Exciting Showdown: Carolina vs. Duke in ACC Tournament Semifinals

• Carolina and Duke face off for the third time in just over a month, with this being their first ACC Tournament encounter since 2019. The action is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at the Spectrum Center, airing on ESPN.

• The Tar Heels have kicked off the 2025 ACC Tournament with a 2-0 record and have an impressive streak of winning eight out of their last nine games, dominating in six of those by double digits and all eight by at least six points.

• Holding a 22-12 record overall, Carolina posted a 13-7 mark in ACC regular-season play. They tied with SMU and Wake Forest for fourth place, clinching the No. 5 seed for the tournament.

• This Friday’s semifinal marks Carolina’s eighth matchup this season against teams currently ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press poll.

• The victor in the UNC-Duke semifinal will progress to the championship game on Saturday to face either No. 2 seed Louisville or No. 3 Clemson at 8:30 p.m.

• The top-seeded and No. 1 ranked Blue Devils boast an outstanding 29-3 record, having topped the regular-season with a 19-1 ACC play record, their sole defeat occurring at Clemson.

• RJ Davis matched his season-high with five three-pointers, contributing 23 points, guiding the Tar Heels through their toughest shooting performance of this season to edge past Wake Forest, 68-59, in the quarterfinals.

• Ven-Allen Lubin delivered a career-topping performance with 13 rebounds and hit crucial back-to-back field goals within 37 seconds in the closing two minutes to cement the win over the Deacons.

• Trailing by 11 early, Carolina battled back, seizing the lead by halftime and extending it to 10 points within four minutes into the second half. Both teams played neck-and-neck for more than 10 minutes in the second half, until Davis nailed a three-pointer with 2:43 left, pushing Carolina ahead 61-57.

• Despite not scoring a field goal for almost 11 minutes in the second half, Carolina executed under pressure, successfully making three out of four shots in the last three minutes.