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GREENSBORO, N.C. -- With T.J. Warren scoring near his usual pace, North Carolina State was poised to pull off a second straight significant upset at the ACC tournament. Then the Wolfpack ran out of steam. No. 7 Duke beat N.C. State 75-67 on Saturday in the ACC semifinals, denying the Wolfpack a third win in three days. "They really believed we could win and they played with great courage," coach Mark Gottfried said. "I thought maybe we got tired in the second half. We didnt seem as fresh as we have been." Warren, the ACC player of the year, scored 21 points for N.C. State to 20 for Dukes Jabari Parker in a matchup of the ACCs top two scorers. Warren led the league with an average of 24.9 points while Parker was second at 19.2 points per game. On Saturday, Warren scored 21 points but was just 4 of 13 after halftime while facing a barrage of double teams. "Rodney (Hood) did a good job on him just to keep him to 21," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "You can overcoach, and we overcoached our preparation. He was doing what we asked him to do, and it wasnt working, and he said, Coach, let me just play him my normal way. That was better." The seventh-seeded Wolfpack (21-13) shot just 36 per cent in the second half -- after hitting 67 per cent in the opening half -- and were denied their first title game berth since 2007. "N.C. State was fighting for their lives," Dukes Rasheed Sulaimon said. Lennard Freeman had 13 points and Anthony "Cat" Barber finished with 12 for N.C. State, which for much of the day looked capable of pulling off a second straight resume-enhancing upset after knocking off No. 11 Syracuse in the quarterfinals. "I hope they take a look at our team and see how much better we are than we were at the beginning," Gottfried said. "If you win at Pitt, beat Syracuse and beat Duke, hell, youre about a Final Four team then. I think we showed that we certainly belong in the field of 68." Sulaimon added 16 points for the third-seeded Blue Devils (26-7) while Rodney Hood had 14 points and keyed the defensive effort against Warren. Duke earned its 31st championship game appearance and first since 2011. The Blue Devils will play No. 6 Virginia on Sunday. Dukes 69-65 win in January stood as the Cavaliers lone conference loss until Maryland beat them last week. Duke won on Saturday with a 20-7 run in the second half that was fueled by three N.C. State turnovers and a spate of missed shots. "Im not going to force it to get past two people," said Barber, who said he was double-teamed as well. "They just did a great job of defending. ... They just kept their composure throughout the game." Parker scored six points during the burst that pushed the Blue Devils lead into double figures for the first time. A botched lob to N.C. State big man Jordan Vandenberg led to an open court the other way for Parker, and his authoritative dunk over a sidestepping Barber made it 49-45 with 15 minutes left. Quinn Cook ended the run with a 3 that made it 61-49 with about 9 1/2 minutes remaining. "We got a lot of easy baskets from our defence, and once we got into a rhythm, our shots started falling down and we got rolling," Sulaimon said. N.C. State never could string together a game-threatening run after that, and the Wolfpacks best chance down the stretch came when they closed to 67-59 on Freemans jumper with about 3 minutes left. Hood missed the front end of a one-and-one but the rebound went to Parker -- who finished with a momentum-shifting dunk to put Duke back up by 10. Cook had 14 points for the Blue Devils, who gave N.C. State its most lopsided loss of the season in the teams only previous meeting -- a 95-60 thumping at Cameron Indoor Stadium in which Duke seemed content to let Warren score and clamp down on everyone else. At least early on Saturday, though, the Blue Devils once again couldnt stop anyone. N.C. State hit 13 of 15 shots over an 11-minute stretch and scored on 15 of 16 possessions, with the only empty trip in that span coming when Warren missed the front end of a one-and-one. "First half, neither team could stop one another," Krzyzewski said. "In the second half, we just played better defence." Rod Beck Jersey . A spokeswoman for the NLRB says its "a very incremental move" and does not necessarily indicate the board is close to a finding in the case. NFL owners filed an unfair labour charge against the players union in February, arguing that the union was not negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement in good faith. Tyler Chatwood Jersey . JOHNS, N. https://www.cheapcubs.com/2020t-jason-he...ersey-cubs.html. -- Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman is undergoing surgery to repair a broken bone above his left eye but has no other serious injuries after being hit in the face by a line drive in a spring training game. Leon Durham Cubs Jersey . The biggest shock of this seasons competition was on when Watford took a 2-0 lead after 30 minutes at Etihad Stadium, only for a remarkable Aguero-led comeback by City in the final half-hour. The Argentina striker produced clinical finishes in the 60th and 79th minutes to level the score before Aleksandar Kolarov put City in front in the 87th. Rowan Wick Cubs Jersey . Hoffman, the former star closer, will evaluate and help co-ordinate all pitchers at Double-A, Triple-A and the big league team. Byrnes says Hoffman "will be a key part of finishing the development of our younger pitchers.The New Orleans Saints arent kidding themselves about their current situation. Sure, theyre right at the top of the NFC South and involved in a jumbled race for what almost assuredly will be the divisions lone playoff berth. But that 4-6 record? Thats a different story. We cant escape the reality of where we are right now, quarterback Drew Brees said. You are what your record says you are. Were a 4-6 team right now. None of us feel that because were still in contention that thats good enough. We still have a lot of work to do. New Orleans hasnt lost three straight home games since a six-game slide in 2005, but that would change if they cant bounce back against the Baltimore Ravens tonight. You can watch the game live on TSN1, TSN3 and TSN GO at 8:30pm et/5:30pm pt. The Saints lost 27-24 in overtime to San Francisco on Nov. 9 before last weeks 27-10 defeat to Cincinnati, a contest during which they appeared flat, according to coach Sean Payton. New Orleans has lost by three points or fewer four times but certainly doesnt care about moral victories. Each team in the division is below .500, with Atlanta owning an identical 4-6 record but having won the teams first meeting. If they can turn around their season, the Saints could wind up with a home playoff game despite the current struggles. There have been a number of tough losses, close losses, and what that means is at this point in the season, that margin for error becomes that much more slight, Payton said. Were playing a six-game season right now. The emphasis will shift very quickly to Baltimore and our preparations. We have to find a way to get a win this week. New Orleans will have to do that without two starters, though. Rookie receiver Brandin Cooks had surgery to repair a broken right thumb, and safety Rafael Bush is out with a broken leg. Both were placed on season-ending injured reserve Wednesday. We have to be physically and mentally prepared for whats obviously a very important game against Baltimore, Payton said. The Ravens (6-4) are involved in a tight division race of their own, as each team in the AFC North has at least six victories. They ended a two-game skid with a 21-7 win over Tenneessee on Nov.dddddddddddd 9 and have gotten a nice late-season rest due to last weeks bye. Players took some time off and kind of emotionally and physically recharged a little bit, coach John Harbaugh said. You dont realize how exhausted you are until you get a chance to take a deep breath and relax. Harbaugh emphasized, though, that Baltimore has to quickly get back into game mode to be prepared for a hungry New Orleans team. Were going to have a tough environment, Harbaugh said. Theyre coming off two losses, theyre a very proud team, very well coached, very talented. Great quarterback, aggressive defense. Were going to have our hands full and wed better be ready to go. Id like to think our guys understand that, but well find out Monday night. Justin Forsett had another solid effort against the Titans, rushing for 112 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. Hes averaging 5.4 yards per rush, tops among all running backs. Forsett could be in for another big day against the Saints, who are allowing 4.8 per carry and 146.3 rushing yards per game over the last three weeks. New Orleans has struggled against the pass virtually all season, ranking 24th at 255.2 yards per contest, and is tied for the fifth-fewest takeaways (10) - factors that could bode well for a slumping Joe Flacco. Flacco threw 12 touchdowns and three interceptions through the first six games, but hes thrown five of each over the last four. The Ravens arent much better against the pass, allowing an average of 251.2 yards (21st), and have an equally low number of interceptions as the Saints (six). Brees leads the league with a 69.5 completion percentage after connecting on at least 80 percent for the second time last week, finishing 33 of 41 for 255 yards and a score without an INT. Hes one TD pass shy of his 11th straight season with at least 20. We know what were up against, said cornerback Danny Gorrer, who had an interception against the Titans. ... Were getting ready to face a Hall of Fame quarterback, and weve got to rise up to the occasion. Baltimore has won four of five all-time meetings, most recently overcoming three TD passes from Brees in a 30-24 victory in 2010. ' ' '