Kon Knueppel scored 17 points and No. 1 Duke held off a furious second half rally by North Carolina to beat its rival for the third time this season, 74-71 on Friday night to reach the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship game.

North Carolina's furious comeback against Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinals came up short after Jae'lyn Withers committed a lane violation on teammate Ven-Allen Lubin's successful second free throw attempt — which had it counted,

Friday had all the makings of a classic win for UNC in a season that can best be described as a disappointment. Then Jae'Lyn Withers stepped over the line — literally. The Tar Heels lost a game-tying free throw against rival Duke,

North Carolina just blew its shot at the ACC Tournament championship game in perhaps the worst way possible. With just 4.1 seconds left in the semifinal matchup against No. 1 seed Duke on Friday, UNC was called for a lane violation on a potential game-tying free throw.

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. That's what defines college basketball in March. On Friday night, North Carolina fans felt the latter when the team blew a prime opportunity to complete a massive comeback over rival Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinal.

North Carolina missed out on a chance to force overtime against Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinals after a lane violation foul on Jae'Lyn Withers.

The trilogy of the 2024-25 North Carolina-Duke basketball series was the best of the bunch. Even without Cooper Flagg and Maliq Brown, the Blue Devils dominated the early going against their Tobacco Road rivals,