University of North Carolina Athletics
Duke Game Guide
March 7, 2008 | Men's Basketball
March 7, 2008
By Lauren Brownlow
The Basics
No. 1/1 Carolina (28-2, 13-2) will close out its ACC regular-season schedule against No. 6/5 Duke (26-3, 13-2) in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday night. Carolina is coming off of a 90-77 win over Florida State at home on Tuesday night in its final home game of the season. The win marked Carolina's seventh straight victory and tenth win in its last 11 games. Duke is coming off of an 86-70 win at Virginia on Wednesday night. After losing two in a row in ACC play to Wake Forest and Miami, Duke has won four straight games and three straight ACC games.
Carolina is 12-0 on the road this season and 7-0 in the ACC; Carolina has not gone undefeated on the road in all games since 1984 (9-0) and the last time the Tar Heels went undefeated on the road in ACC play was 1987 (7-0). This game marks the fifth time in the history of the series that the two teams were tied for first place going into each team's final regular-season game. Carolina is 2-2 in those games and lost the last meeting in 1991.
Carolina leads the series 127-97 and holds a 44-47 record in Durham. The Tar Heels have won three of the last four and four of the last six meetings. Carolina has won in Cameron the last two years, trailing by double digits in both games before coming back to win. Carolina is the first team to win back-to-back games in Cameron since Maryland did it in 2000 and 2001. This game marks the first time since February 1, 2001 that the two teams have met in Cameron when both teams were in the top five. The two teams have met 11 times total when both were in the top five; Carolina is 2-3 on the road in those matchups. The No. 1 team is 3-3 in the top-five matchups; the higher-ranked team is 6-5. Carolina is 3-0 in Cameron as the AP No. 1 team, winning in 1984, 1982 and 1957. This game marks the first time Carolina will face Duke as the No. 1 team in the country since March 7, 1993 - George Lynch's senior day (Carolina beat No. 6 Duke 83-69).
Game Time: North Carolina at Duke, 9:00 PM.
Last Time: Duke beat Carolina 89-78 in the Smith Center on February 6, 2008. Duke led most of the way and Carolina was able to close the gap a few times in the second half, but never could get over the hump. Duke made 13-of-29 three-pointers in the game (44.8%). Carolina out-rebounded Duke 49-24 but Carolina turned it over 20 times and Duke turned it over only 15 times. It was Carolina's second game without Ty Lawson. Danny Green and Wayne Ellington combined to shoot 4-of-24 from the field and 1-of-11 from the three-point line. Marcus Ginyard made two of Carolina's three three-pointers.
Tyler Hansbrough led the way for Carolina with 28 points on 12-of-21 shooting (4-of-9 from the free-throw line) and added 18 rebounds. Marcus Ginyard had 16 points. Deon Thompson has 12 points and Quentin Thomas added a career-high 10 points, seven assists and six turnovers. Greg Paulus led Duke with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting from three-point range. He added three assists, and four steals. Jon Scheyer had 17 points, three assists and three steals. Kyle Singler had 13 points (3-of-6 from beyond the arc), ten rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. DeMarcus Nelson added 13 points and Gerald Henderson had 12 points. Lance Thomas was the sixth Blue Devil in double figures with ten points on 5-of-7 shooting.
Radio Coverage: Tar Heel Sports Network coverage begins at 8:00 PM.
Injury Report: Ty Lawson is still getting over a sprained ankle and also suffered a hip pointer against Florida State. Marcus Ginyard has turf toe and a sprained ankle. Deon Thompson saw more playing time than he has in the past four games after suffering a hyper-extended knee and a tweaked back. Bobby Frasor tore his left ACL and is out for the season.
Storylines
Rebounding: Carolina leads the country in rebounding margin, +11.7 per game. Carolina has out-rebounded its opponents in 25 straight games. Carolina has held five straight opponents to fewer than 30 rebounds. In its seven-game win streak, Carolina has averaged a +11.3 margin over opponents but held opponents to 30.3 rebounds per game. In the last five games, that margin increases to +13.8 - 40.0 rebounds for Carolina to 26.2 rebounds for its opponents. After the Tar Heels allowed Clemson and Virginia to get a combined 33 offensive rebounds (18 by Clemson) in consecutive games, Carolina held its next four opponents to 35 offensive rebounds (8.8 per game). Carolina then allowed Florida State to pull down 12 offensive rebounds, most allowed since the Virginia game, and to score 14 second-chance points.
Carolina has allowed opponents to get more second-chance points than offensive rebounds in just six of 15 ACC games this season. Carolina has held opponents to 0.5 fewer second-chance points than offensive rebounds. Duke pulled down 11 offensive rebounds and scored eight second-chance points, but most were in the second half when Carolina needed to claw its way back into the game. Carolina cannot allow Duke to get second shots in Cameron.
In its first 13 ACC games, Duke allowed 169 offensive rebounds (13.0 per game) and has allowed 15 total in the last two games, one against one of the top rebounding teams in the ACC. Duke has been out-rebounded by an average of -2.0 boards per game in ACC play. Duke out-rebounded a very good rebounding team in Virginia, 35-32 in its last game.
Getting to the line and staying out of foul trouble: Carolina began ACC play by allowing just three of its first ten opponents to attempt 20 or more free throws. In that span, no opponent made more than 16 free-throw attempts. The two teams that did make 16 - Maryland and Duke - both defeated Carolina. Carolina's opponents made 11.0 free throws in 16.7 attempts in the first ten games. In Carolina's last five games, however, it has allowed opponents an average of 28.0 trips to the foul line and 15.4 made free throws. Duke's 27 free throws attempted against Carolina were a season high allowed in ACC play until Virginia Tech attempted 28. In the last five games, four of Carolina's five opponents have shot more than 20 free throws. Florida State shot 17-of-25 from the line (68%), marking the second-most free throws attempted by an ACC opponent in the Smith Center this season.
Part of the issue was that Carolina had trouble combining Florida State's quick guards who penetrated seemingly at will. Duke will try to attack Carolina not in exactly the same way, but trying to penetrate and kick out for open three-pointers or, in the case of some of its more athletic players, simply finish at the rim or try to draw contact. "Their (Florida State's) offense is dribble-drive, try to penetrate. If you really do stop them, they'll kick it out but most of the time, you've got to really stop them before they're going to do that. They have the personnel to do it. It's a great offense for them," Williams said. "It's comfortable to them and it gets them to the free-throw line. We haven't had many teams shoot 25 free throws against us unless it's one of those games that we lost that we started fouling at the end."
Carolina's offense also relies on getting to the line. The Tar Heels have made 302-of-385 free throws in ACC play (78.4%) and are getting 22.9% of their points from the charity stripe in league play. Carolina has shot 70% or better from the free-throw line in 12 of its 15 ACC games and 80% or better in eight of 15 games, despite doing it just once in the last seven games. Carolina has shot 30 or more free throws in five ACC games this season, including most recently shooting 34 (and making 26) against Wake Forest. Carolina has attempted 20 or fewer free throws four times in ACC play and are 3-1 in such games. In Duke's first 12 ACC games, it averaged 18.0 made free throws on 26.6 attempts (67.7%). But in its three-game ACC winning streak, it has averaged 19.7 made free throws on 27.0 attempts (72.8%). In the last meeting, Duke made just 16-of-27 free throws (59.3%).
Carolina has been whistled for 20 or more fouls just eight times this season, including in three of the last eight games and each of the last two games. The Tar Heels were whistled for a season-high 26 fouls against Duke. In the last two games, Carolina has been called for 41 fouls, or 20.5 fouls per game. Duke's opponents in ACC play are averaging 23.0 fouls per game compared to Carolina's opponents who average 21.4 fouls per game in league play. Both teams depend heavily on getting the other team in foul trouble - Duke through its penetrating offense and Carolina through its emphasis of getting the ball inside. But when two teams that employ that style face one another, something generally has to give. Duke was called for 24 fouls against Carolina, tied for the second-most whistled against Duke in ACC play. The Blue Devils average 20.9 fouls per game in ACC play; Carolina is averaging 18.3. Carolina was whistled for 21 fouls against Florida State; Marcus Ginyard fouled out, Quentin Thomas had three fouls in the first half and Tyler Hansbrough picked up his third early in the second half.
"I think during the course of the game, you can't feel sorry yourself and you can't do that. You just got to think about, `Okay, I've got Q with three fouls. I've got Marcus as a point guard. If we need to play zone, we're going to play zone.' We even told the kids we might play some zone just to help us stay out of foul trouble. We never got to that point, even though there was one time I started signaling but I didn't like the personnel we had in the lineup to play in those spots at that time," Williams said.
Last season, Carolina held Duke to a combined 23-of-35 from the foul line in the two meetings between the teams while Carolina shot 36-of-45 from the free-throw line. This season, Duke has already attempted more free throws (27) than it made in two games put together last year (23) while Carolina has made just 19-of-30 in the first meeting and will certainly need to shoot better from the line to win the second one.
In Cameron this season, Duke is averaging 28.4 free-throw attempts per game and 19.6 made free throws compared to 17.3 made free throws on the road in 25.1 attempts. The Blue Devils are being whistled for 18.4 fouls at home compared to 23.0 on the road. Duke is averaging 26.7 fouls in its three losses this season compared to 18.6 fouls in its 26 wins; the Blue Devils have averaged 19.8 fouls in 13 ACC wins compared to 23.0 fouls in two ACC losses. Duke's opponents on the road in ACC play have averaged 18.0 made free throws on 25.6 attempts (70.2%) compared to 11.0 made free throws and 18.1 attempts (60.6%) in Cameron.
Turnovers: In one way, Carolina got a break in its last meeting with Duke. The Blue Devils managed to score just 14 points off of 20 Carolina miscues. Carolina averaged 18.3 turnovers in seven ACC games without Ty Lawson and has turned it over just 23 times (12.5 per game) in its last two games. However, Carolina has not gotten back to forcing turnovers at its usual rate. The Tar Heels forced 14.5 turnovers per game with Lawson in its first six ACC games, but had forced 34 in the Miami and Boston College games, both wins coming after a loss to Maryland. In the seven games without Lawson, Carolina forced 15.9 turnovers per game. In the last two games with Lawson, Carolina has forced 19 total turnovers, 11 by Boston College and eight by Florida State (9.5 per game). In Carolina's first six ACC games, its opponents scored 12.8 points off turnovers per game. Then in the seven games without Lawson, opponents scored 15.4 points off turnovers. In the last two games, Carolina's opponents have scored 22 points off turnovers (11.0).
The Tar Heels have turned it over 30 times (15.0 per game) in two ACC losses and 197 times (15.2 per game) in 13 ACC wins. Carolina has scored 227 points off of 217 turnovers in ACC play. In the last two games, Carolina has forced 19 turnovers and scored 28 points, or +9. In its two ACC losses, Carolina has forced 25 turnovers and scored just 17 points off of them (-8). In Carolina's 13 ACC wins, Carolina has forced 192 turnovers and scored 210 points from them (+18). Duke turned it over 15 times against Carolina but the Tar Heels managed just 10 points off of them. Carolina's two biggest differences between turnovers and points off of were against Clemson, when Carolina forced a combined 36 turnovers and scored just 22 points (-14). Carolina's ACC opponents have managed just 207 points off of 227 turnovers by Carolina. In two ACC defeats, Carolina's opponents have scored 33 points (16.5) off 30 Carolina turnovers (15.0) compared to 174 points (13.4) off of 197 turnovers (15.2) in 13 ACC wins.
Duke has averaged 11.4 turnovers in 13 ACC wins and 22.5 turnovers in two ACC losses. The Blue Devils have averaged just 10.3 turnovers at home in ACC play in seven games compared to 15.1 turnovers in eight ACC road games. In Duke's two ACC losses, it forced 41 turnovers and scored 40 points off of them for a difference of -1 between turnovers and points off of turnovers. In Duke's 13 ACC wins, the Blue Devils have forced 240 turnovers and scored 299 points from those. The Carolina game this season was actually Duke's biggest negative differential in ACC play between turnovers forced (20) and points off of turnovers (14). Duke's opponents, on the other hand, have managed to score 181 points off of 193 Duke turnovers. In Duke's two ACC losses, Duke turned it over 45 times and opponents scored 42 points off of turnovers. In the last three ACC games, Duke's opponents have scored 29 points off of 28 Duke turnovers.
Last season, Carolina turned it over just 24 times against Duke in two meetings (12.0 per game) while forcing 31 Duke turnovers (15.5 per game). Carolina won the turnover battle 13-16 in Cameron last season as well. Carolina will not be able to win at Cameron without taking care of the basketball.
Shooting: Carolina has shot 50% from the floor in six straight ACC games. The Tar Heels shot 70.4% in the second half of the Florida State game (19-of-27), its best shooting half since 73.3% in the second half against Old Dominion in November. Carolina has shot 37.5% or better from beyond the arc in its last seven games, attempting no more than 18 three-pointers (in the double-overtime win over Clemson). Carolina has shot 42.9% or better from three-point range in five of its last seven games. Carolina passed the 40% mark only twice in its first eight ACC games.
Duke was one of only two teams that managed to hold Carolina under 80 points in ACC play; the other was Virginia that held Carolina to 75 points. But Carolina attempted only 12 free throws (making seven) against Virginia compared to 30 attempts (and 19 makes) against Duke. In Carolina's two ACC losses, the Tar Heels have shot 39.2% from the field compared to 49% in its 13 league wins. Carolina has also made 5.4 three's in 13 ACC wins compared to 5.0 in its two losses, but attempted 13.5 three's in 13 wins compared to 20.0 in two losses. Carolina averaged nearly ten more attempts (74.0 to 64.5) from the field in its two losses than in the 13 wins.
Against Florida State, Carolina shot just 16 three-pointers (making six of them), but the Tar Heels shot 4-of-12 in the first half, its most three-pointers attempted in a half since the second half of the Duke game when they shot 2-of-12. Carolina shot 40% in the first half against Florida State, 33.3% from the three-point line and 8-of-18 (44.4%) from two-point range, scoring just 14 points in the paint. Carolina doubled that total in the second half, scoring 28 points in the paint and making 17-of-23 shots from two-point range (73.9%) and 2-of-4 from three-point range (50%). Carolina was able to knock down some two-point jumpers and some momentum-changing three-pointers. The Tar Heels will certainly need to be able to do that against Duke.
Oddly enough, Duke's seven ACC opponents in Cameron have actually shot a better percentage from the field (47.2%) and beyond the arc (34.9%) than have its eight ACC road opponents (46.5% from the field and 33.3% from the three-point line). However, Duke's ACC opponents have averaged 70.4 points in Cameron compared to 77.6 points on the road, largely because of the free-throw differential (18.1 attempted in Cameron compared to 18.0 made on the road).
Last season against Duke, Carolina shot 5-of-21 from three-point range in two games and 57-of-102 (55.9%) from two-point range, averaging just 10.5 three-point attempts and 51.0 two-point attempts. In the first meeting this season, Carolina shot 3-of-17 from three-point range (17.6%) and 25-of-52 (48.1%) from two-point range. The Tar Heels will need to make sure they get the best shots possible and that they have patience against a Duke defense designed to force teams into bad shots.
In Duke's last two games, it has shot 25-of-55 (45.5%) from beyond the arc and 31-of-67 (46.3%) from two-point range. That sort of shot selection is eerily reminiscent of the game against Carolina in which Duke shot 13-of-29 from three-point range (44.8%) and 17-of-37 from two-point range (45.9%). Duke's loss to Miami was its only loss this season in which it shot better than 30% from beyond the arc (15-of-37, 40.5%), but many of those three-pointers came in the closing minutes of Duke's comeback attempt that fell just short. But because of those Miami numbers, Duke has averaged more made three-pointers in its two ACC losses (11.5) than it has in its 13 ACC wins (9.2). But Duke has attempted 32.5 three-pointers in its two ACC losses compared to just 33.5 two-pointers. In its 13 league wins, Duke has attempted 37.2 two-pointers compared to 24.4 three-pointers.
At The Game
Listening to the Tar Heel Sports Network at the game: The in-stadium frequency will be 95.3 FM.
Watching At Home
Turn down the sound: If you're watching at home while listening to the radio or over the computer via Carolina All-Access, there will inevitably be some delay. For the reason - and a possible solution - click here.
A full list of THSN affiliates can be found here.
ESPN coverage: The game will be available on ESPN.
Names To Know
Tyler Hansbrough: Sports Illustrated's National Player of the Year is now just 15 points away from 2,000 career points. He has played in 99 games and he will likely be the third-fastest Tar Heel to reach the milestone; Lennie Rosenbluth did it in 75 games, Charlie Scott in 91 and Phil Ford in 110. Hansbrough would be the first Tar Heel since Sam Perkins to reach 2,000 points. In the stretch without Ty Lawson in the line-up, Hansbrough shot 57.7% from the field and 79.1% from the foul line, averaging 28.0 points, 12.1 rebounds (2.9 offensive), 0.6 assists, 1.9 steals, 2.3 fouls and 2.6 turnovers in 37.4 minutes. He averaged 28.0 points on 28.1 "attempts" (FGA + FTA) per game.
In the last two games with Lawson back, Hansbrough has shot 46.2% from the field, 84% from the free-throw line (21-of-25), averaging 22.5 points, 9.0 rebounds (4.0 offensive), 2.0 assists, 0.5 steals, 2.5 fouls and 1.5 turnovers in 31.0 minutes. He has averaged 25.5 "attempts" and 22.5 points. Hansbrough was limited against Florida State with foul trouble, picking up two in the first half and then a third quickly in the second half. He played just 29 minutes, his fewest since a blowout win over Virginia Tech at home. He has committed three or more fouls in 14 of 30 games this season, four or more only twice and has not fouled out. "It is dissatisfying, especially when you get in foul trouble and you're just frustrated and sitting down on the bench and you want to be out there. I wasn't particularly happy, but that's just the way the game is sometimes," Hansbrough said.
Hansbrough has seen perhaps more physical attention than even he is used to seeing in the last few games, but he has also been more willing and ready to step back and let his teammates step up. His 17 points in the first half of the Boston College game kept his team in it until his teammates were able to start hitting some shots. Hansbrough has five assists in the last three games alone after dishing out 10 in the first 12 ACC games. He also has seven assists in the last five games.
But Hansbrough, who has said on more than one occasion that he enjoys playing in Cameron (he is 2-0 there), always gets up for the Duke game. In five games against Duke in his career, Hansbrough has shot 52.6% from the field, 71.4% from the free-throw line and averaged 22.2 points, 11.4 rebounds (4.8 offensive rebounds) and 34.4 minutes. In Cameron, Hansbrough has shot 53.8% from the field and averaged 21.5 points, 6.5 rebounds (2.0 offensive rebounds) and 35.5 minutes. He has also shot 14-of-15 from the free-throw line in two games at Cameron.
Hansbrough had 28 points on 12-of-21 shooting (4-of-9 from the free-throw line) and a game-high 18 rebounds in the last meeting with Duke. He had a dominant first half, scoring 18 points without taking a single free throw and hitting 9-of-13 shots from the field, adding seven rebounds (three offensive) in 18 minutes. He played all 20 minutes in the second half and shot 3-of-8 from the floor, 4-of-9 from the free-throw line (44.4% - a season-low percentage in a game for him), adding 11 rebounds and three fouls.
Ty Lawson: Analysts and Tar Heel fans alike have talked about how different the first meeting between Carolina and Duke would have been if Lawson would have been able to play. Yes, it would have been different - but a healthy Lawson makes much more of a difference than a Lawson at 75-80%. His on-the-ball defense has been good (especially against Tyrese Rice at Boston College), but he has been hesitant on the ankle so far, not yet feeling comfortable penetrating and using that speed in Carolina's offense just yet. He has also played just a combined 41 minutes in the last two games.
"There are a couple things I can't do. I don't think I can jump as high as I used to, so I take my time and try to pull up, little things like that. Holes I normally get through I feel like I can't, so I just take my time and pass it around sometimes. So I second-guess myself a lot when I'm on the court," Lawson said after the Florida State game.
Lawson's jump shot has been a bit streaky in the past. But while his ankle was hurting, he did nothing but shoot. He could not run or even jump to shoot, but he was practicing his form even when he was icing his ankle in his room, shooting a ball up in the air over and over again. He hit 2-of-3 three-pointers against Florida State on his way to scoring 10 points, his most since January 31st in his last full game before the injury. It also marked the fourth time in nine ACC games that he has hit two or more three-pointers. It brings his shooting in ACC play to 41-of-81 from the floor or 50.6%.
In two games against Duke last season, Lawson has averaged 13.5 points on 50% shooting from the field, adding 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.0 steals, 2.0 turnovers and 27.0 minutes. In his first game in Cameron last season, Lawson had 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting and added a career-high eight rebounds (two offensive boards), four assists, one steal, three fouls and three turnovers in 25 minutes. Lawson had 12 points in the second meeting and fouled out.
Wayne Ellington: Ellington had just six points (his ACC season low) against Florida State in Carolina's last game on 2-of-9 shooting (0-of-4 from beyond the arc). But he also had seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and just one turnover in 31 minutes. It was only the second time that he has failed to hit a three-pointer in ACC play; the last time was against Duke. "Some teams like to try and get physical with you to get you out of your game and I think that's what a lot of teams are going to try to do to us because we have some shooters. So they're going to try to get into our shooter's heads and get physical with them, maybe get them out of their game," Danny Green said. "I guess they tried to get in Wayne's head. He didn't have his best game tonight but he's fine. He's going to bounce back and he's going to have a great game next game. I'm glad that he didn't have a great game tonight because usually, you bounce back and the next game, you have a better game and the next game is going to be a big one for us."
In the last meeting with Duke, Ellington had just eight points on 3-of-14 shooting (0-of-6 from beyond the arc) and added five rebounds, two assists, two turnovers and one steal in 34 minutes. In three career games against Duke, Wayne Ellington has shot 6-of-27 (22.2%) from the field and 0-of-10 from beyond the arc. He has scored just 15 points. Ellington has been playing much better defensively as well the last few games, winning defense player of the game against Boston College. He has struggled at times this season on both ends and Saturday night will be no different if he has trouble containing Duke's dribble penetration.
Marcus Ginyard: In Carolina's last four games, Ginyard has shot 16-of-24 from the field and scored 36 points (9.0 points per game), adding 17 rebounds (10 offensive), 11 assists, nine turnovers and five steals. Since relinquishing his backup point guard duties against Boston College, he has had four assists to just one turnover. Ginyard had 15 offensive rebounds and 45 total rebounds in Carolina's first 11 ACC games. Ginyard's 13 points against Florida State marked his fourth double-figure scoring effort in ACC play and the most points he had scored since netting 13 in a road win over NC State. In the NC State game, he hit 6-of-9 field goals, setting his ACC season-high for made field goals.
Ginyard also seems to love playing against Duke. He has 15 double-figure scoring games in his career and three of those have come against Duke (out of five total games). He has averaged 10.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists against Duke, shooting 15-of-31 from the field and 3-of-7 from beyond the arc. In the last two games alone, Ginyard has scored 29 points against Duke (in the regular-season finale in Chapel Hill last season and the loss this season), shooting 7-of-16 from the floor, 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and 12-of-12 from the free-throw line.
"It's what you dream of growing up, watching this rivalry. It's the dream that you have to one, play for such a big-time game, this being Duke-Carolina, and then for it to be for the ACC regular-season championship, the more that's on the line, the more excited you get for the game," Ginyard said. "It's a dream come true to have to go to Duke - Duke, Senior Night, ACC Championship. There are just so many things that are going through your mind. Last regular-season game. It's a dream come true, really."
Carolina will need the junior's leadership but most importantly, his defense in order to win at Cameron on Saturday.
DeMarcus Nelson: The 6-4 guard will be the only senior on Duke's senior night on Saturday, and he has taken up that responsibility by leading the team in scoring, field-goal percentage and steals in conference games. He is eighth in the conference scoring in ACC games only (17.5 points per game), first in field-goal percentage (53.3%) and tied for fourth in steals per game (2.0 per game).
In ACC games at home this season, Nelson has shot 60.5% from the field, 44.4% from beyond the arc and 61.1% from the free-throw line, averaging 19.0 points, 5.3 rebounds (1.9 offensive rebounds), 3.0 assists, 2.1 steals, 1.7 fouls and 1.9 turnovers in 33.0 minutes. In eight ACC road games, Nelson has shot 47.3% from the field, 46.4% from the three-point line and averaged 16.1 points, 5.4 rebounds (1.4 offensive), 2.9 assists, 1.9 steals, 3.3 fouls and 2.8 turnovers in 30.9 minutes.
However, in Duke's three-game conference winning streak (two on the road), Nelson has shot 66.7% from the field, 71.4% from beyond the arc (5-of-7), 65.2% from the foul line (5.0-7.7), averaging 16.7 points, 2.3 assists and just 1.0 turnover. In the last meeting with Carolina, Nelson had 13 points but shot just 3-of-9 from the field (6-of-7 from the free throw line) and added five assists, four turnovers and one steal in 23 minutes.
Kyle Singler: The 6-8 freshman forward ranks 13th in the league in conference games only in scoring (15.5 points per game) and 16th in rebounding (6.1 per game). He is second on the team in rebounding but leads Duke in offensive rebounds with 67. He also ranks second on the team in blocks with 22. Singler is averaging 1.4 assists and 1.4 steals in ACC play as well. In the last meeting between the two teams, Singler had 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting (3-of-6 from beyond the arc) and added a team-high ten rebounds, two assists, two blocks, two steals and two turnovers in 37 minutes.
He began ACC play in the first 12 games shooting 47.5% from the field, 39.7% from beyond the arc and averaging 15.8 points, 5.8 rebounds (1.9 offensive), 1.3 steals, 3.3 fouls and 2.8 turnovers in 30.2 minutes. In Duke's three-game winning streak, he has been in a bit of a shooting slump, shooting 33.3% from the field, 15.8% from beyond the arc (3-of-19) and averaging 14.3 points, 7.0 rebounds (2.7 offensive), 1.7 steals, 2.7 fouls and just 1.0 turnovers in 32.7 minutes. He has also averaged 8.7 two-point attempts in the last three ACC games compared to 5.7 in the first 12 games and has increased his free-throw attempts to 4.3 per game in the last three compared to 2.8 in the first 12.
At home in ACC play, Singler is averaging 18.0 points on 49.4% shooting from the field (42.2% from beyond the arc) and is averaging 5.9 rebounds (2.1 offensive), 1.3 assists, 17 steals, 2.4 fouls and 2.3 turnovers in 31.9 minutes. On the road in league play, he shot 39.2% from the field, 27.7% from beyond the arc and averaged 13.3 points, 6.3 rebounds (2.0 offensive), 1.5 assists, 1.1 steals, 3.8 fouls and 2.5 turnovers in 29.6 minutes.
Greg Paulus: Duke's junior point guard torched Carolina in the last meeting between the two teams, scoring 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc, adding three assists, three turnovers and four steals in 31 minutes. In ACC games alone, Paulus is 20th in the conference in scoring at 12.8 points per game, tied for fourth in steals with 2.0 per game, second in three-pointers made with 2.73 per game, second in three-point percentage (41.8%) and first in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.45). At home in ACC play, Paulus is averaging 13.6 points, 2.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.1 steals, 1.9 fouls and 1.1 turnovers in 29.3 minutes compared to 12.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 3.5 fouls and 1.5 turnovers in 27.9 minutes on the road in ACC games.
In Duke's last three games (all conference wins), Paulus has shot 40.6% from the field and 10-of-20 from the three-point line (50%). He has also made just 3-of-12 two-point attempts in the last three games. He averages 2.9 two-point attempts per game in ACC play and has shot 37.2% from two-point range (compared to 41.8% from beyond the arc). The Tar Heels will need to be aware of Paulus' tendency to drive into the defense and kick it out rather than to finish and will also need to get a hand in the hot-shooting Paulus' face on three-point attempts. He also shoots 88.9% from the free-throw line and is averaging 3.9 attempts in Cameron in ACC play compared to 2.0 attempts on the road.
Jon Scheyer: The 6-5 sophomore guard was known mostly last season for this three-point shooting ability. This season, three-pointers account for around half of his total attempts. But he has taken on the role of sort of a third driver in the Duke offense, getting to the line 101 times this season, third on the team. His 88 made free throws are second on the team behind DeMarcus Nelson. In only ACC games, Scheyer has made 50-of-58 free throws (86.2%), the second-highest percentage in the conference. On the season, his 88-of-101 from the line (87.1%) also ranks second. Scheyer is shooting 53.3% from two-point range in ACC play (2.1 makes on 4.0 attempts). That increases to 2.3 made two-pointers out of 3.6 attempts in Cameron (64.0%). The three teams that have been able to beat Duke this season have held Scheyer to 25.8% from the field, 31.3% from beyond the arc and 20% (3-of-15) from two-point range. He can certainly shoot three-pointers; he has hit 4-of-8 in Duke's last two games. But he has also hit 11-of-11 free throws.
Last time against Carolina, he had 17 points on 4-of-11 shooting (2-of-4 from beyond the arc) and hit 7-of-8 free throws. He also had six rebounds, three assists, three steals and just one foul in 33 minutes. Last season at Cameron in the first meeting between the two teams, Scheyer had a then-career high 26 points on 8-of-18 shooting (4-of-10 from the three-point line), adding one steal, one block and five fouls in 38 minutes. In the second meeting last season at Carolina, he had just 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting but added four rebounds, two assists, two steals, four fouls and 35 minutes.
Quotables
"I remember one time, I was talking to somebody and he really doesn't know that much about basketball. He was like, `Why do they keep booing that guy every time he comes in the game?' I was like, `No, they're saying Q.'" -Danny Green
"There would be a lot. I don't know where you want me to start. We've got a couple tournaments coming up here. I'd like to do well in both of those." -Tyler Hansbrough when asked to elaborate on what he would like to accomplish with this team
Lauren Brownlow is the managing editor of Tar Heel Monthly.
