Duke Blue Devils vs North Carolina Tar Heels Basketball Recap

Duke 79 – North Carolina 73

In a battle for first place in the ACC, Duke held serve on its home court inside Cameron Indoor Stadium to defeat North Carolina and extend its home-winning streak to 33 games. The Blue Devils took a one-and-a-half-game lead in the conference.

Despite the ability of a resurgent Tar Heel squad (which was riding a five-game winning streak) to take a 43-29 lead at the half, the Blue Devils outscored Carolina 50-30 in the second half in a rowdy home-court environment to tuck away a six-point victory behind Nolan Smith’s  34 points. The gritty, gutsy comeback from a double-digit deficit provided the latest and greatest installment of college basketball’s premier rivalry, setting the stage for a dramatic stretch run in the final three weeks of the ACC season.

The Tar Heels led 8-0 early in this game in Durham, North Carolina, and Duke trailed by as many as 16 points late in the first half before UNC took a 14 point margin into the locker room. 

The Tar Heels owned the lane in the first half, with forwards Tyler Zeller and John Henson producing 13 and 10 points (nine and six rebounds) respectively. The Blue Devils were held to 12-for-36 shooting in the first half and were out-rebounded 26-18, all while the Tar Heels shot 47.2 percent from the field.

The turnaround came early for the Blue Devils in the second half. Duke scored the first eight points of the period, hitting its outside shots to narrow the gap before Ryan Kelly hit a 3-pointer to give Duke its first lead of the game, 57-55, with 9:14 remaining on a Smith assist. That was the only lead change of the game. It was also the only lead change Duke required.

Duke finished the game hitting 15 of its 23 3-point attempts, but it was Smith’s game-high 34 points that defeated the contenders from Chapel Hill. Outside shooter Seth Curry provided an enormous 22 points and five assists for the Blue Devils.

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In a complex game of match-ups, Smith clearly and regularly outplayed Carolina freshman Kendall Marshall (nine points) at the point position in the second half, dropping 22 points after the intermission. Tar Heel freshman Harrison Barnes arguably had the better of Kyle Singler at the shooting forward position, with nine points and six rebounds to Singler’s 10 points and eight rebounds (far below his average). Henson (14 points, 12 boards) won the battle against Kelly (4 points, 7 boards), although Kelly’s defensive effort in the second half was mighty and momentous.

This was a good win for Mike Krzyzewski’s team, its first against a currently-ranked team this season. Moreover, the Blue Devils registered this milestone triumph with a certain degree of authority. Duke rattled Carolina in the second half and made sure that the Tar Heels went down in a decisive, if not devastating, fashion. This wasn’t decisive on a large scale, but it wasn’t a photo finish, either: Duke clearly owned a body-length lead as these two ACC thoroughbreds raced to the wire.

This was also a “good” loss for coach Roy Williams’s Tar Heels: In a closely fought battle against their most hated rival, they didn’t give up. Despite losing a 16-point first half lead, Carolina held on until the end and helped create an entertaining, competitive game. This defeat broke up UNC’s winning ways for the time being, but it only added to the sense that this team will be ready to hit its stride when March Madness arrives. The Tar Heels’ next game at Clemson will test their response to this loss.

Krzyzewski is now 35-39 against the Tar Heels, and his Blue Devils are 9-1 in the conference. Duke’s next games are at Miami and Virginia, and the only major test remaining in its season should be against the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill on March 5 in the last regular season game before tournament season begins.

By: David Minter
DFN Sports Staff Writer