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No. 1 UNC Claims ACC Regular Season with 76-68 Win at Duke

Mar 9, 2008

Durham, N.C. — North Carolina, with a strong game from Danny Green off the bench, beat Duke 76-68 on Saturday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium, grabbing the ACC regular-season title and the top seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament in Charlotte.

UNC is 29-2 overall and 14-2 in the ACC. Duke is 26-4 and 13-3.

Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough didn’t dominate the way he did in Chapel Hill, but the Tar Heels had more balanced scoring this time. Hansbrough had 16 points and Wayne Ellington was back on his game after a poor effort in Chapel Hill, scoring 16 points.

Ty Lawson played against Duke for the first time and was effective.

But a critical game came from Green, the super sixth man who scored 18 for Carolina on Saturday. He also had baskets at critical times and blocks in crucial moments.

The game, like many Duke-Carolina games, had its glitter, with new Duke football coach David Cutcliffe sitting with NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning at courtside.

Christian Laettner and many other Duke stars returned for the contest..

But Duke senior captain DeMarcus Nelson had a tougher game in his final game in Cameron, failing to score in the first half before sparking a strong Duke comeback in the second half.

WRAL.com will post much more on the game tonight, with video interviews from coaches and players, a full game report and a column from Barry Jacobs.