By Adam Lucas 1. The second game of the season in which Carolina never had the lead (Auburn was the other), as Duke wins, 87-70. 2. The Blue Devil advantage got as big as 32 points in the second half. They were so in control of the game that they went almost nine minutes without a field goal during the late second half and still cruised to the win. Duke shot 53 percent from the field and 50 percent on 20 three-point attempts in a very efficient offensive performance that saw them average 1.4 points per possession. 3. Tar Heel turnovers were a story again. Carolina committed 14, leading to 19 Duke points. That means that in the last two games, the Heels have been outscored 41-11 in points off turnovers. That helped create some of the Duke offense–but the Devils also were very crisp even without the help.
4. It’s hard to know what exactly to make of those final few minutes, when Carolina showed some life after the game had been decided. The highlight was a very aggressive Drake Powell, who scored all 12 of his points in the second half and looked decisive and tough to guard going to the basket. That same version of Powell would be a big contributor over the next month.
5. And at that point, with the game decided, it was nice to see the Tar Heels get some minutes for Cade Tyson and James Brown. Carolina would still love to unlock Tyson, who grabbed a couple rebounds and looked to be on his way to gaining some confidence, but then missed a corner three-pointer off the backboard. Brown had an aggressive scoring move in his two minutes. Brown (+1) and Tyson (+12) were the only Tar Heels with a positive plus-minus rating. Powell and RJ Davis tied for team scoring honors with 12 points each.
6. The first half was a Duke clinic. Unfortunately, the Tar Heels helped set the tone with three turnovers on the first seven possessions and four turnovers on the first nine possessions. By the time that sequence was over, the home team already had an 18-6 lead. Three of those four miscues were live ball turnovers that led directly to Duke runouts.
7. That was part of a tough first half for Elliot Cadeau, who was eventually charged with five of Carolina’s nine first half turnovers and collected a flagrant foul in his 13 minutes of action before sitting most of the final four minutes. Duke scored 11 points off those nine turnovers and the Heels ended the half with more turnovers than made field goals (8). Cadeau did not have a turnover in the second half and scored eight points.
8. The only Tar Heel who had a modicum of success in those first 20 minutes was Jalen Washington, who scored six points after coming off the bench. But he was quickly eliminated by foul trouble, earning two fouls in six minutes and heading back to the bench.
9. Washington’s frontcourt mate, Ven-Allen Lubin, had some high energy second half minutes during the one good Carolina stretch. Lubin scored seven points and pulled down six rebounds–a whopping five of them were offensive, a game high for either side. Lubin also blocked three shots–he quietly had a nice game.
10. Seth Trimble again did a good job on the glass, as he continues his bid to become the shortest Carolina team leading rebounder since at least 1950. Trimble had five boards; the team high was Lubin’s six. Trimble also had 10 points, making him the third Tar Heel in double figures. If he could get his perimeter jumper on track–he was 0-3 from three and is now 3-32 from three in his last ten games–that would be another nice benefit for the UNC offense. The Heels really need one of Trimble or Ian Jackson (2-for-6 from the field for his eight points) to have a hefty scoring presence. Jackson is now averaging just 9.8 points per game over the last five after his huge stretch earlier in ACC play.
11. Another possible item to pull from this game: Carolina’s use of the zone defense. The Tar Heels played seven possessions of zone in the second half, and Duke only managed two free throws against it while shooting 0-for-5 from the field and committing a turnover. Given some of the defensive issues, that might be a longer term item to put in the defensive package. 12. The Heels continue to struggle to get to the free throw line effectively. They were 11-14 at the line, a good percentage, but their attempts are down to 15.9 per game over the last seven games, all against league competition. That’s after averaging 21.5 free throw attempts in the four ACC games before that. Getting to the line more likely wouldn’t have made a difference in this game, but it will over the next month in some absolute must-win scenarios. 13. Carolina has now played four of the top five teams in this week’s Associated Press poll. The bad news is the Tar Heels are now 0-4 in those games, with one remaining against Duke. Stretching it a little further, the Heels have played five of the top seven (0-5) and six of the top 11 (0-6). The results are daunting, but it’s also true that those matchups will boost Carolina’s strength of schedule–which will only matter if they can pile up some wins in February. With that in mind…
14. Rivalry aside, and realizing this isn’t an ideal scenario, at this point in the season the storyline of Carolina’s season won’t be written by the matchups against Duke. At this point, the main priority is making the NCAA Tournament. The next two games–at home against Pitt and at Clemson–are going to be critical in that mission.
