DURHAM — Even down two starters, No. 1 Duke dominated the second half against rival North Carolina, cruising to a commanding 76-61 victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium in the regular-season finale for both teams.
Of more concern to the Blue Devils — the likely No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and a top contender for the national title — is the status of starting center Patrick Ngongba and point guard Caleb Foster. Ngongba missed the entire game and Foster was injured in the first half. Both had walking boots on their right foot in the second half.
No. 17 North Carolina, playing without star freshman Caleb Wilson who is now out for the season, cut a 39-34 halftime deficit to 41-40. But Duke went on a 30-6 run after that to put the game away.
Freshman Cameron Boozer and senior Maliq Brown, who started in place of Ngongba, led the way. Boozer had a team-high 26 points, 15 rebounds and five assists. Brown scored 15 points and had nine rebounds and five steals, disrupting the UNC offense all night.
Duke coach Jon Scheyer referred to Brown as his sixth starter earlier in the week and stumped for Brown to be the league and national defensive player of the year. Brown, a former ACC All-Defensive team member at Syracuse who is in his second year at Duke, showed that all-around game.
PHOTOS: No. 17 North Carolina at No. 1 Duke
Freshman Derek Dixon led the Tar Heels with 14 points.
North Carolina was looking for the regular-season sweep of the Blue Devils after handing Duke its lone conference loss with a 71-68 victory last month in Chapel Hill.
Wilson, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, broke his right thumb in practice Thursday as he worked his way back from a fracture in his left hand. Wilson was on track to play against the Blue Devils before suffering the second injury. He was on the bench for the Tar Heels.
Duke (28-2, 16-1) is the No. 1 seed in next week’s conference tournament. North Carolina (24-6, 12-5) is the No. 4 seed, meaning the teams could meet for a third time in Friday’s semifinal. The full ACC Tournament schedule is here.
