Many claim that Duke-UNC is the greatest rivalry not only in college basketball, but in all of sports. With that kind of hype surrounding a game, these two teams surely did not disappoint.

Duke overcame heavy adversity on their way to grinding out a 74-73 win on the road in Chapel Hill. Senior forward Amile Jefferson has been out since the beginning of the year with a broken right foot which has forced Coach K to run an extremely short bench, running a 6-man rotation for most games this season.

So when junior guard Matt Jones went down with an ankle injury late in the first half, it was a big deal for the Blue Devils. Duke was forced to play with five players the rest of the game, along with freshman Chase Jeter getting some extra minutes.

“Were a group of fighters.” That was what freshman point guard Derryck Thornton told reporters after the game.

Duke was forced to fight back in this game. UNC lead 46-42 at halftime, but also outplayed Duke largely up to that point.

UNC star Bryce Johnson turned in an incredible performance throwing in 29 points along with adding 19 rebounds. Down the stretch though Johnson was not a major factor. The senior shot the ball only two times in the last 13 minutes.

Duke sophomore Grayson Allen made a huge difference in the game for the Blue Devils scoring 23 points, along with collecting seven rebounds. Allen hit two free throws with just over a minute left, which ultimately gave Duke the lead for the rest of the game.

Both Johnson and Allen, who are both ACC player of the year candidates, added another exceptional performance to their resumes.

North Carolina coach Roy Williams will face some criticism for the way in which he managed his timeouts. The Tar Heels had three time outs with 16.5 seconds left and the ball.

The possession ultimately ended with Thornton making a nice block on UNC guard Joel Berry II before time expired.

Duke freshman sensation Brandon Ingram added a solid performance as well pouring in 20 points along with 10 rebounds.