GoHeels Exclusive: Winning Inside

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

DURHAM — A minute into his postgame press conference Wednesday night, Roy Williams, unprompted but aware, addressed the question that'd surely been on reporters' minds since the game's first possession.

That's when Duke freshman Zion Williamson's left foot burst through the sole of his shoe, turning Cameron Indoor Stadium silent. He limped off the floor under his own power. But the likely No. 1 pick in June's NBA draft never returned in North Carolina's 88-72 rivalry win.

"Everybody be honest," Williams said. "When the big fella goes out of the game, it changes a lot of stuff for them. Zion Williamson, I've never seen anything like him. That was a huge blow for them and having that happen during the course of the game, you don't have time to prepare for it.

"So I hated that part of it because I think he's such a wonderful kid. That was a huge blow for them at that time, no question."

Yet, even without Williamson, the top-ranked Blue Devils still had four McDonald's All-Americans remaining, including two projected top-5 draft picks. The Tar Heels also needed to find a way to win on a night they missed 18 of 20 3-pointers and their starting point guard finished with twice as many turnovers (6) as he did made field goals (3).

Scenarios such as this are why Williams emphasizes the importance of strong post play. And that further revealed itself as UNC scored a whopping 62 points in the paint, its most against a Power 5 opponent since finishing with 62 in an overtime loss at Duke on Feb. 18, 2015.

Over the last two seasons, it had seemed like Carolina and Duke had switched roles. The Blue Devils had become a more post-oriented team with Marvin Bagley and Williamson. Without a traditional post player to relentlessly pound the ball inside, the Tar Heels had become more reliant on perimeter shots. They entered Wednesday having scored 684 of their 2,187 points this season from 3-point range, which amounted to the largest percentage (.313) under Williams.

But against Duke, UNC imposed its will around the basket.

With Williamson out, Carolina didn't hesitate to attack the rim and Williamson's replacement, Jack White. The Tar Heels stretched their first-half lead to as many as 13 points by scoring 30 of their first 32 points in the paint. They entered halftime with 34 points in the paint, more than they'd scored against eight ACC opponents.

Luke Maye inflicted the most damage. He scored 14 of his 18 first-half points, more than he'd tallied in his seven previous games against the Blue Devils, in the paint. Although Williamson's absence likely encouraged him to attack more, Maye said he planned "to go inside regardless."

"(Williamson) is one of the best players in college basketball," Maye said. "You don't want to see him go down, and I really hope he's OK and he makes a good recovery. But I think it just opened up some lanes inside and gave us an opportunity to drive it closer to the basket."

Maye continued capitalizing on those opportunities in the second half. He finished with 30 points and 15 rebounds to join Billy Cunningham as the only UNC players to post 30 points and 15 rebounds against Duke.

As efficient as Maye was, Cameron Johnson was just as impressive.

In making a career-high 11 field goals, Johnson scored 26 points, most of which came in transition and from attacking the basket in the halfcourt. The 20-point game marked his eighth of the season and the 16th of his career. But it was the first in which he didn't make a 3-pointer. He went 0-for-4 from behind the arc.

Johnson and Maye, along with Kenny Williams, started against the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium last season. Like Wednesday, Carolina led that game by 10 points at halftime. It ultimately lost by 10.

That memory, Johnson said, helped the Tar Heels avoid a similar disappointment.

"In a game like this, you can't really exhale," he said. "It was definitely big for us for (Williamson) to get out of the game early. But looking back now, I don't think we exhaled at all. It was, 'We've got to keep pushing, we've got to keep pushing.' In a game like this, anything can happen. Anybody can step up, make a lot of shots and turn the tide."

But UNC never allowed that to happen. It made eight of its first nine field goal attempts after halftime, pushing its lead to 22 points. In the last 15 minutes, Duke never pulled within fewer than 13, as Carolina went on to beat the Blue Devils for the third time in their last four meetings.

The Tar Heels' 3-point percentage (.100) marked their lowest in a win since going 4-for-27 (.148) against Gonzaga in the 2017 NCAA championship game. But Johnson, Maye and Garrison Brooks – who scored 14 points – combined to shoot 75 percent on 2-pointers (30-for-40).

And ultimately, UNC's domination inside was enough to discourage a Duke squad looking to prove it could win without its biggest star.

"At the end of the day, in big games like this, we're going to win the way Coach Williams wants to win and that's inside," Kenny Williams said. "We like to beat people up in the paint, get layups and get them in foul trouble. It definitely was a win for the old school."

Players Mentioned

Garrison Brooks

Cameron Johnson

Luke Maye

Kenny Williams

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