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

SportsLine's model just revealed its college basketball picks for the North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Duke Blue Devils in the ACC Tournament semifinals on Friday night

Storylines abound but the largest is Cooper Flagg’s availability. The favorite for Player of the Year in College Basketball sprained his ankle in the first half of yesterday’s win over Georgia Tech. There are rumblings out of Charlotte that the All-America will not play again in this tournament

"I was not in the room for any of that." Chairman of the NCAA Men's Basketball Selection Committee and UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham explained the process behind the Tar Heels getting into the tournament. pic.twitter.com/vAD7qu4s3F

The No. 1-ranked Duke Blue Devils, after winning the ACC championship, are the No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament East Region, which means starting its expected run to the Final Four close to home.

Printable NCAA tournament bracket] The NCAA men's tournament bracket was revealed on Sunday with Auburn announced as the No. 1 seed playing out of the South region. Duke is the No. 1 seed in the East,

SportsLine's model has nailed 20 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds and revealed its NCAA Tournament bracket 2025