No. 7 UNC leads No. 9 Duke into second half with ACC title on the line :: WRALSportsFan.com

By Brian Murphy, WRAL

7North Carolina Tar Heels	54
9Duke Blue Devils	46
ESPN | 2nd – 12:31

Durham, N.C. — Seventh-ranked North Carolina led the entire first half and carried a 40-31 lead into the second half against No. 9 Duke on Saturday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham.

The ACC regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in next week’s ACC Tournament are on the line.

UNC grabbed a 10-2 lead in the first four minutes with Cormac Ryan hitting three 3-point attempts. The Tar Heels extended their lead to 15 points on several occasions, the last time on a driving layup by Elliot Cadeau with 9:46 remaining.

Duke cut the deficit to seven before Jae’lyn Withers lay-in at the end of the half.

Ryan paced the Tar Heels with 10 points in the first half. Duke’s Jared McCain scored a game-high 11 points in the first half.

Cadeau and Duke’s Kyle Filipowski picked up two fouls in the first half. Cadeau played less than nine minutes in the first half.

Duke senior Jeremy Roach was 1-for-8 in the first half. Filipowski was 2-of-7. The pair combined for six points.

UNC stars RJ Davis (five points) and Armando Bacot (two) were likewise held in check. Instead, it was Ryan, Harrison Ingram (seven points) and Seth Trimble (six) who led the way.

ESPN’s “College GameDay” held its Saturday morning pregame show at Cameron Indoor Stadium. All analysts picked Duke to win at the end of the broadcasts.

Duke (24-6, 15-4 in the ACC)) has won three straight games. North Carolina (24-6, 16-3) enters on a five-game winning streak. The Tar Heels can earn the outright ACC title with a victory. The rivals will share the regular-season crown with a Duke victory.

In the first matchup between the two teams this season, North Carolina beat Duke 93-84 on Feb. 3.

Watch WRAL Sports’ postgame coverage of the “Battle of the Blues” on WRAL News +, antenna Ch. 34, Spectrum channel 34 or in the WRAL News app on your smart TV or mobile device.