A shoe malfunction 30 seconds into the first Duke-North Carolina game of the season robbed the best rivalry in college basketball of the biggest star in the nation, but Zion Williamson delivered one of his best performances in a Duke jersey in his first complete game against UNC on Friday night.
One night after returning from his Grade 1 knee sprain with a near-perfect outing against Syracuse, Williamson dropped 31 points on the Tar Heels to send Duke to the ACC tournament final.
Williamson and the Blue Devils got off to a slow start in Charlotte and trailed North Carolina by as many as 13 points in the first half, but after opening the game 2-of-6 from the floor, Williamson went 11-of-13 for the rest of the game, and was Duke’s only reliable source of offense down the stretch in a tight game.
Williamson’s towering dunk in transition will go down as the most-replayed highlight of the game, but it was a key offensive rebound and go-ahead tip from Williamson while surrounded by four North Carolina players that won Duke the game. Trailing 73-72 with 32 seconds remaining, Williamson missed a contested shot in the post but beat everyone off the floor with a second jump and tipped in his own miss.
R.J. Barrett came down with a rebound off a missed UNC three at the other end and was fouled, but he missed both free throws with 13 seconds left to give the Tar Heels a chance to hit a game winner. Coby White missed a three and a desperation tip was no good, giving Duke a one-point win in a thriller.
Williamson appeared to tweak his back in the final minutes, which Jay Bilas joked came from carrying the team himself.
Duke moves on to play Florida State for the ACC Championship on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
