CHAPEL HILL – When looking for an upset, the best thing to do is just hang around.

Stay in the game and wait for the chance to throw that big knockout punch. It has happened to Duke twice this season, so the Blue Devils knew exactly what to look for when setting up for their own stunner.

North Carolina did everything it could to end Duke’s night early Wednesday, but the Blue Devils held on through everything the Tar Heels threw at them.

“They can knock you out, and we didn’t get knocked out,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “As a result, we hung in there and won the last round. I’m not sure we won the whole fight, but the last round we did. And we won the game. We fought the entire time. We fought a really good fight.”

That might have come from a unique practice change, and something that could help the No. 10 Blue Devils when they play host to Maryland at 4 p.m. today.

Before the victory against No. 5 North Carolina (20-4 overall, 7-2 ACC), Krzyzewski made a change in the practice regimen. He made it lighter, and took away all contact the day before the game.

In the Blue Devils’ previous two losses – a last-second defeat at the hands of Florida State and a four-point overtime loss to Miami – they went flat late.

Guard Austin Rivers missed on a chance to win in regulation against Miami, and Florida State went the length of the court in just a few seconds to win as the buzzer sounded.

Both times, Duke ran out of gas.

So, Krzyzewski wanted to make sure they would have something for the final round against North Carolina.

“We just wanted to come here fresh,” Krzyzewski said. “We felt that, as hard as we’ve been working, maybe toward the end of games that we’ve gotten mentally tired. I thought our kids were rejuvenated and very fresh.”

It wasn’t just Rivers, with left-over energy. Ryan Kelly scored twice, once after his own miss, and Seth Curry knocked down a deep 3-pointer that turned a four-possession game into a two-possession game in the final minutes.

“Not everything went perfectly, but when it came down to it, we made the biggest play,” Kelly said.

Then, Rivers landed the knockout punch – the one the Blue Devils had been waiting for – and finalized the upset.

“(North Carolina is) the best team in the league,” Krzyzewski said. “We fought like crazy just to stay close. Then in the last couple minutes, we got hot. ... We feel very fortunate to win. We fought the whole time. We stayed in there and some good things happened for us.”

With the conference tied at the top after Florida State’s loss – all three teams are 7-2 in the conference – the Blue Devils control their own destiny once again. Duke plays North Carolina to end the season and faces Florida State again on Feb. 23.

But first it’s Maryland at a place that has been unusually unkind to the Blue Devils: Cameron Indoor Stadium.

“We are 5-0 on the road. At home, it’s just not as good as it needs to be,” Krzyzewski said. “It’s mainly on us. We know have to turn that around (today) and build on this (past win).”

Justin Hite can be reached at 407-9951 or at jhite@rmtelegram.com.