Duke played down a man — or two — for most of February and the first two games of March. For the final regular-season game at UNC, the Blue Devils had all players available.

Kon Knueppel scored 17 points and Tyrese Proctor and Sion James both notched 16, and No. 2 Duke responded from a seven-point deficit in the second half to beat rival North Carolina 82-69 on Saturday night at Chapel Hill,

Barring a perfect run through the ACC tournament, it will be two missed NCAA Tournaments in three seasons for North Carolina, far from the standard expectations in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels fell short when they couldn't afford it. They lead the bubble winners and losers on the final weekend of the regular season.