Duke vs. UNC live score, updates, highlights from Coach K’s last home game

By | March 5, 2022
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One last go-around for Coach K.

That’s what Saturday’s game between his fourth-ranked Blue Devils and rival North Carolina represents: his last game at Cameron Indoor Stadium and, potentially, his final game against the Tar Heels.

Duke won’t lack in terms of motivation for Saturday’s game. The team has already secured the top seed of the ACC Tournament but can clinch the outright ACC regular-season championship and potential No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Of course, the team will want to give Krzyzewski a clean sweep of the Tar Heels in his final season after beating UNC 87-67 on Feb. 5.

Carolina, of course, would love nothing more than exact revenge by spoiling Krzyzewski’s final game. The Tar Heels (22-8, 14-5 in ACC play) also wouldn’t turn down a huge Quad 1 victory to potentially move up the seed lines with Selection Sunday just a week away. (As of now, The Sporting News’ Bill Bender projects UNC as a 9-seed).

AJ Griffin was a killer for Duke in the teams’ first meeting this year, notching a game-high 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 shooting from beyond the 3-point line. Paolo Banchero was also effective, notching a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

North Carolina will want to improve on its shooting over the first meeting, when the team shot a sub-optimal 40.6 percent from the field. The Tar Heels did shoot 40.9 percent from beyond 3 in the loss, a number that was skewed after Brady Manek shot 6 of 10 from beyond the line. He also led the Tar Heels with 21 total points.

The Sporting News is tracking live scoring updates and highlights from Duke vs. UNC — the final home game of Coach K’s career. Follow along for complete results from Duke-UNC rivalry game:

MORE: Watch Duke vs. UNC live with Sling TV (free trial)

Duke vs. UNC score

  H1 H2 F
Duke 41 — —
UNC 39 — —

Duke vs. UNC live updates, highlights from Coach K’s last home game

(This section will be updated as tip-off nears. All times Eastern.)

First half: Duke 41, UNC 39

7:21 p.m.: Banchero leads all scorers with 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting. He has been massive for Duke. The player with the next-highest shot total is Trevor Keels, with five. North Carolina, meanwhile, has two scorers in double digits in Bacot (10) and Davis (11). Manek also has nine points off three 3-pointers.

7:15 p.m.: First-half stats:

  Duke UNC
Field goals 18 of 31 14 of 36
Percentage (58.1 percent) (38.9 percent)
3-pointers 3 of 6 5 of 16
3pt percentage 50 percent 31.3 percent
Free throws 2 of 4 6 of 6
FT percentage 50 percent 100 percent
Rebounds 18 18
Assists 6 7
Steals 2 4
Turnovers 4 4
Fouls 4 8
Largest lead 9 7

7:12 p.m.: UNC has one last look … and Davis hits a buzzer-beater 3 to fight back and get the score to 41-39 at the half. Great back-and-forth game from these two rivals.

7:11 p.m.: Manek hits his third 3 of the game to make it 41-36. There’s an 8-second difference between the game clock and shot clock.

7:11 p.m.: Duke takes advantage of Bacot’s absence following his third foul, hitting two field goals to go up 41-33.

7:09 p.m.: Coach K is livid. Williams is called for a blocking foul when it appeared officials should have called a charge. Love hits a wide-open 3 on the ensuing inbound to make it 37-33 with 1:54 remaining in the half. A crucial turn of events there.

7:07 p.m.: Bacot finally stops the bleeding with a two-point tip shot to make the score 37-30.

7:05 p.m.: Banchero hits another layup. As noted on the ESPN broadcast, Bacot has not been nearly as aggressive a defender considering he has two fouls. Regardless, the run goes to 14-0 and Duke’s lead swells to nine.

7 p.m.: And now Griffin hits a 3! The Blue Devils have taken the game over with a 12-0 run to take a 35-28 lead. Timeout, North Carolina.

6:59 p.m.: Banchero scores in isolation, using some impressive shiftiness for an acrobatic layup. THat’s Duke’s first lead of multiple possessions all game.

6:58 p.m.: AJ Griffin gets his first points of the night on a tough layup to give Duke the lead, 30-28, with roughly 5 minutes remaining in the half.

6:56 p.m.: Banchero hits a much-needed 3 to get the score to 28-26 UNC.

6:50 p.m.: Manek follows up Moore’s 3 with his second of the day to give UNC a 26-23 lead at the third TV timeout.

6:50 p.m.: And just like that, Duke’s back on top with its first 3 of the game from Wendell Moore Jr..

6:49 p.m.: Love hits both of his free throws, then RJ Davis splits the Duke double-team to hit a mid-range jumper to give UNC a 21-18 lead.

6:48 p.m.: John’s foul is indeed a Flagrant 1. UNC will get two free throws and possession.

6:46 p.m.: Theo John attempted to wrestle Love down to the court as they fought for a rebound. The play is under review to determine whether it’ll be escalated to a Flagrant 1.

6:43 p.m.: Duke forces a turnover, but Jeremy Roach can’t finish the fast break. No matter: He sinks both free throws to give Duke its first lead of the day at 16-15 with 11:06 remaining in the half.

6:40 p.m.: The second TV timeout finds Duke in a much more manageable position, down 15-14 to UNC. Duke has three straight scoring possessions.

6:37 p.m.: Paolo Banchero gets a putback dunk to give Duke a 6-0 run and bring the score to 11-10.

6:31 p.m.: We reach the first TV timeout with UNC holding an 11-4 lead and possession after Duke is hit with an over-and-back violation.

6:28 p.m.: Duke’s second consecutive turnover ends with Caleb Love shooting two free throws to go up 9-2. Not the start the Blue Devils were looking for.

6:26 p.m.: Brady Manek hits the first 3 of the game to give the Tar Heels a 7-2 lead early. Coach K is stomping mad after UNC nearly forces a turnover on Duke’s ensuing possession.

6:24 p.m.: Mark Williams gets the Blue Devils on the board with a dunk of his own. Tied 2-2 early.

6:22 p.m.: North Carolina’s ball first after Duke touches the ball out of bounds on the tipoff. Armando Bacot gets the dish inside and throws down a thunderous dunk to open the scoring.

6:16 p.m.: The Sporting News’ Ryan Fagan is on press row at Cameron Indoor Stadium; follow him for excellent in-game coverage.

6:16 p.m.: Final walk-in for Coach K:

6:10 p.m.: For the vast majority of fans who won’t be in attendance at tonight’s game:

6:01 p.m.: Duke and North Carolina’s respective starting fives:

5:57 p.m.: Yet more people stopping in to catch Coach K’s last regular-season game:

4:55 p.m.: Taking it all in on Coach K’s last game at Cameron Indoor Stadium:

4:50 p.m.:There is perhaps no stronger testament to the impact Krzyzewski has had on the players he has coached over the years.

4:42 p.m.: History being made in more than one way for Saturday’s game:

Duke vs. UNC start time

  • Date: Saturday, March 5
  • Time: 6 p.m. ET | 3 p.m. PT

The Duke-North Carolina game will tip off at 6 p.m. ET from Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C.

What channel is Duke vs. UNC on?

  • TV Channel: ESPN, ACC NETWORK
  • Live stream: ESPN.com, Sling TV

Duke vs. North Carolina will have no shortage of broadcast options for those who want to watch Coach K’s final home game. The game will air on ESPN with the broadcast team of Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas and Holly Rowe. ESPN is planning on staying live after the game for on-court ceremonies.

An alternative simulcast will take place on the ACC Network as the “Coach K Curtain Call” with Wes Durham, Mark Packer and Debbie Antonelli. Kelsey Riggs and analysts Joel Berry, Carlos Boozer and Luke Hancock of “Nothing but Net” will anchor halftime. The ESPN App will also offer “Surround” and “Supracam” views of the game.

Streaming options include ESPN.com or Sling TV, which offers a free trial.

Duke vs. UNC series history

Saturday’s game between Duke and North Carolina will be a rubber match of sorts: A win by either team would give them an 8-7 record in the teams’ last 15 meetings. It could also represent the final game between Krzyzewski and the Tar Heels, assuming the teams don’t meet in the ACC Tournament.

Year Date Winning team Score Location
2021-22 Feb. 5, 2022 Duke 87-67 Dean Smith Center
2020-21 March 6, 2021 North Carolina 91-73 Dean Smith Center
2020-21 Feb. 6, 2021 North Carolina 91-87 Cameron Indoor Stadium
2019-20 March 7, 2020 Duke 89-76 Cameron Indoor Stadium
2019-20 Feb. 8, 2020 Duke 98-96 Dean Smith Center
2018-19 March 15, 2019 Duke 74-73 Spectrum Center (Charlotte, N.C.)
2018-19 March 9, 2019 North Carolina 79-70 Dean Smith Center
2018-19 Feb. 20, 2019 North Carolina 88-72 Cameron Indoor Stadium
2017-18 March 9, 2018 North Carolina 74-69 Barclays Center (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
2017-18 March 3, 2018 Duke 74-64 Cameron Indoor Stadium
2017-18 Feb. 8, 2018 North Carolina 82-78 Dean Smith Center
2016-17 March 10, 2017 Duke 93-83 Barclays Center (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
2016-17 March 4, 2017 North Carolina 90-83 Dean Smith Center
2016-17 Feb. 9, 2017 Duke 86-78 Cameron Indoor Stadium

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