No regular season or conference titles for Duke in the ACC this year, after they were beaten by their biggest rivals, North Carolina, in the conference tournament semifinal. Not surprising meme makers chose to focus on that, and especially Grayson Allen.
Why Allen? Because he had a bad game. Because he missed a potential game-tying shot. Because he couldn’t help himself and earned himself another flagrant, which later on Mike Krzyzewski will try to explain as, well, something else.
North Carolina finished behind Duke in the regular season, which included both teams splitting the series in conference play. They controlled this game from start to finish, although they almost let it slip away from them in the end. Duke came close, but weren’t good enough, including Allen’s weird shot. Maybe trying to score instead of getting fouled would have worked better.
Now it’s Virginia waiting for the Tar Heels in the final. A team with two losses all season, and just one in conference play. A Cavaliers side that consistently underperforms in the tournament, but perhaps this season finally has the right recipe to make the Final Four for the third time in program history. The Tar Heels are trying to make it 3 in a row, and defend their national title.