No. 9 Duke Falls, 84-79, to No. 7 North Carolina

Saturday, March 9

Durham, N.C.

6:30 p.m.

Duke University

24-7,15-5ACC

North Carolina

25-6,17-3ACC

North Carolina

Duke

No. 9 Duke Falls, 84-79, to No. 7 North Carolina

3/9/2024 9:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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DURHAM – The No. 9 Duke men's basketball team surged back with a 48-point second half, but fell just short, 84-79, versus No. 7 North Carolina at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday night. Kyle Filipowski scored a team-high 23 points and tied with Jared McCain for the team lead on the glass, with each player grabbing seven boards apiece.

HOW IT HAPPENED

North Carolina scored the first four points before a turnaround Kyle Filipowski jumper put Duke on the board. A hot start from deep by the visitors sent them into the first media timeout ahead by 11, 15-4.
Jared McCain scored his first points of the night shortly before the under-12 timeout, which was taken with the Blue Devils still trailing, 21-8, at the 11:49 mark. Duke drew within 10, 31-21, with a fast-break layup by Tyrese Proctor as the clock wound under seven minutes to play in the opening half.
A McCain 3-pointer and a Proctor 3-pointer made it an eight-point game, 35-27, shortly before the final media timeout of the first half. McCain became the first player to reach double-figures with two from the charity stripe, making it a 37-29 deficit for Duke. The Blue Devils got within seven, 38-31, following a Jeremy Roach layup but went into halftime down by nine, 40-31.
Seven quick points from Filipowski to start the second half, capped by a 3-pointer, pulled Duke within three, 41-38. Roach drilled a 3-pointer of his own to cut the margin to just one, less than four minutes into the frame.
Following a quick seven-point burst by Carolina, Duke called timeout trailing by nine, 52-43, with 14:24 remaining. The Blue Devils remained within striking distance, 54-46, at the under-12 timeout. Proctor cracked double-figures after a 3-pointer, giving Duke three players with at least 10 points.
Duke made it a six-point deficit, 70-64, with two Roach free throws at the 4:47 mark. The two teams continued to exchange blows from beyond the 3-point line, including a TJ Power 3-pointer with 1:12 on the clock.
North Carolina closed the game out, 84-79, from the charity stripe.

NOTES

The 262^nd meeting between Duke and North Carolina makes the Tar Heels the most-frequently played Duke opponent, pushing ahead of Wake Forest (261) and NC State (255).
After shooting 36.7% (11-of-30) from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including 2-of-11 (18.2%) from 3-point range, Duke responded in the second half by converting 50% (15-30) from the floor and 58.3% (7-of-12) from long range.
After trailing 21-6 less than eight minutes into the contest, Duke outscored the Tar Heels, 73-63 the rest of the night.
Duke has now connected on at least one 3-pointer in 1,220 straight games, the second-longest streak nationally.
Monday marked the 524th consecutive game at Cameron Indoor Stadium that was sold out. The last time Duke did not have a sellout at home was on Nov. 6, 1990, against Boston College. The streak is the longest current (by time) in either men's college basketball or the NBA.
Kyle Filipowski poured in a team-high 23 total points, including Duke's first eight points to start the second half and 19 total after the break. Filipowski also co-led the Blue Devils with seven rebounds.
Filipowski finished his sophomore regular season with 24 double-digit scoring games and 11 20-point games.
Jared McCain added 19 points and matched Filipowski for the team lead on the glass with seven caroms.
Tyrese Proctor also got into double-digits, adding 14 points, while dishing three assists and grabbing two steals.
Jeremy Roach rounded out Duke's 10+ scorers, with 13 points, boosted by 11 following intermission.

QUOTES

"It was a disappointing loss for us. It would be one thing if you felt like if you controlled the things that you can control, and I don't think we quite did that. But you have to give them credit, the way they came out. That's really the story of the whole game for me. They came out and got a 15-point lead. We outscore them the rest of the game. You cut it to one in the start of the second half, and I thought just for us we didn't take — we took some tough shots, and the tough shots led to their runouts in transition." - head coach Jon Scheyer
"I think the emotions got to us a little bit, definitely to me, for sure. But we've got to just learn from it. We're going to be in big games throughout this next course of the season, so we've just got to learn from it." - senior guard Jeremy Roach

UP NEXT

No. 9 Duke (24-7, 15-5 ACC) begins postseason play at the ACC Tournament as the No. 2 seed. The Blue Devils will play one of three possible opponents – No. 7 seed Syracuse, No. 10 seed NC State or No. 15 seed Louisville – in the quarterfinals, beginning at 7:00 p.m., broadcast on either ESPN or ESPN2.

Duke Centennial
In 2024, Duke celebrates its Centennial, marking one hundred years since Trinity College became Duke University. Duke will use this historic milestone to deepen the understanding of its history, inspire pride and strengthen bonds and partnerships, and prepare for a second century of continued excellence and impactful leadership. To learn more, please visit 100.duke.edu

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