Duke‘s win over North Carolina in women’s basketball lived up to the hype as a sold-out crowd at Cameron Indoor Stadium saw the Blue Devils win their 16th straight game, 72-68, on Sunday.

There were many highlights — like Jordan Wood’s trio of 3-pointers to swing momentum in Duke’s direction at the end of the second quarter and Ciera Toomey and Nyla Harris dominance in the paint for the North Carolina.

But two numbers on the box score dominated the postgame conversation: 21 and zero. Duke attempted 21 free throws and North Carolina none.

Late in the game, it was obvious that UNC coach Courtney Banghart was frustrated with the officiating, holding up her fingers to a referee to signal the free throw discrepancy. Afterwards, Banghart did her best not to say anything inflammatory about the officiating.

“There’s one category that’s not the same. You guys know it as well as I do. Please don’t get me fined,” Banghart told reporters. “But that’s the difference in the game. I have no choice but to process it. I know Lanie (Grant) landed on her ass when she took a 3-point shot. I know Ciera will probably be out tomorrow because she’s been beaten up. I don’t know. I’ve been doing this for a long time. I’ve just never seen that.”

North Carolina is the fifth team in Division I women’s basketball this season with no free throws in a game. They’re just the second to do it in a game where both teams were from Power 4 conferences — the first was Arizona State in a 53-43 loss at West Virginia. It’s also just the third time since 2000 in a game featuring two ACC teams that one of them didn’t attempt any free throws.

What’s astonishing about the Tar Heels not being awarded any free throws is they attacked the basket often and pounded the ball inside, scoring 46 points in the paint. To compare, Arizona State scored just 18 paint points in its loss at West Virginia.

The last time a team scored that many points in the paint but attempted zero free throws was Nebraska’s lopsided 100-36 win over Omaha in November 2022.

Like Banghart, Duke’s Kara Lawson — despite being on the favorable side of the calls, scoring 17 points at the free throw line — also staying away from talking about the officiating. Instead, she offered a different perspective on how North Carolina scored in the paint without getting fouled.

“I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t think our defense was that good. They were getting layups and there were none of our players near them, so there wasn’t really a foul to be called, because we were doing such a bad job,” Lawson said. “We weren’t contesting anything… You might look at the free throws and say, ‘Oh, they played great position defense and they defended without fouling.’ No, we just didn’t defend.”

It’s also worth noting North Carolina has been inconsistent in getting to the free throw line this season. Out of 363 Division I teams, UNC ranks 350th in free throw rate (13.5%), 360th in percentage of points from free throws (12%) and 287th in free throw percentage (67.3%).

Still, to take zero free throws in a game as physical as this one seems odd.

Duke and North Carolina meet again on March 1 in the regular-season finale for both teams in Chapel Hill’s Carmichael Arena.

Did Vanderbilt squander its No. 1 seed?

On Saturday night before South Carolina versus LSU tipped off on ABC, the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee unveiled its first projection of the top 16 seeds. As expected, UConn, UCLA and South Carolina were at the top. Vanderbilt was projected to grab the fourth No. 1 seed after its three consecutive wins over ranked opponents: Kentucky, Oklahoma and Texas.

But the good vibes for the Commodores didn’t last long. On Sunday, they lost 76-74 at Georgia. Vandy allowed the Bulldogs to shoot 56% from the floor and 44% from 3-point land.

“I tell my team, let’s eliminate the noise,” Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph said after the loss. “You hear all the positive things. We can beat every team, but we can also lose to every team.”

A victory in Athens, Georgia, could have helped solidify Vanderbilt’s positioning on the one-line, but now it seems far from a guarantee. Both Texas and Michigan are ranked higher in NET and WAB, and both have more Quad 1 victories than the Commodores.

Opportunities still exist for Vandy, which is currently second in the SEC standings after being picked to finish seventh in the league in the preseason. The Commodores finish the regular season against three ranked opponents — Kentucky, Alabama and Tennessee — and will play at least three games in the SEC Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina.

Coaching seats warming as regular season nears end

It’s seemingly no longer a question of if Boston College is going to make a change at head coach, but when and how it will be framed.

The Eagles have now lost 20 consecutive games and are barreling toward what would be their first winless season in conference play, dating back to their days in the Big East. Boston College is 0-15 in the ACC now and their next loss will mathematically eliminate them from participating in the ACC Tournament. The next two games for the Eagles are against fellow ACC cellar-dwellers SMU and Wake Forest, before wrapping up the regular season at Syracuse.

Multiple sources told USA Today Sports that assistant coaches on Joanna Bernabei-McNamee’s staff have contacted agents and coaches on other staffs recently to plot their next moves.

In the mid-major landscape, multiple sources told USA Today Sports Texas State could make a change at head coach. The Bobcats are 11-14 overall and 7-7 in Sun Belt play, on pace for what would be their third consecutive losing season.

Zenarae Antoine has been the head coach in San Marcos for 15 seasons. While Texas State won the Sun Belt regular season title in 2023, the Bobcats are 225-227 all-time under her and haven’t appeared in the NCAA Tournament during her tenure. Antoine has taken Texas State to the WNIT or WBI five times, but hasn’t won a game in those lower-tier postseason tournaments.

Texas State will move to a new conference next season, joining the new version of the Pac-12. They last played in March Madness in 2003.

Another job confirmed to be opening is at St. Thomas, where longtime coach Ruth Sinn announced she will retire at the end of the season. She has more than 400 wins, won 10 conference titles in the Division III MIAC and oversaw the program’s transition to the Division I Summit League five years ago.

Tip-ins

• ESPN’s College GameDay will head to its third consecutive SEC game of the season, broadcasting live from Ole Miss at South Carolina on Sunday. It will be the fourth time the Gamecocks have hosted the show, the most in its history. GameDay will appear at two more women’s basketball games this season, one on March 1 and one from a conference tournament the following weekend.
• Multiple sources told USA Today Sports that the Pac-12 is eyeing Las Vegas to be the home of its men’s and women’s basketball tournament in 2027, potentially at the home of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces — Michelob Ultra Arena.
• Navy has won 11 consecutive games in Patriot League play for the first time in program history. The Midshipmen are 18-6 overall this season, eyeing what would be their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2013.
• The Big South and the SoCon have announced a two-year scheduling agreement in men’s and women’s basketball. Teams in the two conferences will meet twice per season. The women’s matchups for next season are set for Nov. 21 and Dec. 2.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Women’s basketball notes: North Carolina vs. Duke fallout, Vandy’s seed