Kon Knueppel scored 17 points and No. 1 Duke held off a furious second half rally by North Carolina to beat its rival for the third time this season, 74-71 on Friday night to reach the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship game.

There was a development in the ACC Tournament on Thursday that could have ramifications at both ends of the bracket. Duke All-American freshman Cooper Flagg suffered a sprained ankle in the first half of the Blue Devils' win over Georgia Tech in the ACC quarterfinals.

While the focus will undoubtedly skew toward Duke — with or without Cooper Flagg — UNC, Clemson and Louisville are coming off thrilling finishes in their own quarterfinals.

What began with 15 teams has dwindled to two in Charlotte, North Carolina, as the ACC Tournament bracket has chewed up and spit out 13 others to leave us with No. 1 seed Duke and No. 2 Louisville with only Saturday's title game remaining.

Following a controversial loss to the Duke Blue Devils in the ACC Tournament, the North Carolina Tar Heels found themselves under pressure as Selection Sunday approached. Many questioned whether they had done enough to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament,

"I was not in the room for any of that." Chairman of the NCAA Men's Basketball Selection Committee and UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham explained the process behind the Tar Heels getting into the tournament. pic.twitter.com/vAD7qu4s3F