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.

North Carolina just blew its shot at the ACC Tournament championship game in perhaps the worst way possible. With just 4.1 seconds left in the semifinal matchup against No. 1 seed Duke on Friday, UNC was called for a lane violation on a potential game-tying free throw.

"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

North Carolina is headed to the 2025 NCAA Tournament as a No. 11 seed and part of the First Four in Dayton after narrowly sneaking in following a disappointing season. Gaining admission to the Big Dance should alleviate some of the heartbreak the Tar Heels felt following a heartbreaking loss to Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinals.

North Carolina was among the "last four" into the NCAA Tournament despite going 1-12 vs. the top competition on their schedule.