North Carolina blows the shots in the ACC Tournament Championship Game in perhaps the worst way.
With just 4.1 seconds in the semi-final match against No. 1 seed Duke on Friday, UNC was asked to violate a lane with a potential game-tying-in free throw.
Tar Heels forward Jerin rocked at the lane moment before teammate Ben Allenrubin shot what was a free throw in Game Tising.
The violation neutralized the made basket and gave Duke the ball while holding the lead.
Freshman Con Knupel hit two free throws on the other side to open the Blue Devils game with ice, effectively ice.
If the Withers had not committed the violation, Tar Heels would have had the opportunity to force the game into overtime.
UNC almost wiped out the 21-point lead Duke had developed in the first half, surpassing the Blue Devils 47-29 in the final half of the game.
With the NCAA Tournament seeds looming, Friday's loss to the Blue Devils could be costly for UNC.
The Tar Heels had the opportunity to capitalize on the injured Blue Devils team that had no freshman Superstar Cooper Flag.
Flag suffered an ankle injury during Duke's ACC Tournament quarterfinal match against Georgia Tech on Thursday.
Blue Devils head coach John Schayer said Flag's X-ray has returned to negative, but he was unlikely to make a comeback in Friday's match against Tar Heel.
“He was already swollen,” Shayer said Thursday. “It's not something you're ready to go [Friday]. That's not the most important thing for us. I was able to see if I could get him right in this run that can be done in the tournament, but I really have to be sure I'll even consider seeing if he can go [Friday].
“He may not be able to go anyway. He probably won't be able to go anyway, but I think that's a real long shot.”
