DUKE vs. UNC
Both in the top 5, they renewed the rivalry last night
By Adam Fleischer
Last night’s battle between Duke and UNC in Chapel Hill was probably the most anticipated match-up in college ball to date this season. There have been some other games which looked enticing going in, but none of this magnitude. Although UNC PG Ty Laswon was out with an injury, it looked to be about as tasty a game as a college basketball enthusiast could ask for: two extremely talented teams, two legendary coaches, the biggest rivalry in (college) sports, and plentry of NBA talent for the non NCAA inclined.
From the tip, it was clear that this was going to live up to the hype. Both teams came out looking extremely fired up and ready to go—and we all know that it wasn’t simply because each was facing another top three team in the country; this was Duke-UNC.
On the first play of the game, Greg Paulus nailed a three, writing the first page of what turned out to be the story of Duke’s night offensively. UNC’s Tyler Hansbrough also got going early, scoring four of the team’s first six points on his way to dropping 18 in the opening frame.
Although there was plenty of it, the first half wasn’t only about the offense. Both sides played tough D throughout the night, something which was exemplified in the early going when Duke’s Gerald Henderson and UNC’s Danny Green each had, put simply, ridiculous blocks. Henderson came from the weak side and elevated feet towards the heavens before sending the offering back from whence it came, while Green hustled to stop an easy fast break lay-up by pinning it off the glass.
Carolina maintained a slim lead for about the first eight minutes of the game before Duke started to take control. Down 15-18, guard Jon Scheyer hit a three for the Blue Devils to tie things up before Paulus and freshman Kyle Singler followed suit. After going up 27-20 at the end of that stretch, Duke never looked back. Undeniably and understandably missing Lawson, Carolina turned the ball over at times when they could have used key baskets to stop Duke runs. Duke went into the locker room up 42-39 behind an astounding eight first half triples.
The second half proved to be more of the same as the Blue Devils opened up with three consecutive buckets from downtown. Hansbrough and crew kept it close until the buzzer, but the game never really seemed to be in question in the second half for Duke. DeMarcus Nelson, the lone senior on the team and its leading scorer, picked up his fourth personal with 16 minutes to go, which could have been costly for a relatively inexperienced Duke squad. However, Singler, Paulus, and Scheyer picked up the slack and helped to secure and 89-78 victory.
Had Ty Lawson been able to play, who knows what would have happened. It definitely looked like UNC was hurting, at times, with respect to ball handling duties and moving the rock without turning it over. The team finished with 20 turnovers, including six by Lawson’s replacement in the starting lineup, Quentin Thomas. Three other key things hurt the Tar Heels, none of which I would have predicted going in. Despite being a very good rebounding team and winning the rebounding battle for the game (44-37), UNC couldn’t clean the glass when it mattered, as Scheyer and Henderson both had big time offensive rebounds with less than five minutes to go. Then there’s the free throw shooting. Typically shooting a high percentage from the charity stripe, Carolina only hit 19 of their 30 attempts, with five of those misses coming from Psycho T, who shoots over eighty percent on the year. Guards Wayne Ellington and Danny Green, who average a combined 28 points per game on the year, put up only 11 (8 and 3, respectively) on just 4 of 24 shooting.
Looking at Duke’s performance last night, I was impressed by a number of individuals as well as the team on the whole. They played great team defense, seemed to have good chemistry, made their free throws down the stretch (13-18 in the final 3:35), and had a decent amount of depth, especially in comparison to last season. Hansbrough never really had the opportunity to make moves in the low post because Duke would send a double team the instant he touched the ball. He got most of his points doing the work getting position without the ball so that he could immediately drop step upon receiving an entry pass or when the perimeter players drove and drew some attention before dishing it to him. Even though he finished with 28 and 18, I thought they did a relatively good job on him considering what an absolute beast he is and Duke’s lack of big men. Paulus’ 6 of 8 shooting from behind the arc was pretty insane, while the same adjective could be used for Henderson’s hustle and athleticism. Singler also came up big. He finished with a double double (14 and 10) and showed that he can defend, pass, stroke it from deep, and is an unselfish player. Props to him for playing so well in his first ever Duke-UNC game—on the road nonetheless.
Both these teams showed signs of being able to do something special this season and will be two of the toughest outs in March.
Lucky for us, there’s a rematch in about a month on March 8. Hopefully both teams will be full strength. Personally, I can’t wait.
Photo courtesy of Getty Images
26 Responses to “DUKE vs. UNC”
Feb.7 at 1:45 pm
Kevin says:
only saw part of the game, but yes, Tyler Hansbrough is a beast against college players.. i hope he doesn’t become a 6pt 4reb guy in the NBA.
Feb.7 at 1:52 pm
TADOne says:
If Lawson was playing UNC would have won.
Feb.7 at 2:17 pm
Nathalie says:
that was the most boring unc duke game i’ve ever watched. having no particular favorite, duke played like they we’re at home
Feb.7 at 2:22 pm
thesubwayconnection says:
I see Psycho T becoming a David Lee type player in the NBA. Works hard, hustles, and rebounds. Decent touch in the low block area.
Feb.7 at 2:41 pm
Cub Buenning says:
tsc, nice analogy to Lee. Agreed. Hansborough won’t ever be a star (despite currenlty being one of the NCAA’s brightest) but he has a long professional career ahead of him.
TAD, Lawson would have helped, not sure if his presence ensures victory. UNC w/o he and Frasor struggle, though….
Feb.7 at 2:52 pm
Cub Buenning says:
I remember the PUNKS, but I need Aggrey, Khalid, Emry or any other philly guys to rehash what that backcourt of Ellington and Henderson must have been like in high school.
Those cats….
Feb.7 at 3:15 pm
Ben Osborne says:
I agree with TADOne; no Lawson was a huge factor. Speaking of which, there’s a Lawson-Ellington feature in the new issue of SLAM http://slamonline.com/online/2008/02/slam-116-three-kings/…on sale now!
Feb.7 at 3:56 pm
TADOne says:
Good promotion there Ben.
Feb.7 at 4:15 pm
Adam Fleischer says:
Hansbrough is definitely a monster, at least at this level. What he does in the League remains to be seen, though. One things that there’s no denying: he knows how to finish. He got his basically every time he went up and still managed to finish in most instances.
Feb.7 at 4:45 pm
polowthaJon says:
no doubt he is undermatched at the college level, but what happens when he meets a stronger, more athletic, smarter version of himself in the pros? all that hustle is going to be wasted. looks like the 2008 version of maddog madsen minus the goofy dances.
Feb.7 at 4:50 pm
duke fan says:
HHAHAHA UNC fans are all excuses!! You havent played hardly and good teams this year, especially non conference. look at the crap teams they’ve barely beaten…playing teams like rosemary st. Duke has won every acc game they’ve played by double digits, exept maryland by 9. unc is OVERRATED! duke sweeeps UNC this year.
Feb.7 at 4:55 pm
Adam Fleischer says:
I don’t think Madsen ever had the skill set of Hansbrough. I’m not saying he’ll be great at the next level, but I think a lot of people are writing him off too soon.
Feb.7 at 5:20 pm
ciolkstar says:
I thought it was an entertaining Duke-UNCgame and having grown up a huge Duke fan I’ve seen these two teams match up a lot. Duke was BOMBING threes and gerald Henderson is a freak athelete. Hansborough is like a white KG intensity-wise.
Feb.7 at 5:29 pm
ciolkstar says:
Hansborough will likely get picked too high, struggle on a bad team, sign with a contender once his contract runs out and be a solid contributor. He wont be able to score on defenses focused on stopping him, but I’ll bet he could be successful when the D is focused elsewhere.
Feb.7 at 6:03 pm
SMK says:
Hansbrough = Craig Smith
Feb.7 at 6:40 pm
stickdog says:
Where is Ben Collins? Click my name to find out why I’m asking.
Feb.7 at 7:34 pm
fernando says:
QT balled in the second half. Lazy reporting puts this on him. Ellington and GReen were 4-24 shooting combined. Even with Lawson- they lose if those guys play like that. QT did his thing in the second half. He tried to get it to TH and make good plays while the rest of them threw up bricks. Give credit to QT!
Feb.7 at 7:46 pm
anotha dude from europe says:
What a game!!!
Feb.7 at 10:11 pm
Ben Osborne says:
Stickdog, Ben Collins is “studying” abroad, I believe in Amsterdam. He claims he will still be posting the occasional “Undeclared” blog, but no guarantees. He does have a feature in an upcoming issue of SLAM. BTW, if you’re the same Stickdog that does player scouting and the like for DBR, great to have you here on SLAM…
Feb.7 at 11:01 pm
Dre says:
Hey “duke fan”, are you that dumb, it was a 4 point lead with 52 seconds to go in the game. There are several reasons why UNC would have blown this game wide open if any one knows anything about basketball can testify to. First Ty Lawson makes the UNC fast breaking machine run. He also is a great distributor in the half court game he had 20 assists and 1 TO in his last 3 games. Another point, Paulus is way to slow to stay with him. The penetration and dish would have been on because the time QT penetrated no one had to help out because he can’t finish… everyone stayed at home on Ellington and Green. When Ty penetrates (often) you have to help because he can finish which leads to open shots for Green and Ellington. He makes the defense work, since Paulus can’t beat him off the dribble without the help off a pick all of the defensive players can stay at home on the 3 pt shooters… no more drive and kick (well not many opportunities). See if you know anything about basketball you would shut up and pray he’s injured in Durham… cause Paulus can’t hold his jock… look how he made him look like a clown last year… this year no different.
Feb.7 at 11:27 pm
Ben Osborne says:
Stickdog; I have looked into the very near future, and it includes a resurfacing of Ben Collins.
Feb.8 at 3:01 am
Levon J. says:
DUKE 4eva… Yeah, I agree that if Lawson played it could have been a different outcome knowing that we were playing at Chapel Hill. But who cares Duke won and for now thats all that matters.
Feb.8 at 6:19 am
Matt says:
Duke showed better formation and better tactics. here is the main point= UNC can only really rely on 4 ppl to score and defend, while Duke players ALL play top lvl and have many ways to score. Duke showed to play a better game. Sorry but better luck next season UNC, Duke #1!
Feb.8 at 11:09 am
tprince22 says:
haha i knew duke wz gonna win greg paulus is a beast. UNC has 2 good players and Dukes whole roster is extremely talented…!
Feb.10 at 3:41 pm
Kene says:
…lol…that pre-season Top 25 cracked me up. Apparently, my man Collins was drunk on some Duke Hater-ade when he compiled that list.
Feb.13 at 12:19 pm
sdfigits says:
where are all these duke fans coming from? I just hope coach K the human rat and his dookies lose soon, before every bandwagoning fan of the blue devils comes out of the woodwork.