Lucas: Duke Rapid Reactions

By Adam Lucas

1. Just a heartbreaking loss when not enough shots went in the basket--a very similar game to the first meeting--as Duke sweeps the regular season series with a 62-57 win.

2. Carolina finished zero for the last seven from the field and one for nine, and did not have a basket in the final 4:20. The Tar Heels simply couldn't execute, and when they did, the shots didn't fall. It felt very familiar, as the same scenario played out in Durham.

3. Ultimately you have to give Duke's defense some credit. The Tar Heels scored 57 points twice against the Devils this year. This time it was 30.4 shooting from the field and 21.7 percent from the three-point line. The Devils squeezed out enough points because they were better closer to the rim--they had 30 points in the paint compared to Carolina's surprisingly low 16.

4. Carolina's rotation took an early hit when Puff Johnson left with a sprained right ankle with 13 minutes remaining in the first half. That forced Hubert Davis to go deep into his bench, with Dontrez Styles (a big block late in the half), Tyler Nickel, Jalen Washington and Justin McKoy all getting first half minutes. At one point, the Heels had a lineup of Seth Trimble, Nickel, Leaky Black, Washington and Caleb Love in together. That's not a five that's been together very much.

5. A point of emphasis at halftime: boxing out. That was a huge topic all week in practice, but Duke still managed 10 second chance points out of the first 28 they scored. The Devils won the first half rebounding battle, 22-16, and rebounded seven of their 17 misses in the first 20 minutes.

6. Carolina did come back and do a much better job on the boards in the second half, as the rebounding battle was ultimately tied, 39-39. Duke finished with only 14 second chance points after getting those 10 early ones, but Carolina wasn't efficient enough on offense to take advantage.

7. Foul trouble shaped some of that game. Pete Nance was whistled for a very dubious third in the first half, and Armando Bacot was hit with two in the first half. Meanwhile, the Devils had to deal with both Lively and Ryan Young playing with two first half fouls. Lively picked up his fourth early in the second half on a smart, aggressive play by Armando Bacot to go right at him and force him to foul.

8. Partly as a product of the above, Carolina did a better job of getting to the free throw line. The Tar Heels were 18-21 from the charity stripe. The bad news is that was their most reliable offense. Bacot was 9-10 and got his 68th career double-double, tying him with State's Ronnie Shavlik for third all-time in the ACC.

9. The Tar Heels got nine early fast break points but then the Duke transition defense was better, and did not allow the Heels a fast break point in the second half. Forced to play in the half court, Carolina was not able to score consistently in several key stretches.

10. Leaky Black played in his 153rd game as a Tar Heel, breaking Deon Thompson's career mark. The senior was 3-for-16 from the field and 1-for-7 from three on a tough offensive night. Duke took advantage of his struggles by collapsing inside. But Black was far from being alone--Love was 3-for-12 and Nance was 1-for-4. Black and Love combined to go 1-for-13 from the three-point line. As we have seen by this point in the season, Carolina simply doesn't win games when they shoot that way from outside.

11. Carolina's five seniors--Armando Bacot, Leaky Black, Jackson Watkins, Justin McKoy and Pete Nance--started Saturday night's game. The quintet was honored individually before the game along with the program's five senior managers (Kiersten Steinbacher, Shaylen Atma, Will Lam, Alex Pardue and obviously the most beloved manager in Tar Heel history, Virginia Lucas). Watkins helped force an early Duke turnover by reaching in on Kyle Filipowski (who was the most impactful player in the game, finishing with 22 points and 13 rebounds) and causing a travel.

12. Among the luminaries in attendance: Vince Carter, Matt Doherty, Tyler Hansbrough, Bobby Frasor, Marcus Ginyard, Dante Calabria, George Lynch, Rasheed Wallace, Donald Williams, Ed Cota, Melvin Scott and a host of other Tar Heel lettermen.

13. The loss means the Tar Heels are the seven seed in the ACC Tournament and will play the winner of Boston College and Louisville on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The winner of that game will play Virginia on Thursday at 7.

14. The loss also means the Tar Heels are going to be in the bubble discussion this week. Here's the problem: Carolina looked like an NCAA Tournament team tonight. But they played themselves into a position where they didn't have any cushion by not looking like an NCAA Tournament team in several key losses, including a pair to Pitt, one at Virginia Tech while playing shorthanded, and down the stretch against Iowa State and Alabama.

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University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Armando Bacot

Leaky Black

Puff Johnson

Caleb Love

Justin McKoy

Pete Nance

Tyler Nickel

Dontrez Styles

Seth Trimble

Jalen Washington

Jackson Watkins

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