2025 ACC Tournament: No. 1 Duke beats Louisville 73-62 to win its 23rd ACC tourney

Kon Knueppel scored 17 points and No. 1 Duke held off a furious second half rally by rival North Carolina to beat the Tar Heels for the third time this season, 74-71 on Friday night to reach the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship game.

Khaman Maluach added 13 points and nine rebounds, and Sion James had 12 points for the Blue Devils, who played without star Cooper Flagg.

• Box Score

Duke (30-3) will play the winner of the second semifinal between No. 10 Clemson and No. 13 Louisville in the title game.

After North Carolina cut a 24-point, second-half deficit to one, Ven-Allen Lubin had two free throws with 4.1 seconds left to potentially give the Tar Heels (22-13) the lead. But he missed the first and had the second made free throw waived off after teammate Jae-Lyn Withers stepped in the lane too early.

Knueppel made two free throws with 2.8 seconds left and Lubin missed a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer.

It's the first time since 2001-02 that Duke has beaten North Carolina three times in a season.

The Blue Devils swept the Tar Heels in the regular season that year and then beat them in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals en route to winning the national championship.

Lubin had 20 points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina.

The Tar Heels simply don't have the size to match up with the Blue Devils, even without Flagg, but showed plenty of heart with the comeback

Meanwhile, the Blue Devils showed they have plenty of punch and more than enough defense despite being without Flagg and top reserve Maliq Brown.

Withers stepping the lane too early was a monumental mistake and took the air out of what had been a remarkable Carolina comeback. UNC started the second half 15 of 24 from the field.

Now, the Tar Heels sit and wait for Selection Sunday, hoping to hear their name called for the NCAA tournament.

The Associated Press contributed.

After trailing 45-24 at halftime, things looked bleak for UNC against No. 1 Duke.

But the Tar Heels never gave up and a furious rally has them within 70-64 with 3:41 left in their ACC Tournament semifinal

No. 1 Duke used a 15-0 run to blow open a tight game and take a 45-24 lead over rival North Carolina on Friday night in their ACC Tournament semifinal

Playing without star player Cooper Flagg, the Blue Devils looked disorganized and out of sorts early. The Tar Heels didn't look much better, but the game stayed virtually even much of the half.

But then the run helped Duke open a huge halftime lead. The Tar Heels did not score again after Elliot Cadeau made a 3-pointer with 5:03 left in the half. At that point, Duke led 30-24.

Kon Knueppel scored 12 points to pace Duke. UNC got eight points from Ven-Allen Lubin.

The Tar Heels made just 1-of-10 3-point tries in the half while the Blue Devils sank 4-of-15.

No. 1 Duke meets rival North Carolina on Friday night in a semifinal matchup with huge implications for the Tar Heels.

While the Blue Devils would, of course, like to win another ACC championship, UNC (22-12) can likely clinch an NCAA tournament bid with a win against Duke.

It's a tall task for UNC, which was swept in the regular season by Duke, losing on Feb. 1 in Durham in an 87-70 drubbing that was all but decided before halftime, and an 82-69 loss in Chapel Hill on March 8.

Duke (29-3) likely won't have ACC Player of the Year Cooper Flagg, who sprained his ankle on Thursday against Georgia Tech. The Blue Devils also will probably be without Maliq Brown, who suffered a shoulder injury.

Duke holds a 14-9 advantage in ACC Tournament meetings with UNC, including an 8-3 record in semifinals.