CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ Duke and North Carolina played in an ACC tournament semifinal Friday night in Charlotte.
College basketball won.
Technically, so did Duke, who got 31 points and 11 rebounds from Zion Williamson and edged UNC, 74-73, to move into the ACC final Saturday night against Florida State.
But let's be honest: If you didn't care who was victorious, this Duke-UNC game surpassed every expectation. If you were in the Spectrum Center, you considered yourself lucky. If you weren't, you were thrashing around in alternate bouts of agony and ecstasy in front of your TV.
With Zion's first _ and likely last _ appearance ever in a UNC-Duke contest ratcheting up the national volume for the best rivalry even beyond its usual frenzied heights, this was one of the most eagerly anticipated college basketball games ever in Charlotte.
Although Duke and North Carolina were playing for the 251st time, this was only the second time they had ever met in the ACC tournament when both were ranked among the top-5 teams in the AP poll.
It could have been a Final Four game _ certainly these should be two No. 1 seeds when the brackets are set Sunday _ but it had the advantage that the team that lost would still live to fight another day.
So it was a little bit easier for both sides to sit back and enjoy the wondrous display of talent on both sides. And it really was something else _ not decided until Zion hit a follow shot in the final minute and UNC missed two shots in the last five seconds.
