We're running a tournament to find out who is the best ACC Team of all-time. Read more about it here.
Today's second round matchup features the 3 seed North Carolina Tarheels 1981-82 against the 14 seed Duke Blue Devils 1977-78. Duke 77-78 defeated Georgia Tech 89-90 3-0 in the first round.
Game 1
UNC 81-82: 79
Duke 77-78: 64
UNC leads the series 1-0
Notes: Matt Doherty provided an unexpected scoring punch leading UNC with 21 points on 8-11 shooting in the game one win. James Worthy added 20 points and Michael Jordan (11 pts), Sam Perkins (10 pts, 8 rebs), and Jimmy Black (10 pts) all reached double-figures as well. UNC shot 57% from the floor and made 25-29 from the free throw line as the Heels were very efficient on offense. Duke was led by 17 points from Jim Spanarkel, while Mike Gminski added 15 points and 8 rebounds and Gene Banks added 14 points in the loss.
Game 2
Duke 77-78: 66
UNC 81-82: 58
The series is tied 1-1
Notes: Jim Spanarkel scored 22 points in a game that was much closer than the final score indicates. A 10-0 run to close the game keyed the Blue Devils as Duke has now evened up the series at one game a piece. Michael Jordan led UNC with 17 points on 7-13 shooting, while James Worthy added 15 points and 5 rebounds.
Game 3
UNC 81-82: 85
Duke 77-78: 74
UNC leads the series 2-1
Notes: James Worthy scored 27 points and added 11 rebounds and keyed a UNC offensive attack that shot 63% from the floor and turned the ball over just 4 times. Sam Perkins added 20 points, while Michael Jordan (13 pts) and Matt Doherty (10 pts) added double-figures. Duke was led by 21 points a piece from Jim Spanarkel and Mike Gminski. Gene Banks also added 17 points, but the 54% shooting from the Blue Devils simply wasn't enough to match the lightning hot UNC offense.
Game 4
Duke 77-78: 71
UNC 81-82: 68
The series is tied 2-2
Notes: Gene Banks scored 19 points and added 9 rebounds on a night where Jim Spanarkel was ice cold from the floor. Spanarkel managed to score 14 points but on just 2-10 shooting, this after averaging 20 points per game in the first three games of the series. Banks made a number of key shots down the stretch and to his credit Spanarkel made 10-12 free throws including 4 clutch free throws down the stretch. Michael Jordan and James Worthy scored 18 points a piece to lead UNC in scoring and Sam Perkins added 17 points, but the Heels couldn't overcome poor free throw shooting. UNC made just 22-36 free throws in the loss.
Game 5
UNC 81-82: 57
Duke 77-78: 53
UNC wins the series 3-2
Notes: Game five turned into a defensive battle, but the North Carolina defense was just a bit better holding Duke to 36% shooting and forcing 13 Blue Devils turnovers. Michael Jordan led UNC with 15 points, while Sam Perkins (12 pts, 6 rebs), James Worthy (11 pts, 7 rebs), and Jimmy Black (10 pts) all added double-figures. Duke did force 17 turnovers but simply couldn't make the Heels pay for their gaffes. The Blue Devils were led by Jim Spanarkel's 19 points, while Gene Banks added 15 points, 6 rebounds, and a tournament high 7 steals. UNC 81-82 moves on to face the 11 seed Duke 85-86 in the Elite 8.
On Friday, we move to the Elite 8 as the #1 seed Duke 91-92 team will take on the #9 seed Duke 09-10 team. This would seem to be an obvious matchup, but Duke 09-10 is 6-0 already in this tournament, and defeated Duke 90-91 in the Sweet 16.
