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

Terrence Edwards scored 21 points, J'Vonne Hadley added 20 points and nine rebounds and No. 13 Louisville beat No. 10 Clemson 76-73 on Friday night in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament semifinals.

Chucky Hepburn, the hero of Louisville's dramatic 75-73 quarterfinal win over Stanford, added 12 points for the Cardinals (27-6).

Chase Hunter had 23 points for Clemson (27-6), while Ian Schieffelin had 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Louisville is seeking its first ACC title on Saturday night, but No. 1 Duke, which held on to beat North Carolina 74-71 in the other semifinal, stands in its way.

The Cardinals held Clemson without a field goal for more than six minutes in the second half to built a 67-52 lead with 3:50 left.

But the Tigers cut their deficit to two with 54 seconds remaining on a layup from Hunter, who had 19 second-half points. After Louisville was called for a shot-clock violation, Clemson had the ball and chance to tie or take the lead.

But James Scott blocked Hunter's drive after switching off his man.

Hepburn made 1 of 2 free throws with 6 seconds left to make a three-point game and Hunter's leaning 3-point shot from 25 feet at the buzzer missed.

Takeaways

Clemson: The Tigers showed toughness battling back late in the fourth quarter and could prove to be a tough out in the NCAA Tournament.

Louisville: The Cardinals may have shown a vulnerability as the Tigers were able to turn them over repeatedly with a full court press down the stretch.

Key moment

Scott's block on Hunter's layup was the game's biggest play, although Clemson was left screaming for a foul.

Key stat

There were 41 fouls called in the game.

Up next

Clemson will await seed in the NCAA Tournament.

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.