UNC-Duke: Heels Show Duke who's Boss in ACC

It was Duke-UNC; after all, what did anyone expect?

They expected a hard-fought, blood-and-guts basketball game for the ACC championship between two top-ranked college basketball teams that do not like each other. And they got it.

Duke vs. North Carolina is one of the toughest rivalries in all of sports, and this one didn't disappoint, with the Tar Heels breaking away at the end on Saturday night for a 76-68 victory over the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Arena.

Duke lives and dies by the 3-point shot and it struggled with it early on.

UNC had an 11-point lead at halftime, despite Greg Paulus scoring 12 for Duke. With Paulus suddenly cold in the second half, it appeared the Heels would pull away. However, Duke came storming back and even took a brief lead with 5:42 left in the game. But UNC held Duke scoreless for the last five and a half minutes of the game as the Blue Devils missed their last 11 shots of the game.

Danny Green led UNC with 18 points. Tyler Hansbrough finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds, playing his typical fierce style while amazingly not going to the free throw line once. 

Duke had 15 shots blocked and finished with their worst shooting percentage of the year at 32.9 percent.

It was revenge for the Heels following their loss at Chapel Hill last month, as they solidified their No. 1 ranking in the nation and are headed for a likely No. 1 seed in the tournament.

But it was exciting theater, with an electric atmosphere. You didn't even mind the obnoxious Dickie V., for how could any college basketball fan not love a game like this.

 It appeared that Duke ran out of gas after a spirited comeback and North Carolina simply had more in the tank at the end of the game. Awesome baby, I can't wait for a rematch.