Ingram, Bacot lead No. 3 UNC past No. 7 Duke in season's first meeting

By Brian Murphy, WRAL

7Duke Blue Devils	84
3North Carolina Tar Heels	93
Final

Chapel Hill, N.C. — North Carolina forward Harrison Ingram watched the Tar Heels' loss to Georgia Tech five times before Saturday's game against rival Duke.

Center Armando Bacot didn't watch the loss at all.

Both approaches seemed to work.

Each recorded a double-double as No. 3 UNC defeated seventh-ranked Duke 93-84 in Chapel Hill on Saturday.

Ingram, a transfer from Stanford playing in his first game in the rivalry, scored a season-high 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, including a dive-on-the-floor board that led to a critical 3-pointer late in the second half.

"I'm the guy who brings energy and I didn't bring it that game," Ingram said of Tuesday's loss to Georgia Tech. "I wasn't going to come out here and let that happen again. So I came out with as much energy as I could."

Bacot improved to 5-5 in 10 career games against the rival Blue Devils. He did so with 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists — just the second Tar Heel ever after Charlie Scott in 1970 to hit those milestones against the Blue Devils.

Bacot scored the game's final points on an emphatic dunk, setting off a Tar Heel celebration that stretched across the UNC campus and onto Franklin Street.

"The ACC runs through me," Bacot said, a not-so-subtle nod to Duke center Kyle Filipowski, the ACC preseason player of the year, and those who have said Bacot is taking a lesser role with this year's Tar Heels.

With guard RJ Davis taking a starring role in the Tar Heels' offense, Bacot's offensive output has been diminished. Entering Saturday, he'd taken eight or fewer field goal attempts in four straight games.

Bacot met with UNC coach Hubert Davis for about an hour on Thursday to discuss his role, particularly offensively. Bacot entered the game averaging 13.4 points and 9.9 rebounds — his lowest numbers since th 2020-21 season. He was shooting 53.2 percent, his lowest since 2019-20.

"For us to the best team we can be, we need you being a dude," Hubert Davis told him.

Davis also schemed ways to get Bacot the ball in better positions.

"What more do I want?" Bacot said. "What do I want to do?"

Against the rival Blue Devils and Filipowski, "we had to go through me. I had to be a big-time player," he said.

Freshman Jared McCain had 23 points for Duke. Kyle Filipowski added 22 and Jeremy Roach had 20 in the losing effort.

"I just wasn't happy with the way we competed," Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. "And that's disappointing to me. ... We didn't compete to the level that you need to to have a chance to beat this team."

The Blue Devils were outworked and out-hustled by the Tar Heels for much of the game. Duke's only lead was 2-0.

"The main story for me was the loose balls," Scheyer said. "Just as you looked throughout the game, they were hungrier to get them. … I bet 15, maybe even 20 points (came from loose balls), and you have to give them credit for that."

Few were indicative than an offensive rebound that Ingram grabbed with 6:05 remaining in the game. Off a miss by Cormac Ryan, Ingram went to the ground to secure the loose ball and tossed it back to Elliot Cadeau to keep possession. The ball found its way back to Ryan in the corner for a 3-pointer. It pushed UNC's lead to 77-64.

"You take away his scoring today, he still has a huge impact on the game," said UNC's Seth Trimble, who had 10 points. "He was able to add his scoring. It was huge for us."

Ingram made 5-of-9 3-point attempts, a career-high in makes from deep. He added four steals and a block in a game-high 38+ minutes.

With Duke keyed on stopped RJ Davis, a potential All-America and the leading contender for ACC player of the year honors, UNC added offensive wrinkles to get Bacot and Ingram different options. Davis, limited to four points in the first half, finished with 17 points on 5-of-14 shooting.

"It was more kind of adding a second option that if RJ is denied, OK, turn around and screen for Mondo or if this happens, that happens," Ingram said.

Ingram may have been a newcomer to the rivalry, but thanks to his sister Lauren, a freshman volleyball player at Duke, he was already invested. She wore his jersey at Saturday night's game and was clapping at the end of the game.

"I pointed at her because she was calling me about how we were going to lose and how we weren't good," Ingram said. "We got the W."

The Tar Heels improved to 18-4 overall and 10-1 in the ACC, furthering their grip on the conference title race. UNC has a two-game lead in the standings over surging Virginia, which has won six straight.

Duke fell to 16-5 overall and 7-3 in the league.

"I really believe in this team," Scheyer said. "The thing I've said throughout this year: This group hasn't gotten it perfect all the time. ... They always respond though. They always respond."

The game marked the 49th time that the rivals have met with both teams ranked in the top 10, but the first time since 2019. The teams had split the previous 48 match-ups.

The teams will face off again in Durham on March 9, the final day of the regular season.