DURHAM -- About five minutes after North Carolina put the finishing touches on its 88-70 win over Duke on Saturday night, the Blue Devils players made their way back onto the court at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Miles Plumlee addressed the remaining crowd, thanking the Duke students for their support during his career. He then said the Blue Devils would make amends for its disappointing performance against the Tar Heels by reaching the Final Four.

Such a promise required a bit of a leap of faith after Duke’s miserable effort in the first half against UNC. But if the fourth-ranked Blue Devils (26-5, 13-3) have shown nothing else this season, it’s that they have the ability to defy expectations in both directions.

See vidoe highlights of the North Carolina Tar Heels' 88-70 win over the Duke Blue Devils to capture the ACC regular-season crown.

Updated 10:42 p.m.

DURHAM -- Ever since it beat North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Feb. 8, Duke has played Austin Rivers’ dramatic game-winning shot on its video board before each home game as a way of inciting the crowd at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

From Roy Williams to Kendall Marshall, many of the Tar Heels’ coaches and players took a long look at the highlight when it was shown Saturday.

Rather than stew silently, Marshall told his teammates what he thought.

“When they showed the big-time shot Austin hit, I just brought my team together and told them I thought it was extremely disrespectful,” Marshall said.
 

If Duke wins tonight over North Carolina in Durham, the official preseason ACC predictions would be off-target where it matters most _ the top of the standings.
A win not only give the Blue Devils a regular-season series sweep against the Tar Heels but outright ownership of the regular-season league title.

At next week’s ACC tournament in Atlanta, former Duke standout player Kenny Dennard will inducted into the league’s Legends program, joining Kenny Smith of UNC and Todd Fuller of N.C. State in the 2012 class.

A native of King, N.C., Dennard was an all-state player at South Stokes High and played briefly in the NBA until he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1983.
Now a 30-year cancer survivor, Dennard is active in raising money for the Coaches vs. Cancer program.

Asked to share his thoughts about the future of the Duke-UNC rivalry, Dennard offered "a few" thoughts.

A couple bits of news came out of Duke's media availability Thursday ahead of Saturday's game against North Carolina:

First, the Blue Devils aren't sure if Josh Hairston will be available for Saturday's game, although the sophomore forward sounds like he's doing better than he was ahead of Tuesday's game against Wake Forest.

“Josh is going to practice today," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said before practice Thursday. "He’s doing a lot better."

For the second time in three years, Duke women's basketball coach Joanne McCallie has been selected the ACC Coach of the Year.

The fifth-year Blue Devils coach has guided Duke to its third straight ACC regular-season title and a 24-4 overall record this season. In the ACC's preseason poll, Duke was picked to finish second after losing three seniors to graduation and the WNBA.

Outlook: With September home games against Florida International, N.C. Central and Memphis, the Blue Devils yet again have an opportunity to enter October with a winning record. But that’s been the case for the past two seasons, and the Devils couldn’t capitalize.

The game against UNC on Oct. 20 in Durham is the earliest in the series since Oct. 16, 1926.

Josh Hairston will not play for Duke when it travels to Wake Forest on Tuesday for a 9 p.m. game against the Demon Deacons.

The Blue Devils’ forward suffered a laceration under his right eye when he was hit hard by the elbow of one of Virginia Tech’s players in the early going of Saturday’s win. Hairston didn’t return to the bench after leaving to get treatment.

With both teams 12-2 in the league and 24-4 overall, the situation is virtually identical to a year ago in Chapel Hill.