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Coming in on Saturday, the consensus was that Duke needed at least one victory over rivals North Carolina to keep his NCAA tournament hopes alive. He didn’t need what happened next.
The Blue Devils fell to UNC by a score of 91-73, and looked even more lifeless than the score can show. They lost 20 points halfway through the first half and never came within 10 points of the Tar Heels afterwards. Over time, UNC fans chanted “NIT”.
The loss drops Duke to 11-11 in a miserable regular season and 10th place in the ACC. Not only has Duke been swept aside by his biggest rival, but he now finds himself in a desperate position if he is to keep his streak of 24 consecutive March Madness appearances alive. The last time a team led by Mike Krzyzewski did not participate in the tournament was in 1984 (Krzyzewski missed much of the 1994-95 season after undergoing back surgery).
The consensus around Duke’s tournament hopes at this point is that his chances of succeeding in a big hit are over. The team’s only hope is five wins in five days to win the ACC tournament next week.
Here is ESPN Joe Lunardi on Duke’s odds:
“Finally, Duke has fallen out of the bubble and probably needs to win five ACC tournament games in five days to keep his streak of NCAA appearances alive.”
And a few other observers:
That game didn’t deliver, but the Tar Heels did. Duke is officially out of the bubble, and Coach K will miss the NCAA tournament for the first time for real since 1984
– Tate Frazier (@tatefrazier) March 7, 2021
Not sure I like Duke’s chances of getting a seed in the NIT with this performance so far.
– Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) March 6, 2021
Duke is scheduled to play at Boston College in the first round of the ACC tournament on Tuesday.
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