After holding off Wake Forest, 68-59 on Thursday, North Carolina will face Duke in the ACC tournament for the first time since their epic semifinal on this floor in 2019.

The latest chapter in college basketball's most storied rivalry will take center stage at the ACC Tournament on Friday, as the North Carolina Tar Heels face the Duke Blue Devils at Spectrum Center in Uptown Charlotte.

If the Duke Blue Devils want to be the No. 1 overall seed for next week’s NCAA Tournament, they need to convincingly win the ACC Tournament. That quest started Thursday.

Coach Steve Smiley’s Northern Colorado Bears fell to Montana, 91-83, late Wednesday night in the Big Sky men’s basketball tournament championship in Boise, Idaho. Thanks to senior wing guard Kai Johnson (23 points), the Grizzlies (25-9) notched the league’s automatic, and likely only, bid to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

No. 2 seed Montana took out top-seeded Northern Colorado in the Big Sky Championship title game on Wednesday night to earn its first NCAA tournament bid since 2019.

The Montana men's basketball team is back atop the Big Sky Conference. The No. 2-seeded Grizzlies (25-9) scored a 91-83 win over No. 1 Northern Colorado (25-9) in the tournament championship game late Wednesday night at Idaho Central Arena.