UNC gets best of Duke in epic 3rd meeting at Final Four

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Caleb Love and North Carolina proved they could play their outside-shooting finesse style better than Duke could play bully ball.

And that helped the Tar Heels claim a titanic third battle this year in the Final Four — their first meeting ever in the NCAA Tournament.

Love scored 28 points to help UNC beat Duke 81-77 in Saturday night’s national semifinals. North Carolina shot 50% and made 7 of 13 3-pointers after halftime.

It was a familiar storyline from UNC’s win in retiring Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game four weeks earlier.

Love shook off an 0-for-5 start to score 22 after halftime.

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