Entering Saturday, the consensus was that Duke needed at least one win over rival North Carolina to keep his NCAA Tournament hopes alive. That which did not happen further was necessary.
The Blue Devils fell 91-73 to UNC, and look even livelier than the score could show. They were halfway through the first half with 20 points lower and never came within ten points of the Tar Heels thereafter. As time went on, UNC fans chanted ‘NIT’.
The loss pushes Duke down 11-11 in a miserable regular season and a 10th place finish in the ACC. Not only was Duke swept into the hands of his biggest rival; he is now in a desperate position to keep alive his streak of 24 consecutive appearances in March Madness. The last time a team led by Mike Krzyzewski failed to make it to the tournament was in 1984 (Krzyzewski missed much of the 1994-95 season after undergoing back surgery).
The consensus around Duke’s tournament at this point hopes that the chances of reaching it by an extremely large point are over. The team’s only hope is five wins in five days to win the ACC tournament next week.
Here is ESPN Joe Lunardi about Duke’s chances:
“Eventually, Duke fell off the bubble and will likely have to win five ACC tournament games within five days to keep his series of NCAA games alive.”
And a few more observers:
This game did not deliver, but the Tar Heels did. Duke is officially off the Bubble and Coach K will miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1984
– Tate Frazier (@tatefrazier) 7 March 2021
I do not know if I have Duke’s chance to get in the NIT once so far.
– Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) 6 March 2021
Duke will play Boston College in the first round of the ACC tournament on Tuesday.
More from Yahoo Sports: