The loss dropped the Tar Heels to the fourth seed in the ACC Tournament while Duke moved to the third seed. Both teams, however, get first-round byes.
Duke also got 24 points from another underclassman, sophomore Rodney Hood, on the Blue Devils’ senior night.
Coach Mike Krzyzewski said it was the first time this year that both Parker and Hood have been “sensational” in the same game.
The Blue Devils, who led by 13 in the first half but by only three at the half, came out hot in the second half, hitting six threes and led 74-55, the largest lead of the game, with just 8:26 to go.
But the Tar Heels scratched back with Marcus Paige leading the way. Down 12 with 2:49 left, Paige double pumped a three from the top of the key and was fouled. He converted the four-point play to pull the Heels within eight.
Following a Duke turnover under pressure, Paige put up another three but when it bounced up, UNC’s Brice Johnson dunked it while it was still in the cylinder for an offensive interference. Had the three not gone down, Johnson was right there for a stick back so the lead could have been cut to six or five.
Instead, Duke hit free throw after free throw to come away with the 12-point victory. The Blue Devils outscored the Heels by 13 from the free throw line as they hit an amazing 27 of 31 including 12 in the last 2:18.
But both coaches agreed that rebounding was the biggest key. “Going into the game I thought rebounding was an area where we could have an advantage but they killed us,” UNC coach Roy Williams said, referring to the 32-18 rebounding edge for the Devils.
It was the lowest number of rebounds the Tar Heels have pulled down in a game this season. It didn’t help that McAdoo was limited by foul trouble and big-man Kennedy Meeks was sidelined most of the game with a stomach illness.
In addition to leading all scorers, Duke’s Parker led all rebounders with 11 boards. “Whatever ‘it’ is, Jabari had it,” Coach Williams said making reference to Coach K’s statement after the first game between the two teams that his team just didn’t have it. “He was possessed.”
Paige, who had three second-half three-pointers, led four Tar Heels in double figures with 24 points.
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