CBB: No. 8 U.N.C. vs No. 17 Duke
The best rivalry in college basketball did not disappoint, once again. Just a few weeks ago, Duke stole a road win against their heated rival. This time around, the Tar Heels were looking for revenge. Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson have been very good players in their four years at Carolina, but one thing they never did was win at Duke. They can finally check that one off of their to-do list. Both of those players led their team to victory, with help from their teammates. Duke fell into several holes and somehow dug their way out to make it a one possession game in the final seconds. But rightfully so, Marcus Paige had the chance to seal the win for UNC and he did just that.
Brice Johnson was huge in the win, scoring 18 points and grabbing 21 boards. He has had two monster games against the Blue Devils this year. He is in the discussion for ACC Player of the Year and possibly an All-American selection. Paige did not have his best game, going 1/8 from three point range, but he was 4/4 from the line in the last 20 seconds which helped finish off the Duke comeback. Paige finished his final game at Duke with 11 points, three assists, and six rebounds. His backcourt mate Joel Berry has experienced a huge jump in his second season, which translated to this game. He hit a timely three in the last four minutes and weaved his way through the Duke defense to put UNC up by nine late in the game. Berry finished with two three-pointers and 12 total points. The other two starters: Justin Jackson and Kennedy Meeks did not have their best games of the year but they both made enough plays to help their team grab the win. One of the biggest plays of the game was Meeks' bounce pass to a cutting Jackson for an easy dunk. Those two Tar Heels combined for 25 points and 18 rebounds.
Duke was a one man show for most of the night. They struggled to score for a majority of the game, but then would catch fire and make a quick run before falling into another slump. Almost every single one of their runs started with Grayson Allen making a play. He and Brandon Ingram were the only Duke starters in double digit points. Allen finished with 29 points and five assists. His stellar game keeps him in the ACC Player of the Year race. Ingram was in foul trouble for most of the night and could not find a true rhythm for a good part of the game. He would finish with just 10 points on 12 field goal attempts. Ingram was big on the backboard though, grabbing eight rebounds. His fellow freshman Luke Kennard was huge off the bench, going for 20 points. It is quite obvious that the knock down shooter is going to be a force in the ACC for years to come. North Carolina will hate seeing him the next few seasons. The rest of the Duke players struggled mightily. The other four players in the rotation combined for just 13 points on 14 field goal attempts and 1/5 from the charity stripe. The "other guys" for Duke need to be better if this team is going to make (another) March run. Marshall Plumlee did not play his best game on his senior night, which could motivate him in the next few weeks. This team definitely has the talent to go deep in the tournament but injuries and stamina have plagued them all year.
The biggest reason North Carolina was able to hang on for the win was their dominance on the glass. 64-29 rebounding margin. That is nearly unheard of. UNC almost had as many offensive rebounds as Duke had total (29-27). Brice Johnson had as many boards (21) as Duke had defensive rebounds. Watching the game, North Carolina definitely looked like the better team but the box score favors Duke in nearly every category. The only exceptions are rebounds and free throw shooting. Duke was not bad from the line, hitting 9/15 but Carolina was an exceptional 20/23 (87%) including 8/8 in the last minute of the game. Duke played a pretty good game, but North Carolina's specialty is getting the ball in the paint and getting easy baskets. They were able to do just that and even when they were missing their shots, they were getting second chances. This is a big win for the Tar Heels going forward, while Duke will have to try and rebound next Wednesday.
North Carolina clinches the #1 seed in the upcoming ACC tournament with the win, while Duke flips with Notre Dame and will be the #5 seed. UNC will play the winner of Pittsburgh and Syracuse in the quarterfinals, while Duke will play either NC State or Wake Forest with a chance to go on and meet Notre Dame in the quarterfinals. #2 Miami (FL) and #3 Virginia highlight the other side of the bracket.
If Duke and North Carolina meet up again then it would be in the semifinals. The hardest, most competitive, and toughest rivalry in the sport gave us another one to remember. North Carolina is the team that has bragging rights, for now. But something tells me that neither one of these teams are going to go quietly in the tournament. Hopefully this spectacular rivalry has (at least) one more chapter in store for us over the next couple of weeks.
Photo Credit: Bleacher Report.
