UNC -- More than just a lane violation to blame for Duke loss - ESPN

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A teammate tossed a towel over Jae-Lyn Withers' head as he walked through the postgame handshake line wiping away tears. It was a small gesture meant to shield the North Carolina veteran from additional scrutiny after his lane violation with 4.1 seconds to play erased a made free throw that would have tied the score, sending the Tar Heels to a third loss to Duke this season, 74-71 on Friday, and, perhaps, sealing their fate on the outside of the NCAA tournament bubble.

Withers was part of a frenetic comeback attempt in the ACC tournament semifinal by the Heels, who trailed by 21 points at halftime and as many as 24 in the second half, only to utterly flummox Duke — which was playing without the injured Cooper Flagg — down the stretch, trimming their deficit to one as Ven-Allen Lubin stepped to the free throw line with just seconds remaining.

Lubin, who finished with a game-high 20 points, missed the front end but drained the second to tie the score at 71. Officials waved off the bucket, however, whistling Withers for the lane violation and giving the ball back to Duke with a one-point lead. Kon Knueppel connected on two free throws at the other end, and RJ Davis missed a last-gasp 3 to seal UNC's fate.

«It was a lot more to blame than a lane violation,» Lubin said afterward. «We made a ton of mistakes throughout the game. We were in that position trying to dig ourselves out of it and come out with a win or get to overtime.»

This was the prevailing mantra in the aftermath of an emotional loss for the Tar Heels: They had done enough to lose long before that violation, and yet this was still a team more than deserving of a spot in the field of 68.

Playing without Flagg, Duke's big men — Khaman Maluach and