CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WNCN) — Friday night is the Atlantic Coast Conference’s semifinal round, but for many people, it’ll be better known as Duke-Carolina round three for the 2025 season.
The top-seeded No. 1 Blue Devils (29-3 overall, 20-1 ACC) and fifth-seeded Tar Heels (22-12, 15-7) are set to face off at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
But Duke will be without it’s star player, ACC Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year Cooper Flagg. Flagg went down with an ankle injury late in the first half of Thursday afternoon’s quarterfinal win against Georgia Tech. He did not return to the contest. Neither did key Blue Devils’ reserve Maliq Brown, who also went out with an injury early in Thursday’s game.
With the key injuries changing Duke’s lineup, UNC will look to avenge Saturday night’s loss to the Blue Devils in Chapel Hill. In his last game at the Smith Center, Tar Heels star guard RJ Davis led all scorers with 20 points. But it wasn’t enough, as Duke won 82-69 to sweep the regular-season series.
Friday night’s game will be the first time the two archrivals will meet in the conference tournament since 2019. To earn a spot in the semifinal round, UNC routed Notre Dame 76-56 Wednesday then outlasted Wake Forest 68-59 Thursday. Duke had a double-bye and didn’t open their ACC Tournament until Thursday, when they overcame a slow start — and the injuries — to top Georgia Tech 78-70.
The winner of this game will move on to Saturday night’s championship game. Clemson and SMU will face off later Friday night to determine the other team in the final.