What do I feel sorry about over that win that got away?

I feel sorry for those fans, many of whom might have thought their team had no chance to beat Duke, but didn’t sell their tickets and yelled their guts out at the Dean Dome, trying to pull Carolina through.

I feel sorry for the Tar Heel players, who must have worked their tails off in practice and improved enough from some early season performances to outplay the favored Blue Devils — only to not close the deal by the buzzer.

I feel sorry for Cole Anthony, who was sensational but didn’t quite finish off a national televised showcase that might have reclaimed every spot he had dropped in the NBA mock draft. Fortunately, he has at least nine games left to climb further up the first-round board.

I feel sorry for Brandon Robinson, whose presence would have made a 2-point difference for sure (especially at the foul line), not getting to play and going 4-0 versus Duke at home.

I feel sorry for Garrison Brooks, whose sudden slump at the free-throw line (1 for his last 19) must be killing him. After all, he had one game this season making 17 of 18.

I feel sorry for Christian Keeling and Justin Pierce, who came out of the shadows at just the right time and might have been remembered for beating the 7th-ranked arch-rival in their best combined game of their ACC experience.

I feel sorry for Roy Williams, who takes these losses harder than all of his players, assistant coaches and fans combined — believing he could have done something differently down the stretch to complete what would have been his fifth win in the last seven meetings over Duke, the only school he does not own a winning record against.

And I also feel sorry for myself after witnessing my 125th edition of the Blue Blood rivalry and, despite my best efforts, not being able to say it’s just a dad-gum basketball game.

Which, of course, it is not. Dummy.

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