Selection Sunday just two days away, but there’s plenty of college basketball action to keep up with on conference tournament weekend.
Top-ranked Duke returned to action on Friday without Cooper Flagg after the potential NBA Draft No. 1 pick sprained his ankle on Thursday. Without Flagg, the Blue Devils hung on to beat North Carolina 74-71 in the ACC semifinals after nearly coughing up a 24-point lead.
UNC had a chance to take the lead in the final seconds, trailing by one with two free throws. But the first missed and the second was waved off for a lane violation, paving the way for the Duke victory.
Beyond that, there are plenty of other noteworthy games on tap. Auburn, Michigan State, Houston and St. John’s all won Friday as they all vie for a potential No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
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Here are all the games we’ll be keeping a close eye on Friday. (Scroll for live updates.)
Friday’s best games:
ACC
No. 1 Duke 74, North Carolina 71
No. 13 Louisville vs. No. 10 Clemson, 9:30 p.m. | ESPN or ESPN 2
Big 12
No. 2 Houston 74, No. 17 BYU 54
No. 9 Texas Tech vs. Arizona, 9:30 p.m. | ESPN/ESPN2
SEC
No. 3 Auburn 62, Ole Miss 57
No. 8 Tennessee 83, Texas 72
No. 4 Florida 95, No. 21 Missouri 81
No. 15 Kentucky vs. No. 5 Alabama, 9:30 p.m. | SECN
Big East
No. 6 St. John’s 79, No. 25 Marquette 63
Creighton vs. UConn, 9 p.m. | Fox
Big Ten
No. 7 Michigan State 74, No. 23 Oregon 64
No. 18 Wisconsin 86, UCLA 70
No. 11 Maryland 88, No. 24 Illinois 65
No. 20 Purdue vs. No. 22 Michigan, 9 p.m. | Big Ten Network
Best of the rest
No. 16 Memphis 83, Wichita State 80
Boise State vs. New Mexico, 9:30 p.m. | CBSSN
Live83 updates
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FINAL: Duke 74, UNC 71
An off-balance desperation shot clanks wide and Duke will advance by the skin of its teeth, and the sole of Jae’Lyn Withers’ sneaker. What a bizarre ending to a great comeback.
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Kneuppel makes both, but UNC gets the ball into Duke territory and calls a timeout with 2.5 seconds left. Tar Heels aren’t dead yet, but they have to avoid a foul.
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UNC fouls Kon Kneuppel, Duke’s best FT shooter, with 2.8 seconds left.
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Good lord. UNC’s Jae’Lyn Withers gets called for a lane violation and Lubin’s make on the second doesn’t count. UNC has to foul again. That is an emotional crusher.
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Hoo boy, Lubin misses the first one. Shooting for OT now.
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Double-whammy for Duke. Ven-Allen Lubin draws a foul with four seconds left and will get two free throws, and Khaman Maluach fouls out. Here’s UNC shooting for the lead.
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Proctor misses the first of the one-and-one and it’s UNC basketball, 72-71, with 17.6 seconds left. This is March.
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UNC fouls with 21.7 seconds left, Tyrese Proctor to the line.
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Seth Trimble makes both free throws to cut the deficit to one for UNC with 32 seconds left. Now do they foul
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UNC cuts it to three with a minute left
UNC was down by as much as 24. They’ve made it a one-possession game. Duke has the ball up three with 50 seconds left.
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