Duke vs. UNC results, highlights: Cormac Ryan's career night leads Tar Heels to ACC regular season title-clinching win

Kyle Irving

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Duke vs. UNC results, highlights: Cormac Ryan's career night leads Tar Heels to ACC regular season title-clinching win image

The Battle for Tobacco Road turned into the "Cormac Ryan Game" on Saturday.

Duke and North Carolina faced off at Cameron Indoor Stadium for the latest edition of one of sports greatest rivalries. With the ACC regular season title on the line, the Tar Heels took care of business against the Blue Devils for the second time this year.

Senior guard Ryan led the way with a game-high 31 points, scorching the net with six triples. He scored North Carolina's first nine points, going 3-for-3 from 3-point range to start the game and never cooled off.

Duke put up a strong fight in the second half once Kyle Filipowski got going. The star forward finished with 23 points while Jared McCain and Tyrese Proctor paced the Blue Devils with 19 and 14 points, respectively.

Even after getting the Cameron Crazies back into the game with the gym rocking, Duke couldn't get over the hump against UNC, who came away with a wire-to-wire victory.

MORE: Meet Cormac Ryan: UNC's sixth-year senior who erupted vs. Duke

If you missed any of the action, The Sporting News had you covered with live updates, highlights, and more from Duke vs. North Carolina below.

Duke vs. UNC final score

  1H 2H Final
Duke 31 48 79
UNC 40 44 84

Duke vs. UNC results, highlights from 2024 basketball rivalry game

Final: UNC 84, Duke 79

8:52 p.m.: North Carolina sweeps the season series against Duke and takes home the ACC regular-season title in the process.

UNC was in control the entire night behind Cormac Ryan's career-high 31 points. Kyle Filipowski ended up with 23 points and seven rebounds after a strong second half, but it wasn't enough for Duke to come away with a win.

8:50 p.m.: Cormac Ryan calmly steps to the line and hits a pair of free throws to ice the game. 31 points in a career night for the North Carolina senior.

8:46 p.m.: Duke will not go down easily. Jeremy Roach just hit a 3-pointer to bring the Blue Devils within three, trailing 83-79 with seven seconds remaining.

8:40 p.m.: Duke's TJ Power hit a big 3-pointer to keep Duke alive but Elliot Cadeau answered with a prayer of a shot-clock beater to give UNC an 80-72 lead with 42 seconds to play.

8:38 p.m.: Cormac Ryan with an absolute dagger — who else would it be? The North Carolina senior is engulfed in flames, drilling his sixth triple of the night to give the Tar Heels a 78-69 lead with under two minutes remaining.

8:31 p.m.: Duke just won't go away. The Blue Devils are trying to claw back into this one with a 2-2-1 full-court press. Despite playing with four fouls, Kyle Filipowski has come up with three massive blocks down the stretch. North Carolina leads Duke 75-69 with 2:06 remaining in the game.

8:27 p.m.: This has turned into The Cormac Ryan Game. He buries another clutch triple — his fifth of the night — to extend UNC's lead back to nine points after Duke cut it to six. He's up to a game-high 24 points.

8:19 p.m.: North Carolina holds a commanding 65-55 lead at the under-8 media timeout. Duke's momentum has been halted after a strong start to the second half. The Blue Devils don't have a made field goal in three minutes.

8:12 p.m.: Stay hot, Cormac Ryan. The senior guard buries a timely 3-pointer to put North Carolina back up by 10 points with under 10 minutes to go. He's up to a game-high 19 points while shooting 4-for-6 from 3.

8:06 p.m.: North Carolina leads Duke 54-46 at the under-12 media timeout. Cormac Ryan's 14 points lead the way for the Tar Heels while Kyle Filipowski's second-half surge has him up to a team-high 16 points for the Blue Devils.

7:57 p.m.: North Carolina weathered Duke's storm to start the second half. Armando Bacot bullied his way to the rim for an and-one over Ryan Young, Jae'Lyn Withers had a block-turned-layup and Cormac Ryan broke free for a fastbreak layup. UNC is back up nine points, 52-43, forcing a Duke timeout with 14:24 to go.

7:46 p.m.: Kyle Filipowski has come out of halftime firing. He has eight straight points for Duke to start the second half, making two layups, knocking down a 3 and hitting a free throw. The Blue Devils trail 43-39 with 17 minutes to play in the game.

End of first half: UNC 40, Duke 31

7:26 p.m.: North Carolina leads Duke 40-31 at the half after Jae'Lyn Withers' last-second putback.

Duke came charging back late in the half after Jared McCain (11 points) and Tyrese Proctor (9 points) started to get going. Kyle Filipowski (2-7 FG) is struggling against Armando Bacot's physical defense once again. Jeremy Roach (1-8 FG) hasn't been able to get anything going, either.

Cormac Ryan's 10 points still lead the Tar Heels after his 3-point barrage to start the game. RJ Davis has been quiet with five points on six shots, while Bacot only has two points and four rebounds.

7:16 p.m.: Here come the Dukies. Tyrese Proctor got himself going with a pair of steals and easy layups, then buried a wide-open triple to cut into North Carolina's lead. The Cameron Crazies are rocking again as the Blue Devils trail the Tar Heels 35-27 at the under-4 media timeout.

7:11 p.m.: Jared McCain gets Duke's first 3-pointer of the game to fall nearly 15 minutes into the first half. The Blue Devils have life, trailing 35-24.

7:05 p.m.: Kyle Filipowski got away with one here. College basketball fans everywhere having Grayson Allen flashbacks.

7:02 p.m.: Tyrese Proctor is trying to inject some life into Duke with a steal and slam. North Carolina remains in the lead, 30-15, at the under-8 media timeout.

6:52 p.m.: UNC leads Duke 21-8 at the under-12 media timeout. North Carolina's offense has cooled off from its blistering start but its defense is still holding strong. Duke hasn't had an easy look at the basket in minutes and no player has more than two points.

6:50 p.m.: North Carolina is stifling Duke's offense. The Blue Devils can't get anything going, shooting 3-for-8 from the field for only six points seven minutes into the game.

6:39 p.m.: Cormac Ryan is scorching the net! The North Carolina senior has drilled three consecutive 3s to give the Tar Heels a 15-4 lead to break this one open early on. Timeout Duke just before the under-16.

6:34 p.m.: Harrison Ingram knocked down a jumper and the Battle for Tabacco Road is underway!

Pregame

6:30 p.m.: UNC will start RJ Davis, Elliot Cadeau, Cormac Ryan, Harrison Ingram and Armando Bacot.

6:30 p.m.: Duke will start Jeremy Roach, Tyrese Proctor, Jared McCain, Mark Mitchell and Kyle Filipowski.

5:20 p.m.: Duke and North Carolina are exactly 55-55 over its last 110 meetings. The rivalry has been as even as it gets.

5:00 p.m.: Duke leaned on Tobacco Road rivalry legend Austin Rivers to get the Cameron Crazies fired up with this pregame hype video.

4:55 p.m.: The Cameron Crazies are already bringing the energy over an hour before tip-off as North Carolina warms up.

What channel is Duke vs. North Carolina on today?

  • TV channel: ESPN
  • Live stream: Sling

North Carolina vs. Duke will air nationally on ESPN. Dan Shulman (play-by-play), Jay Bilas (color analyst), and Jess Sims (sideline reporter) will have the call. 

Viewers can also stream the game on Sling. Sling is the home for the avid sports fans, offering a range of sports channels so you can always cheer for your favorite teams with channels like ESPN, TBS, TNT, NFL Network, FS1, and more.

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Duke vs. North Carolina start time

  • Date: Saturday, March 9
  • Start Time: 6:30 p.m. ET

North Carolina vs. Duke will tip off around 6:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 9. The game will be played at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. 

Kyle Irving

Kyle Irving Photo

You read that wrong – not Kyrie Irving. From Boston, graduated from the University of New Hampshire. Sixth season as a content producer for NBA.com's Global editions. Covering the NBA Draft has become his annual "dream come true" moment on the job. Irving has a soft spot for pass-first point guards, with Rajon Rondo and Steve Nash being two of his favorite players of all time.