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Thank you for joining us tonight here at VAVEL USA. My name is Matthew Evans signing off. Have a wonderful evening.

The VAVEL USA Player of the Game for Duke is Tyus Jones. Jones scored 22 points while grabbing seven boards and dishing out eight assists.

The VAVEL USA Player of the Game for North Carolina is J.P. Tokoto. He scored 15 points while grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out seven assists.

Usually we select just one player of the game but tonight we will select one from each team.

What a game from Cameron Indoor Stadium tonight! That was college basketball at its best.

Final Score: Duke 92, North Carolina 90

OT (0:00): The shot is missed, Carolina gets the offensive rebound but cannot get off a clean shot. The buzzer goes and that will do it.

OT (0:03): Britt is fouled on the inbounds play. He goes to the line. His first shot is good. Timeout North Carolina. Duke 92-90

OT (0:04): Timeout North Carolina

OT (0:05): Cook at the line, his first shot is no good. His second shot is good. Duke 92-89

OT (0:05): North Carolina cannot find the shot they want, the ball finds Tokoto for the jumper but he misses. Duke gets the rebound and is fouled.

OT (0:32): Quinn Cook's first shot is good. His second shot is no good. Duke 91-89

OT (0:40): Tyus Jones misses the basket but a big offensive rebound by Matt Jones. Quinn Cook is going to the line for two after a North Carolina timeout.

OT (1:10): Britt misses on the drive to the basket. Duke with the rebound.

OT (1:42): Okafor drives to the basket and lays the ball in. Duke 90-89

OT (2:03): Hicks at the line, his first shot is good. His second shot is good. Carolina 89-88

OT (2:15): Cook with the high floater off the glass. Duke 88-87

OT (2:51): Tokoto and Jones exchange buckets on either end of the floor. Carolina 87-86

OT (3:21): Hicks with the easy lay-up in the post. Carolina 85-84

OT (3:28): His first free throw is missed. His second free throw is missed.

OT (3:28): Meeks is called for his fourth foul after a missed three pointer from the corner. Okafor to the line.

OT (3:54): Okafor drives to the basket one-on-one and earns the hoop and the foul. He'll go to the line for one. His free throw is missed. Duke 84-83

OT (4:29): Winslow hits the first shot, he misses the second but Okafor gets the offensive rebound. He loses the ball out of bounds. Carolina 83-82

OT (4:38): Meeks with the friendly roll, on the other end, Brice Johnson fouls out. Carolina 83-81

OT (5:00): Duke wins the tip. Jones turns the ball over though on the first possession.

We are headed to OOOOOOOOVERTIIIIIME!

End of Regulation: Duke 81, North Carolina 81

2nd (0:00): Paige misses the three point chance and the ball bounces around as the clock expires.

Tyus Jones has been HUGE in the final minutes of this game.

2nd (0:27): Jones ties it with the drive to the bucket! Timeout North Carolina! 81-81

2nd (0:39): Matt Jones sends Brice Johnson to the line for a one-and-one. MISSED! Carolina gets the ball but it is out of bounds!

2nd (0:41): Tyus Jones drives to the bucket. He hits the shot and draws the foul on Joel Berry. His free throw is good. Carolina 81-79

2nd (0:47): Three seconds are added to the clock. Brice Johnson is at the line. He makes the first. Makes the second. Carolina 81-76

2nd (0:44): Johnson has his shot blocked by Winston but a foul is called. That did not look like a foul from here. The officials are going to the monitor.

2nd (1:16): Jones drives to the basket on the other end and he is fouled hard. He will go to the line. His first shot is good, His second shot is good. Carolina 79-76

2nd (1:21): Two seconds are taken off the game clock. Nate Britt to the line for a one-and-one. His first shot is no good!

2nd (1:23): The officials head to the scorer's table, it looks like they are checking the clock.

2nd (1:23): Duke gives it right back! Oh boy! A foul on the Blue Devils.

2nd (1:23): North Carolina throws the ball away on the inbounds. Duke ball with 83 seconds left.

Timeout Duke; their final timeout

2nd (1:38): Winslow's first free throw is missed. His second free throw is missed. The offensive rebound to Duke, Tyus Jones drives to the bucket for two. Carolina 79-74

Media Timeout: North Carolina 79, Duke 72

2nd (1:38): Winslow draws a foul on the drive, he will shoot two when we come back.

2nd (2:38): J.P. Tokoto sinks a tougher runner in the lane but Winslow responds on the other end. Carolina 79-72

2nd (3:02): Winslow with a big three pointer before Coach K calls timeout. Carolina 77-70

2nd (3:48): Britt, what a finish on that drive. Carolina 77-67

2nd (4:10): Britt with the basket and the foul. His free throw is missed. Carolina 75-67

2nd (4:32): Justise Winslow draws the blocking foul on the drive. His first shot is good, his second shot is good. Carolina 73-67

2nd (5:00): Joel Berry responds with a huge three on the other end. Carolina 73-65

2nd (5:26): Big three from Tyus Jones! Carolina 70-65

2nd (6:21): Hicks with the hoop and the foul in transition after a poor shot choice from Duke. The free throw is missed but Carolina with the offensive rebound. Carolina 70-62

Timeout Duke

2nd (6:53): Justin Jackson with the lay up on the transition. Carolina 68-62

2nd (7:25): Meeks with a good look that is good after a goaltending call on Okafor. Carolina 66-62

2nd (7:39): Duke with another turnover, that is 13 for the Blue Devils.

Oh boy, Brice Johnson just picked up his fourth foul with eight minutes to go. That could be a big loss.

Media Timeout: North Carolina 64, Duke 62

2nd (7:55): Tyus Jones is fouled on a drive to the basket. He will have two free throws after the media timeout.

2nd (8:28): Johnson takes a feed from Berry and lays it up and it. Carolina 64-62

2nd (8:53): A pass to Matt Jones in the corner is tipped off the Duke player and out of bounds to Carolina.

2nd (9:17): J.P. Tokoto is fouled after a fast break. He goes to the line for two. His first shot is not good. His second shot is good. 62-62

2nd (9:52): Okafor's free throw is missed.

Media Timeout: Duke 62, North Carolina 61

2nd (10:08): Paige looks for the floater but is denied. Okafor with the board. He earns the bucket and a foul on the other end. What a play in the post. Duke 62-61

2nd (11:08): Cook answers with another three! His sixth of the game. Carolina 61-60

2nd (11:57): Hicks is forced to put up a poor shot. Okafor with the defensive rebound before he turns the ball over. Hicks with the bucket on the other end. Carolina 61-57

2nd (12:45): North Carolina misses a good number of shots on their next possession but they are dominating the offensive glass.

2nd (13:09): Jefferson is fouled on a baseline drive to the bucket and he makes the original shot. He has a chance for an old-fashioned three-point play. The shot is no good. Carolina 59-57

2nd (13:27): Winslow with a huge block but he is called for goaltending. Carolina 59-55

2nd (13:48): Amile Jefferson is fouled on the drive to the basket. His first shot is good. His second shot is good. Carolina 57-55

2nd (14:05): Meeks draws a foul and will shoot two. He makes the first. He misses the second. Carolina 57-53

2nd (14:30): Kennedy Meeks with the tip-in on the offensive glass. Carolina 56-53

2nd (14:59): Quinn Cook is called for the charge as Isaiah Hicks was able to set his feet to draw the charge. Now it is the media timeout, apparently that other stoppage in play was a timeout from Duke.

Media Timeout: North Carolina 54, Duke 53

2nd (15:18): DUNK!!! J.P. TOKOTO!!! Carolina gets out on the fast break and he does not miss to give Carolina their first lead of the game. Carolina 54-53

2nd (15:42): Tokoto with another big follow up bucket. Duke 53-52

2nd (16:22): Meeks with the fade away and this is a one possession game. Duke 53-50

2nd (17:02): Meeks with a great drive on Okafor and he connects. Duke 53-48

2nd (17:44): Winslow misses a short-range shot after the pass from Cook. Marcus Paige with the scoop shot on the other end. Duke 53-46

2nd (18:21): Okafor makes a power move in the post to draw a foul. He will go to the line. He misses the first. He missed the second but Amile Jefferson gets the offensive rebounds and puts it in. Duke 53-44

2nd (19:00): Winslow with the bucket off of the great pass to bring the lead to seven.

2nd (19:10): Brice Johnson with the first basket of the second half after a bunch of turnovers and sloppy play to start. Duke 51-44

2nd (20:00): North Carolina starts with the ball.

Keep an eye on Jahlil Okafor here early in the second half, we'll see how his ankle holds up.

The teams are coming back out on the floor for the second half.

Brice Johnson leads North Carolina with 12 points and Joel James has six big points off the bench.

Quinn Cook is having a heck of a first half for Duke with 15 points on five three-pointers made.

Halftime: Duke 49, North Carolina 42

1st (0:02): WHAT A DUNK! J.P. TOKOTO with the follow-up jam on the missed shot. That is how the half will end. Duke 49-42

1st (0:31): Tyus Jones with a foul, Carolina can hold for the last shot.

1st (0:45): Okafor is back in the game.

1st (1:23): North Carolina with a poor foul on the offensive side of the ball. Johnson with the bucket after a few misses from the Tar Heels. Duke 49-40

1st (2:30): Matt Jones hits a three, Duke with a steal, and Quinn Cook sinks another three. Momentum is in the favor of Duke. Duke 49-38.

1st (3:00): Okafor is back on the bench.

1st (3:17): Tyus Jones to the line for two free throws. The first is good, the second is no good. Duke 43-36

Okafor is walking back to the training room. Oooo, he rolled his ankle after the shot.

Media Timeout: Duke 42, North Carolina 36

1st (3:34): Jahlil Okafor is down on the court after his fade away attempt. The ball eventually is scored but all eyes on Okafor. Duke 42-36

1st (4:09): Joel James with a huge board and a put back. Duke 40-36

1st (4:29): Tyus Jones is at the free throw line. He makes the first and makes the second. Duke 40-34

1st (4:54): Marcus Paige with the three pointer after a big offensive rebound by J.P. Tokoto. Duke 38-34

1st (5:25): J.P. Tokoto with the dunk on the fast break. Duke 38-31

1st (6:04): Amile Jefferson back to the line where he makes the first shot off a lucky bounce. His second shot is missed. Duke 38-29

1st (6:23): Amile Jefferson goes to the line where he misses the front end of the one-and-one.

1st (6:45): Tyus Jones sinks a three on the other end. Meeks takes a bump on his lay-up attempt which is good! He will get a free throw, which is good. Duke 37-29

1st (7:17): Carolina misses two long-range shots on their next possession.

1st (7:29): Grayson Allen at the line, he hits the first and also the second. Duke 34-26

Media Timeout: Duke 32, North Carolina 26

1st (8:19): Okafor with another great move in the low post for a bucket. Brice Johnson with baskets on consecutive possessions. Duke 32-26

1st (8:53): Amile Jefferson finds space behind the defense and lays the ball up and in. Duke 30-22

1st (9:31): Some very sloppy play on both ends as both teams turn the ball over, Carolina looks to capitalize but they are called for an offensive foul.

1st (9:59): Kennedy Meeks with the hoop and the foul. He will look to convert the old-fashioned three-point play. He misses the free throw. Duke 28-22

1st (10:30): Brice Johnson hits a jumper from the free throw line. Duke 28-20

1st (10:59): Britt at the line for North Carolina. He hits the first, and hits the second. Duke 28-18

1st (11:10): Quinn Cook with another triple. That is four on the night. Duke 28-16

Media Timeout: Duke 25, North Carolina 16

1st (11:56): Okafor dribbles out of a double team, drives to the bucket and switches hands for the lay-up. A beautiful play by the big man. Duke 25-16

1st (12:16): Joel James with the hook shot. Duke 23-16

1st (12:45): Joel James uses his body to clear space for the lay-up. Duke 23-14

1st (13:04): Cook hits another from downtown. Duke 23-12

1st (13:26): Carolina scores on two consecutive possessions. J.P. Tokoto with the sick pass to Nate Britt for the lay-in. Duke 20-12

1st (14:20): Carolina puts a high double team on Tyus Jones, he finds Cook who buries a three. Duke 20-10

1st (15:09): Tyus Jones breaks into the lane and floats a bucket in. A big jam on the other end by Isaiah Hicks. Duke 17-8

North Carolina is in trouble as Marcus Paige picks up his second foul very early.

Media Timeout: Duke 15, North Carolina 6

1st (16:07): Kennedy Meeks with a smooth jumper from the elbow. Justise Winslow finds himself open in space and he lays the ball in. Duke 15-6

1st (17:07): BLOCK! Kennedy Meeks is stuffed by Jahlil Okafor. Okafor then gets down to the other end where he finishes over Meeks. Jefferson adds another bucket after a Carolina miss. Duke 13-4

1st (17:48): Brice Johnson is at the line shooting free throws. He makes both of them. Duke 9-4

1st (17:56): Winslow with the shot fake followed by the drive to the bucket. A great start from the freshman. Duke 9-2

1st (18:35): J.P. Tokoto gets the first bucket for Carolina, that is answered on the other end by Winslow. Duke 7-2

1st (19:26): Amile Jefferson with the first bucket of the night on a little give and go. Quinn Cook sinks a three on the transition after a missed bucket. Duke 5-0

1st (19:42): Justin Jackson with the first shot of the game, a floater that is off the rim and out. 0-0

1st (20:00): Carolina wins the tip and we are underway

And here we go, Duke vs North Carolina.

Xavier ended up winning 59-57 over Cincinnati in that game. That could be a huge win for the Musketeers going down the stretch.

This is a very nice moment to see both teams kneeling arm in arm at the center of the court.

Both teams are meeting at the center circle for a very special moment as we honor the memory of Dean Smith.

The coaches just met at the scorer's table. Two legendary coaches in the current generation of College Basketball.

Here is a look at the startling lineup for the Duke Blue Devils: 6-foot-2 senior Quinn Cook, 6-foot-1 freshman Tyus Jones, 6-foot-6 freshman Justise Winslow, 6-foot-11 freshman Jahlil Okafor, 6-foot-9 junior Amile Jefferson

Wow, Syracuse has opened up an 8-point lead with 98 seconds remaining.

We are 22 minutes away from tip-off in Durham, North Carolina.

Here is the starting lineup for the North Carolina Tar Heels: 6-foot-1 junior Marcus Paige, 6-foot-5 junior J.P. Tokoto, 6-foot-8 freshman Justin Jackson, 6-foot-9 junior Brice Johnson, 6-foot-9 sophomore Kennedy Meeks

Wisconsin is being tested tonight as well away to Penn State. The Badgers currently lead 48-43 with 3:40 left.

The Xavier and Cincinnati game is getting close. It is a four point game with 4:41 left. Xavier is in position for a big win to put them into the Tournament.

A great back and forth contest at Syracuse with Louisville back on top 45-44 with 11 minutes left.

The team that is currently projected to win the league is American University. They are trailing Boston University by 12 points in the second half right now. With the current results, it looks like Lafayette may hold the projected spot by the end of the night. Keep an eye on @tenorman85 on Twitter for updates.

Looking around at some of the other lower rated conferences, all of the Patriot League is in action right now across five games. That conference has been one of the more exciting in terms of Bracketology because all of the teams are ranked so close. It seems as though there have been five different teams projected to make the tournament from the Patriot League.

One game that won't get a ton of media attention but should be paid attention by you is a clash of Colonial powers as William & Mary is taking on Northeastern. Northeastern holds a 13-point lead with 10:00 remaining right now, those two have been passing the projected Colonial automatic bid back and forth in recent weeks.

Davidson and George Washington are in action against each other, both of them are on the outside looking in of the latest VAVEL Bracketology piece that will come out on Friday. That game is tied at 31 with 16:30 left.

Another team currently in action that is in need of a win is Xavier. The Musketeers hold a ten-point lead over Cincinnati right now with 15:29 left in the game.

Looking around the College Basketball Scoreboard, we have some early action that will have a big impact on the bubble watch this week. Tulsa is currently on the bubble and they lead East Carolina 41-26 in the second half. That is a must-win for the Golden Hurricanes if they want to be considered for an at-large spot.

Louisville leads that game 35-33 with 16:43 remaining, we will keep you posted on that game.

There is another big ACC game going on right now at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. Louisville is tied with North Carolina for fourth and can move into a three-way tie for third with a win and a Carolina win tonight.

The Duke Basketball Twitter account is right. Something big is going on tonight. Look at all of the media trucks outside Cameron Indoor Stadium

@Duke_MBB

North Carolina is in the building, we saw them arrive just a little bit ago at Cameron Indoor Stadium. As per usual, the Cameron Crazies are out in full force for Duke-Carolina.

And welcome in to our live coverage of ACC Basketball. I am Matthew Evans here to take you through the end of this big rivalry game.

How do you see our game finishing tonight? Leave your comments with me on Twitter, @tenorman85.

Cook is a 39.2% three point shooter having made 65-of-166 attempts from beyond the arc.

Duke is also loaded in the backcourt as well with a stellar pair of guards in Quinn Cook and Tyus Jones. The pair averages a combined 26.1 points per game but more importantly, they are very good at finding the open shooter. Jones averages 5.3 assists per game. The most important thing about the two though is that they are not afraid to take a three point shot if needed.

Freshman Jahlil Okafor is the leader of the team on the floor. He averages 18.2 points per game while pulling down 9.3 rebounds. Look for the Blue Devils to try and get him going early in the post which is something they struggled with in their recent game against Virginia.

With Notre Dame sitting just one game above Duke, a win would put the pressure on the Irish to keep up their play. A loss would give the Irish some breathing room in the top two.

Duke also has a favorable schedule down the stretch with games against Clemson, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, and Wake Forest before a trip to Chapel Hill.

The Duke Blue Devils come into tonight’s game on a five-game winning streak which has seen them defeat the likes of Virginia, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Florida State, and Syracuse. The wins over Virginia, Florida State, and Syracuse were all away from home.

Meeks played his best basketball at the beginning of the season before seeing his production drop off a little. Johnson is the complete opposite, he is playing his best basketball right now.

North Carolina has another big advantage over most teams in the country. They have not one, but two big scoring options in the post. Brice Johnson and Kennedy Meeks each average around 12.5 points per game and 7.6 rebounds per game. Not bad for the pair of 6-foot-9 forwards, Johnson is a junior while Meeks is a sophomore.

The Tar Heels are led by guard Marcus Paige who averages nearly 14 points per game in the 25 games this season. The junior is coming off of one of his worst performances of the season so far with an eight point effort against Pittsburgh. That broke his stretch of six games with ten or more points. Paige just could not find his shooting touch finishing 3-for-11 from the floor.

North Carolina’s next four games are against teams who are .500 or worse in conference play thus far. That includes a home-and-home with Georgia Tech, a home game with NC State, and a tricky nationally televised road contest with Miami-Florida.

A win tonight would be very big for the Tar Heels as they look to grab one of the top four spots in the ACC Tournament. They are currently tied with Louisville for fourth with an 8-4 conference record. A win would tie them with Duke for third in the conference with a very favorable schedule upcoming.

This is the last game of a three-game road trip which started back on February 7th with a win over the Boston College Eagles. That was followed by the loss at Pittsburgh.

The visiting North Carolina Tar Heels come into tonight’s game on a bit of a slide as of late. North Carolina has lost three of their previous four games including a tough loss away to Pittsburgh last Saturday. The other two losses were not as surprising with an away overtime loss to Louisville followed by a home loss to Virginia on February 2nd.

Overall Duke has own the recent portion of the series winning eight of the last 11 meetings between the two dating back to 2010.

The last ten meetings at Cameron Indoor Stadium have been split right down the middle with Duke winning five and North Carolina winning five. The Blue Devils have won the last two at home.

Occasionally one of the schools will have a down season, but a majority of the time they are both ranked. Sometimes both are ranked really high. Back in March 2011 as well as the games in February and March 2012 schools were ranked in the Top 10.

One of the things that makes this rivalry so incredible is the proximity between the two campuses. The Dean Smith Center on the campus of North Carolina is just 10.7 miles away from Cameron Indoor Stadium on the campus of Duke. The rivalry is cranked up a notch even more by just how good these two teams are.

Good evening and welcome to VAVEL USA’s live coverage of NCAA College Basketball. Our game tonight is a massive Atlantic Coast Conference clash as well as one of the premier rivalries in all of College Basketball. Tonight, the North Carolina Tar Heels (8-4, 18-7) travel down Tobacco Road to square off with the Duke Blue Devils (9-3, 22-3). My name is Matthew Evans and I will be your host for tonight’s game.

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About the author
Matthew Evans
Matthew is an American sports journalist based out of Kennewick, Washington. He is a Managing Editor for VAVEL USA as well as Co-editor of the soccer section.