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CHAPEL HILL — Armando Bacot rediscovered his offensive game, which was bad news for Duke, with Harrison Ingram putting on another dazzling display. After combining for 19 points in the previous three games, Bacot’s vintage aggressiveness returned with 25 points and Ingram scored a season-high 21 points to lead No. 3 North Carolina to a huge 93–84 win Saturday night over No. 7 Duke at the Smith Center.
CHAPEL HILL — GameDay coming to the Triangle for a Carolina-Duke battle is as predictable as sky-high ticket prices for the greatest rivalry in sports. Aside from when ESPN didn’t go to campuses during the pandemic, it has taken the show to Chapel Hill and Durham for every matchup since 2011. Even though it’s become routine, fans filled most of 12 lower-level sections in the Smith Center on Saturday morning for the latest visit, with many there an hour before the show began.
CHAPEL HILL — Of the many ways the growing number of passionate Carolina women’s basketball fans show their support, none is more inventive than a group sitting behind the south baseline at Carmichael Arena.
On the first day of Black History Month, a racial slur was directed at a Carolina women’s basketball player before the Tar Heels’ 63–59 loss Thursday at N.C. State, according to a source.
RALEIGH — Deja Kelly tried to will her way to a first victory at Reynolds Coliseum, took a hard fall and just kept fighting, but No. 24 North Carolina missed multiple golden chances in the final minutes.
CHAPEL HILL — After No. 3 North Carolina arrived at the Smith Center about midnight after the first conference loss of the season, the Tar Heels still couldn’t believe they had lost at Georgia Tech. Rather than head back to their apartments, the players had a players-only meeting in the locker room that lasted about 90 minutes, ending a little before 2 a.m.
DURHAM — Duke senior Jeremy Roach has played rival North Carolina seven times, but his most memorable game against the Tar Heels isn’t the one you would guess.
From no longer always playing two post players to creating more spacing on the offensive end, Coach Hubert Davis has put his stamp on Carolina basketball while following many of the philosophies of Coach Roy Williams.
Considering that No. 3 North Carolina fell in the NET after Saturday’s win at Florida State and dropped another notch a day later, the damage to the Tar Heels’ NET ranking from Tuesday’s 74–73 loss at Georgia Tech was minimal.
There are plenty of forgettable North Carolina games in Atlanta in many sports, but the latest frustrating Tar Heels loss there will be remembered for a foul that wasn’t called. As RJ Davis drove the lane with the No. 3 Tar Heels trailing by a point in the final seconds, Georgia Tech’s Ebenezer Dowouna lunged his shoulder into Davis. There was no foul, and Davis missed the shot as the Yellow Jackets pulled off a 74–73 upset at McCamish Pavilion to end UNC’s 10-game win streak.
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