Lucas: Duke Rapid Reactions

By Adam Lucas

1. That felt good. Carolina beat Duke, 93-84, to grab a two-game lead in the Atlantic Coast Conference in front of a tremendous Smith Center crowd.

2. Harrison Ingram talked this week about how much he was looking forward to playing in one of these games. He showed it on Saturday night, turning in an electric 21-point, 13-rebound performance. That included five three-pointers. Just as big as all his points, though, was the hustle play with six minutes left when he threw himself on the floor to retrieve an errant Cormac Ryan shot, a play that turned into a swished Ryan three-pointer and a 13-point UNC lead.

3. Would you have believed Carolina could win that game with RJ Davis going 5-for-14 from the floor and making just two three-pointers? That's exactly what happened. That's also why the Tar Heels are a legitimate team this year--they're not completely dependent on their All-America candidate. Of course, Davis still scored 17 points and had five assists.

4. Defending the three-point shot was always going to be a huge storyline in this game. Carolina did it very well, holding Duke to 5-for-19 from the arc and forcing them to make two-point shots instead of threes. Duke held an edge in points in the paint, 54-36, but that was preferable to it pouring in a dozen three-pointers.

5. Carolina came out with a very clear intent to get Armando Bacot involved and active early. It worked--Bacot scored Carolina's first basket on his way to 12 points and eight rebounds in his 18 first half minutes. There were stretches when he was the most dominant force in the game, and he finished with 25 points and ten rebounds. That's his fourth straight double-double against Duke and will only improve his career average against the Devils of over 15 points and nine rebounds per game. After taking just six free throws in the last three games combined, Bacot attempted seven (making five) against Duke.

6. Bacot was also an important part of the way the Heels shared the ball. He had five assists, nimbly handling occasional Duke double teams and finding the open man. The Tar Heels had 18 assists as a team on 33 baskets.

7. That was part of an extremely well played first 20 minutes for the Tar Heels, as they turned the ball over just once, didn't send Duke to the free throw line, shot 51 percent from the field, and hit a solid 4-for-12 from three. Ingram had three of those first half three-pointers.

8. You saw the beginning of the improvement at Georgia Tech, but Seth Trimble showed even more benefits of the work he's put in finishing at the rim. He converted three first half layups in traffic off aggressive drives, getting all six of Carolina's bench points in the first half. Trimble's 10 points--including another second half layup on a hard drive--were the majority of Carolina's 14-6 edge in bench points. That advantage was even on a night when the Heels went with a shorter bench, using primarily the starting five plus Trimble. Jae'Lyn Withers and Jalen Washington each gave Carolina a basket off the bench.

9. It's also nice to have veterans. Cormac Ryan fired his first three-pointer a good couple feet over the rim from the right corner. A younger player might have lost some confidence. Not Ryan, who shot from almost the same spot a minute later and swished it. He hit another big one in the second half and finished with nine points.

10. Loved the way Hubert Davis went offense/defense with Elliot Cadeau and Trimble in the final segments of the second half. Trimble had one of his best overall games as a Tar Heel, and even on nights when Cadeau is 1-for-9 from the floor, you still want him out there initiating the offense when possible. But Davis was also flexible with the plan; he turned to Trimble on offense late when Duke essentially chose to give Cadeau jumpers.

11. Carolina did a much better job converting offensive rebounds into second chance points. Even on a night when they shot 50 percent from the field, they still grabbed nine offensive boards and turned them into 14 points.

12. Great and well-deserved hand for Tyler Hansbrough, who was honored at halftime for being the newest member of the College Basketball Hall of Fame. Close friends Marcus Ginyard and Bobby Frasor were on hand for the recognition. Those three were part of dozens of former lettermen in attendance, not in any way limited to Antawn Jamison, Melvin Scott, Baden Jaxen (Dexter Strickland), Pete Chilcutt, Travis Stephenson, Ed Cota, Phil Ford, Mitch Kupchak, Terrence Newby and numerous others.

13. The life of an Atlantic Coast Conference official: Ron Groover, one of the best in the league, was in Omaha last night for the Butler-Creighton game that ended after 11 p.m. Eastern time. By Saturday afternoon, he was in the Smith Center, giving him two very high-level games in less than 24 hours.

14. The Smith Center video board GIF game has significantly improved the last couple years. Getting the "Ball Don't Lie!" from Rasheed Wallace after the head-shaking flagrant foul was solid, as was the Jay Williams confused timeout in the first half during a Duke timeout.

15. A desperate Clemson team comes to Chapel Hill on Tuesday night in what will be another big one.

Players Mentioned

Armando Bacot

Elliot Cadeau

RJ Davis

Harrison Ingram

Cormac Ryan

Seth Trimble

Jalen Washington

Jae'Lyn Withers

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