out to the arc at times. Duke absolutely still has the horses to make the second weekend (or further), but it’ll have to improve its defense by then to capitalize on any Final Four ambitions. — Marks
What to expect in next week’s ACC Tournament
Hopefully a third meeting between these teams! North Carolina and Duke are clearly the two best teams in the ACC, and it isn’t close. Virginia accrued a healthy number of league wins against bottom-of-the-barrel teams, but the third-placed Cavaliers aren’t anywhere near the level of the Tar Heels or Blue Devils. ACC fans — and ESPN television executives — will be (and arguably should be) rooting for a third game between these teams.
Are there any teams that can prevent that? Keep an eye on these three: Clemson, Wake Forest and Pittsburgh. The Panthers came from behind to steal the No. 4 seed, and the double-bye that comes with it, and have an All-ACC star in forward Blake Hinson. Both Clemson and Wake Forest have had their ups and downs this season, but as the league’s other most-likely NCAA Tournament teams — Clemson is safely in, and Wake is as bubbly as any team in America — they also have a fighter’s chance.
But also: Duke and UNC last met in the ACC Tournament in the 2019 semifinals, one of the best games in the recent history of the rivalry. That game featured six eventual first-round picks, and both teams were No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. — Marks
Required reading
(Photo: Grant Halverson / Getty Images)
