It’s a two-man race for the National Player of the Year Award. Duke‘s Cooper Flagg and Auburn‘s Johni Broome both have strong arguments for the coveted title but, to Duke head coach Jon Scheyer, it’s a no-brainer.

While North Carolina kept it interesting, Duke escaped its rival on the road, closing out the regular season with a 82-69 win. Four of Duke’s starters finished with double digits, and the visitors demolished the Tar Heels on the glass 39-26.

That’s what made Saturday’s 82-69 win so remarkable for the Blue Devils. It wasn’t the grand, season-saving spectacle the Tar Heels hoped for, needed and often threatened to deliver, but another comfortable Duke win in a sea of 27 others.

No. 1 Duke headlines the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament that begins this week in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Coaching his final basketball game at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center, so close to his hometown, would represent something of a full circle moment for Florida State’s Leonard Hamilton.

Maliq Brown hadn't played for the better part of three weeks for second-ranked Duke, a shoulder injury sidelining him just as the season made a hard turn into the stretch run. The 6-foot-9 junior was back as the feet-moving,

It's foolish to punish Flagg for beating up on the teams on Duke’s schedule, or to ignore his excellence in the team’s marquee matchups.