What looked like it might be an all-time great comeback for North Carolina over Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinals ended in bitter disappointment when a game-tying free throw was negated by a lane violation from Jae’Lyn Withers. After the game, Jim Boeheim, working for ESPN, did not hold back when talking about the gaffe.
With 4.1 seconds left and Duke clinging to a 72-71 lead, North Carolina had a chance to take the lead when Ven-Allen Lubin was fouled and went to the line for a pair of free throws. While he missed his first free throw, Lubin appeared to tie the game when his second free throw was good. Only, that wasn’t the case.
Withers was called for a rarely-seen lane violation. As color analyst Cory Alexander noted, “Withers tried to fake a lane violation.” But in doing so, he crossed the line too early, thus negating the game-tying free throw.
“Oh, no. OH, NO.”
Cory Alexander knew it immediately.
UNC’s Jae’Lyn Withers commits a critical lane violation foul, offsetting a game-tying free throw from Ven-Allen Lubin. https://t.co/RU2HtBRR9F pic.twitter.com/cU2DDUI499
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 15, 2025
Naturally, that was a topic of conversation for ESPN’s postgame crew. And while the crew — including Boeheim — was generally sympathetic, Boeheim didn’t mince words when talking about the severity of the mistake.
“He’s gonna have to live with that — nobody’s gonna wanna live with that,” Boeheim said. “It’s an effort mistake. You can say that. But in that situation, it’s just one you can’t make. And it cost Carolina an awful lot. They dominated the last 10 minutes. Duke hung in there. Duke had control of the game until 7-8 minutes to go. Then, Carolina just kept going, kept going, kept going. It was a great effort spoiled by just, a mental mistake.”
“It’s an effort mistake. You can say that. But in that situation, it’s just one you can’t make. And it cost Carolina an awful lot…It was a great effort spoiled by just, a mental mistake.”
Jim Boeheim on Jae’Lyn Withers’ critical lane violation. https://t.co/PVZ7e6SKik pic.twitter.com/Eb9KLiQCs3
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 15, 2025
Indeed, well into the second half, it looked like Duke would cruise to an easy victory over North Carolina, not unlike the team’s two regular season matchups, which the Blue Devils won 87-70 and 82-69, respectively. But despite trailing by as much as 24 in the second half, the Tar Heels narrowed the deficit and gave themselves a chance to win in the final seconds. A win would have been huge for North Carolina, who entered the game as a bubble team with a 1-12 record against Quad 1 opponents.
After the game, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi joked, “I’m not an expert in lane violations that maybe decide NCAA Tournament bids. That’s a first for all of us.” And while Lunardi didn’t slam the door on UNC’s NCAA Tournament hopes, he did make it clear that the Tar Heels are anything but a slam dunk.
Joe Lunardi: At this moment, though, I would not want to be North Carolina, with a 1-12 record in Quad 1. pic.twitter.com/Yji44YQaxc
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 15, 2025
“At this moment, though, I would not want to be North Carolina, with a 1-12 record in Quad 1.”
