DURHAM —  This Duke team entered March, the month by which all seasons are judged in these parts, with an air of inevitability. 

Simply overwhelming teams in the improved ACC. Beating Michigan in a Final Four-worthy affair. The consistency of Cameron Boozer and a supporting cast that filled in every need around him.

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If last year’s Cooper Flagg-led juggernaut, which will go down among the greatest teams not to win the NCAA title, couldn’t secure title No. 6 for the Blue Devils and title No. 1 for coach Jon Scheyer, then this year’s group certainly appeared poised to do so.

And then came Saturday night against No. 17 North Carolina.

Oh, the rival Tar Heels weren’t the problem. At least not in the final 20 minutes when Duke ran away from UNC, the lone ACC team to beat the Blue Devils this season — in a game that Duke didn’t trail until the final 0.4 seconds.

No, it was the walking boots that adorned the right feet of center Patrick Ngongba and point guard Caleb Foster during the second half. Injuries to two starters that hamper the Blue Devils’ depth, limit their options and make them feel a lot less complete as they enter the NCAA Tournament.

It’s unlikely either will play in next week’s ACC Tournament, an event that doesn’t move the needle for the Blue Devils. 

“Our plan is: How can we get as healthy as possible, as ready as possible, for two weeks from now, wherever we go?” Scheyer said. “We’re always going to do our best and be ready next week [at the ACC Tournament], but we put ourselves in a position where we can do something special, make a run and we want to be in the best possible position to do that.”

Ngongba had been battling a sore right foot entering the game, and despite his best efforts to play, Duke opted to keep him out of the game. Better safe than sorry as the Blue Devils chase the national title.

But with five minutes left in the first half against the Tar Heels, when it was still a game, Foster swiped at a driving Seth Trimble — the sort of play that happens thousands of times in a college basketball season — and by the time he tried to track down the long rebound, he couldn’t.

He stopped and crouched – and the concern seemed to grow quickly from the Duke coaching and training staff. Foster was off the bench by the end of the half and when he returned in the second half, it was with a matching boot to Ngongba.

He suffered what ended up being a season-ending injury to his right foot late in his freshman season. Foster, a junior, has seen ups and downs in his career, but he was averaging career bests in minutes, field goal percentage, rebounds, assists and points as a  steadying presence. He had 12 points, four assists and four rebounds in the win showdown against Michigan.

Duke dominated UNC in the second half without them, a testament to its overall skill and, especially, Boozer’s brilliance, Maliq Brown’s defensive prowess and the machine-like efficiency that Scheyer’s team plays with on both ends. Still, it’s a team with a seven-man rotation and no true third big man without Ngongba and Foster.

Winning six games in March (and early April) is a different story. No one is going to feel sorry for the big, bad Blue Devils, who are 29-2 and still the likely No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament.

Texas Tech and North Carolina, the only two teams that have beaten Duke this season, lost All-American candidates to season-ending injuries in J.T. Toppin and Caleb Wilson, respectively. Injury luck has always played a big role in determining who cuts down the final pair of nets, who gets the final shining moment.

And it just may have struck Duke at exactly the wrong time.