Duke Clinches ACC Title Game Berth with Cooper Flagg Out as CBB Fans Rip UNC for Loss

Duke men's basketball took a 24-point second-half lead and then held on for dear life en route to a 74-71 win over arch rival North Carolina in the semifinals of the ACC tournament on Friday evening.

The Blue Devils played without superstar and likely No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Cooper Flagg, who suffered a sprained left ankle in the team's 78-70 win over Georgia Tech in the ACC tournament quarterfinals.

However, the Blue Devils looked fantastic even without Flagg to start, taking a 45-24 halftime lead before engineering a 52-28 advantage with just over 16 minutes remaining.

UNC kept chipping away, though, and later went on a 24-7 run to cut Duke's lead to 72-71 with 32 seconds remaining.

Duke guard Tyrese Proctor missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving UNC the chance for the lead. UNC big man Ven-Allen Lubin was then fouled with four seconds remaining, but he missed the first of two shots. He made the second, but Jae'Lyn Withers was called for a lane violation, giving the ball back to Duke.

Duke guard Kon Knueppel made two free throws in response with 3.2 seconds left. UNC threw the ball down to midcourt and called timeout to set itself up for a potential game-tying shot. Lubin had a look, but it was off the mark.

Knueppel led five Duke players in double-digit scoring with 17 points, while Blue Devlis center Khaman Maluach added 13 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.

Lubin starred for UNC with a game-high 20 points and 10 boards.

For Duke, the second half was a nightmare, but this was still a good win without its most productive player in Flagg (18.9 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 4.1 APG).

As for UNC, the Tar Heels showed tremendous fight, but this was a disastrous loss for a team that could very well miss the NCAA tournament.

The Tar Heels are right on the bubble, and a 1-12 record against Quad 1 teams does not help matters. The latest update from Kerry Miller for Bleacher Report prior to the game had UNC as one of the last four teams in, headed to Dayton against Texas.

It'll be a nervy two days for UNC now, though. A win would have sealed a tournament bid, but now its fate is squarely in the hands of a committee.

Ultimately, this was a brutal defeat for the Tar Heels.

Duke now moves onto the ACC title game against either No. 2 seed Louisville or No. 3 seed Clemson. Regardless of the championship outcome, the Blue Devils are a lock for a No. 1 seed.

Meanwhile, UNC waits to hear its fate on Selection Sunday, with the show starting at 6 p.m. ET.