Bacot, Love and Walton score 18 each, UNC beats Duke 91-73
North Carolina forward Day'Ron Sharpe flies along the baseline for a powerful two-handed dunk. (0:22)
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- — Armando Bacot, Kerwin Walton and Caleb Love scored 18 points apiece and North Carolina never trailed it its 91-73 win over Duke on Saturday in the regular-season finale for both teams.
Walton hit 4 of 7 from 3-point range and Love had seven assists. Garrison Brooks added 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting for North Carolina (16-9, 10-6 ACC).
The Tar Heels will be the No. 6 seed and earned a first-round bye in next week's conference tournament. Tenth-seeded seed Duke (11-11, 9-9) plays No. 15 seed Boston College in Tuesday's first round.
Bacot scored seven consecutive points to start a 22-4 run that made it 26-6 when he capped the spurt with a dunk midway through the first half.
Mark Williams led Duke with 18 points, DJ Steward added 16 and Matthew Hurt 14.
The Blue Devils finished the regular season without a winning record for the first time since 1994-95. Duke has made 24 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, the second-longest active streak of its kind, but will likely have to win five games in as many days at the ACC tourney to earn a berth this year. The Blue Devils' longest win streak this season is four.
North Carolina made 31 of 56 (55%) from the field, shot 44% (8 of 18) from 3-point range, and outscored the Blue Devils 21-12 from the free-throw line.
Duke trimmed its deficit to 13 when Wendell Moore Jr. hit a jumper early in the second half by Walton answered with a 3 and the Blue Devils got no closer.
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2020-2021 Atlantic Coast Conference Standings
TEAM | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Virginia | 13-4 | - | 18-7 |
Florida State | 11-4 | 1 | 18-7 |
Virginia Tech | 9-4 | 2 | 15-7 |
Georgia Tech | 11-6 | 2 | 17-9 |
Clemson | 10-6 | 2.5 | 16-8 |
North Carolina | 10-6 | 2.5 | 18-11 |
Louisville | 8-5 | 3 | 13-7 |
Syracuse | 9-7 | 3.5 | 18-10 |
NC State | 9-8 | 4 | 14-11 |
Duke | 9-9 | 4.5 | 13-11 |
Notre Dame | 7-11 | 6.5 | 11-15 |
Pittsburgh | 6-10 | 6.5 | 10-12 |
Miami | 4-15 | 10 | 10-17 |
Wake Forest | 3-15 | 10.5 | 6-16 |
Boston College | 2-11 | 9 | 4-16 |