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DURHAM — Miles Plumlee wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Mike Krzyzewski so upset at him. Or anyone else for that matter.

And he knew what would come next. In the midst of an otherwise flawless win over its arch-rival, Plumlee was in a world of trouble with his coach. A timeout had just been called in his honor, and his ears would still be ringing after the game.

Duke beat North Carolina 82-50 Saturday night, one of the most lopsided wins in the long series between the two schools. It was the highlight of the regular season, and it showed once again that Krzyzewski is at the top of his game. He chased his team all year, and Saturday night he finally caught it. That it happened in the last game on the schedule against the most important opponent on the schedule, was not by chance.

He might not win the award for coach of the year in the conference, but he should. He should be considered coach of the year for the entire country.

It’s taken for granted what he does. Krzyzewski won the award five times before 2000, winning national honors more times than that with better teams than he has now. But he’s never done a better job with a team than the one he’ll bring to Greensboro this week.

“This is a pretty good team,” he said.

He wanted maximum effort on Senior Night, and that meant he wanted it from the sophomore Plumlee, too. The regular season will end tonight with Duke atop the standings, the same standings that had the Devils locked into a preseason tie with North Carolina. The regular season ended with the Heels locked into 10th.

For some reason, there’s a hesitancy to label Duke worthy of its standing. That seems idiotic considering the evidence. The 26-5 Blue Devils just finished atop the ACC standings, a barometer of strength in any season. They just finished 17-0 at home, the best home season in school history.

While the rest of the conference spent the entire season jockeying about, trying to make sense of things, Duke remained on top. A year in which home teams won 70 percent of the games, a stunning record, Duke won everywhere. And on Saturday, when everything seemed turned upside down at the end of a long, strange year in the ACC, all the home teams lost.

Except for Duke.

Duke didn’t come close to losing. The lead just before halftime was 53-23, and people began looking up records for Carolina futility against Duke. Roy Williams stood on the sidelines and watched in horror. He chased his team all year, too. He hasn’t caught it yet.

“There’s not a lot I can say,” Williams said afterward.

He wasn’t impressed by his team’s effort. That wasn’t an issue with Duke. Has it ever been? On a routine play Saturday at the end of a long season, Plumlee failed to help on defense on a play in which Nolan Smith had been beaten to the basket. Smith began to chew out the sophomore, who turned to the bench only to see a red-faced 63-year-old man in midair, waving his arms and screaming at him.

A few seconds later, the timeout was called in Plumlee’s honor. Krzyzewski devoted the entire timeout to blasting Plumlee and his freshman brother.

“I let the team down,” Plumlee said. “I was madder at myself than he was.”

Maybe, maybe not.

Krzyzewski was livid watching a player not help on defense on Senior Night against North Carolina, and he told Plumlee just that. He screamed it. And he didn’t stop screaming.

Then he benched him.

In the final game on the schedule, Krzyzewski was sill coaching like a madman. With a team he’d spent the entire year trying to mold, he now believes he has something to bring to Greensboro and something to take on the road after that. He didn’t allow his team to take even one play off against Carolina.

“A lead can go real quick,” he said.

Duke led by as many as 36 Saturday, and Krzyzewski told his sophomore as well as his seniors that anything less than a complete effort wouldn’t be accepted.

“We tried to be emotional,” he said.

Plumlee got the message. He looked like he wanted to cry at the time, and afterward he said it was a night he’ll never forget.

“It was one of the best feelings I can ever remember,” he said after it ended. “It was something I’ll never forget.”

Duke cut down the nets Saturday night, and they let the sophomore have a snip to take home.

Contact Ed Hardin at 373-7069 or ed.hardin@news-record.com

NORTH CAROLINA (16-15) — Ginyard 1-3 3-4 6, Henson 5-10 4-7 14, Thompson 4-11 3-5 11, Drew II 1-3 1-2 3, Graves 0-6 0-0 0, Campbell 0-1 1-2 1, Strickland 1-4 0-0 2, Petree 0-0 0-0 0, Watts 0-0 1-2 1, Thornton 0-1 0-0 0, Gallagher 0-0 0-0 0, T.Wear 0-1 4-4 4, Zeller 4-8 0-0 8. Totals 16-48 17-26 50.

DUKE (26-5) — Singler 8-17 6-6 25, Thomas 0-1 2-2 2, Zoubek 4-4 0-0 8, Smith 7-16 5-6 20, Scheyer 4-14 9-9 20, Ma.Plumlee 0-0 0-0 0, Dawkins 2-3 0-0 5, Mi.Plumlee 1-1 0-0 2, Kelly 0-0 0-0 0, Davidson 0-1 0-0 0, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Peters 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-57 22-23 82.

North Carolina 26 24 — 50
Duke 53 29 — 82

Percentages—North Carolina (FG .333, FT .654), Duke (FG .456, FT .957).
3-point goals—North Carolina 1-5 (Ginyard 1-1, Thornton 0-1, Graves 0-3), Duke 8-21 (Singler 3-6, Scheyer 3-10, Dawkins 1-2, Smith 1-3).
Fouled out—Thomas.
Rebounds—North Carolina 28 (Henson 8), Duke 37 (Zoubek 13).
Assists—North Carolina 9 (Drew II, Henson, Strickland, Zeller 2), Duke 16 (Scheyer 7).
Blocked shots—North Carolina 3 (Thompson 2), Duke 5 (Zoubek 2, Mi.Plumlee 2).
Turnovers—North Carolina 15 (T.Wear 3, Thompson 3), Duke 9 (Mi.Plumlee 4, Singler 2).
Steals—North Carolina 4 (Ginyard 2), Duke 6 (Dawkins 2).
Total fouls—North Carolina 16, Duke 22.
A—9,314.
Officials—Bryan Kersey, Gary Maxwell, Mike Wood.