'I mistimed the shot'

Good morning. Ready for the final non-March Madness weekend of the year?

Let’s dive into Friday’s awesome games and news.

1. UNC’s heartbreaking loss headlines Friday’s tense games

Just when you thought you’d seen everything before, Duke vs. North Carolina delivered yet again.

Duke was crushing North Carolina Friday night in the ACC Tournament semifinals. It scored 1.355 points per possession in the first half, led by as much as 24 in the second half, and seemed to be adjusting just fine to life without Cooper Flagg.

Except … North Carolina started hitting shots, and cut the deficit to four points with just under three minutes left. And when Ven-Allen Lubin was fouled on a shot with 4.1 seconds left, it looked like UNC would have a chance at a massive upset. Except … Lubin missed the first free throw — and then this happened.

Duke hit two more free theows for a final score of 74-71. It’ll play Louiville in today’s title game, and will do so without Flagg and forward Maliq Brown. A win might give Duke (30-3) the No. 1 overall seed when the brackets are announced.

More interesting is if their Tobacco Road rival will join them. North Carolina (22-13) is 1-12 vs. Quad 1 opponents, 9-11 vs, Quad 1&2 opponents and 35th in the NET. It’s the definition of a bubble team. If the Heels do miss out on an at-large bid, that lane violation play will be remembered for a long time.

Duke-UNC had plenty of company for Friday’s dramatic finishes.

• Auburn used an 8-0 run over 1:03 span late in the second half to separate from Ole Miss, while Johni Broome’s bucket with 11.1 seconds left sealed the 62-57 win.

• This block helped Louisville edge Clemson, 76-73. The Cardinals (27-6) are in their first-ever ACC Tournament title game.

• Caleb Love was superb (27 points on 15 shots) in an 86-80 win over Texas Tech (25-8). Sure, the Red Raiders didn’t have Darrion Williams or Chance McMillan, but he and Arizona (22-11) were great down the stretch.

• Boise State held off the top seed in the Mountain West semis with a 72-69 win over New Mexico (26-7). The Broncos (24-9) may have played their way into an at-large bid with its 11th win in its last 13 games, which includes two Quad 1 wins.

• Memphis, the top seed in the AAC tourney, needed 42 points from PJ Haggerty to stave off 8-seed Wichita State, 83-80. That tied his career high and the AAC tourney record.

• Conference USA’s top seed, Liberty trailed by 14 points, but made a key defensive play in its 81-79 win over Kennesaw State. Adrian Wooley (28 points) nearly pulled off the upset by himself.

• The MAAC had two upsets as Iona surprised top seed Quinnipiac, 81-73, while Mount St. Mary’s needed a sturdy defensive possession to hold off 2-seed Merrimack, 57-55.

2. The blowouts and statement games

That handful of close games on Friday? There were just as many blowouts.

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