Bodog Beat

Tyler Hansbrough scored the winning basket vs. Duke. (AP Images)

The North Carolina Tar Heels solidified themselves as the nation’s top-ranked team in the sweetest way. Tyler Hansbrough banked in a putback with 2:08 to play, giving the Tar Heels the lead for good in a 76-68 victory over arch-enemy Duke on Saturday. The win secured the regular-season ACC crown for North Carolina.

North Carolina silenced the Cameron Crazies as they shut out the sixth-ranked Blue Devils in the final four-plus minutes in Durham, N.C. Hansbrough finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds and became the sixth Tar Heel to record 2,000 points in his career.

Roy Williams’ team enters the ACC Tournament as the top seed and barring a major upset in the next week will lock up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday. They could face Duke, the No. 2 seed in the ACC, in the conference championship game next week.

The game was a pick against the point spread. The betting total was way under 170 points.

In other notable college hoops action on Saturday:

No. 2 UCLA 81, California 80: Josh Shipp hit a miracle shot near the buzzer to lift the Bruins at Pauley Pavilion. Shipp hit a shot from behind the backboard with 1.5 sconds to play. He floated the ball high and just above the glass and it dropped in for the Pac-10 leaders. UCLA was a 14.5-point favorite.

No. 21 Drake 75, Creighton 67: The Bulldogs advanced to the Missouri Valley Conference championship game with a semifinal win over the Bluejays. Drake was favored by four in St. Louis.

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