CHAPEL HILL - By the time fans in the Dean Smith Center started heading for the exits with a few minutes left Saturday night, it was difficult to decide which of the top-ranked men's basketball team's accomplishments was bigger.
There was the 16-0 conference record, UNC's worst loss ever at the Smith Center and Duke's biggest win over the Tar Heels since '92.
Not a bad debate for Duke fans.
The Blue Devils (29-1, 16-0 in the ACC) set all those marks and more with an 81-61 rout of 14th-ranked North Carolina (22-8, 10-6) to close out the regular season. Duke used an extended 29-10 run over 11 minutes of the second half to break open a close game and secure a perfect ACC slate, all without the services of Shane Battier, who sat out the game to nurse a sprained left ankle.
"They're a great team, an unbelievable team," UNC coach Bill Guthridge said. "Coming in I thought they were a great team. They're better than I thought. We could have beaten a lot of teams tonight, but we couldn't beat Duke."
A jump hook by Brendan Haywood had UNC within a basket of Duke, 39-37, three minutes into the second half and the Tar Heels were poised to keep the game close just as they had in the first meeting between the two schools.
But this time, the Blue Devils answered the call. Elton Brand scored four points during a 7-0 run that stretched Duke's lead out to nine. UNC never responded.
Leading 54-45 with 10 minutes left in the game, Will Avery led the Blue Devils on a 14-2 run that stunned 21,572 Tar Heel fans, who saw UNC fall to its worst home loss since the building
"I thought we were in better shape than them," Chris Carrawell said. "It seems like when we were making our run, they were bending over, they were tired and sucking for air. We saw that and we took advantage of it. To win here tonight and not see their fans celebrating, it's beautiful, it's just beautiful."
If Duke was in better shape, it certainly showed on the boards. Playing against a taller UNC frontcourt, the Blue Devils outrebounded the Tar Heels 52-36, including a 22-11 advantage on the offensive glass. It was the first time Duke held an advantage against UNC in rebounding since the ACC tournament finals in '92.
Brand posted his 15th double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds while Corey Maggette filled in for Battier by scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 boards.
"That was definitely one of our goals," Brand said of outrebounding UNC. "I'd say it was quickness and athleticism. It was a battle down there. If you had told me before the game we'd outrebound them without Shane Battier, it would've been tough."
Early on, Duke's challenge was tough, as the Tar Heels answered every attempt by the Blue Devils to build any kind of lead. Avery, Brand and Maggette scored all of the points on a 13-1 run that gave Duke a 29-20 lead just over five minutes before halftime.
But UNC scored seven straight and almost took the lead before intermission when Ed Cota drained a three-pointer with six-tenths of a second left. His heels were out-of-bounds, however, and the Blue Devils maintained a 35-33 halftime advantage.
"I thought in the first half they played better than us for about 10 minutes and we played better than them for about 10 minutes," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "In the second half, we just seemed to play a lot stronger on the boards. I think the rebounding was the key to the basketball game."
And after the game, it was time for the royal blue to reflect on the first 16-0 season in ACC history and only the eighth time any conference team has run through its ACC schedule unblemished.
"That hasn't been a goal of ours," Krzyzewski said. "We didn't want our guys to focus on that because they don't give you a banner or anything [for going 16-0]. But it's certainly a heck of an accomplishment. It shows that we came ready to play 16 times. That's kind of the formula we've used, and let's keep doing it."
Notes: Battier said after the game he expects to be ready for the ACC tournament. "It'll be fine," Battier said. "We have bigger fish to fry than this game. Sitting out was a precautionary measure."... Top-seeded Duke will face last-place Virginia in the opening round of the ACC tournament Thursday night at 9:30 p.m.... The Blue Devils' win tied them with St. John's for fourth in wins all-time in the NCAA, at 1,577. The win also broke a tie Duke had with UNC for ACC regular-season standings this decade. Duke closed the '90s at 109-47 in conference play, while the Tar Heels finished 108-48.
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