UNC Basketball: Tar Heels top Duke for berth in title game

The UNC basketball program is making yet another trip to the National Championship game after their Final Four victory against rival Duke.

NORTH CAROLINA HAS DONE IT AGAIN!

The UNC basketball program played spoilers once again, as they defeated rival Duke in their Final Four matchup to earn their trip to this year’s National Championship game. North Carolina will battle Kansas for the title on Monday night in New Orleans.

First, the Tar Heels ruined Coach K’s final home game, as they defeated the Blue Devils in the last game of the regular season. On Saturday night, North Carolina put an end to his coaching career, as his final game will go down as a loss to his program’s biggest rival.

Similar to the contest in Durham a few weeks back, the Tar Heels found themselves with an early deficit. After struggling offensively over the first 20 minutes of play, Hubert Davis’ team was fortunate to be down just three points at the half.

Let’s put this into perspective: North Carolina was down just three points with the combination of Armando Bacot and Brady Manek combining for just 9 points on two of 10 shooting from the floor.

Just based on that alone, it could’ve been a much larger hole to climb out of.

The story of the first half for the Blue Devils was foul trouble. After Mark Williams picked up two early fouls, Duke turned to Theo John for some frontcourt minutes. However, John got into quick foul trouble, and a costly decision to keep the senior transfer in resulted in him picking up his fourth foul in just the first half.

After R.J. Davis essentially kept the Tar Heels in the game early on, it was Caleb Love who stole the show in the second half. The sophomore guard scored 22 of his 28 points in the second half, including some clutch free throws in the final minutes, to help lead his team to victory.

Although he struggled a bit offensively, Armando Bacot was a rebounding force. The junior big man recorded 21 rebounds, eight of which came on the offensive glass, as he posted the most rebounds in a national semifinal game since Hakeem Olajuwon had 22 against Louisville back in 1983.

It is important to note that Bacot did suffer an ankle injury, as he stepped on Leaky Black’s shoe as he came down from trying to block a shot. Bacot would return to the game, but prior to fouling out, you could tell that the ankle was bothering him a bit. For the Tar Heels, they hope he’ll be ready to go for Monday night’s championship battle.

North Carolina had four players in double-figures. Along with Love’s game-high 28 points, Davis finished with a steady 18 points, while Manek, who didn’t have his best shooting night, was still able to contribute 14 points of his own.

This group continues to defy the odds, as they once again played spoilers to Coach K’s retirement tour. In this game, which will go down as a legendary contest between the two rivals, the UNC basketball program will always have bragging rights as they put an end to the coaching career of Duke’s long-time head coach.

North Carolina is one of two teams left standing, as they’ll take on Kansas on Monday night for all the marbles. No one expected the Tar Heels to be here, but they like when the cards are stacked against them!

Today especially, it’s a GREAT DAY TO BE A TAR HEEL!

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