The talk all week leading up to the game was will UNC honor Coach K during his finale at the Dean Dome, but the conversation should have been did UNC belong on the same floor as Duke – regardless if it was their home court.
In blowout fashion, Duke made it known that last years sweep was an anomaly – blowing out the Tar Heels in front of a sold out crowd, 87-67. The game featured many a litte shoving and trash talk, which was expected as it was rumored players were trading jabs on social media.
Freshman and potential top-five lottery pick A.J. Griffin was a man amongst boys Saturday night, scoring 27 points in his rivalry game debut. Griffin was a complete mismatch nightmare on both ends of the court with his physicality and ability to attack the rim, but more importantly his perimeter play gives Duke a dimension to compete for a national title.
The Blue Devils opened the game on a 15-5 run, stretching its first half lead to as much as 23 before the Heels cut it to 11 by intermission. UNC cut the lead with Oklahoma transfer Brady Manek playing every minute of the first half – scoring a Tar Heel game high 21 points on 7-16 from the floor, including 6-10 from downtown.
Paolo Banchero scored 5 points in the first 1:20 seconds of the game, then cooled down due to solid defensive play by UNC senior Leaky Black. Banchero found his spots on the interior in the 2nd half, finishing with a 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Wendell Moore finished the contest with 13 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Big-man Mark Williams controlled the interior, stuffing the stat sheet with 9 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 assists.
The difference of the ball game was the opening of the second half with A.J. Griffin scoring 10 straight points for Duke – extending the Blue Devils lead back to 21. Duke never looked back or trailed the entire game.
This was an overall dominant performance from Duke with the team leading every statistical category besides blocks. The Blue Devils will have a quick turnaround with Virginia coming into town Monday night.
With the loss, UNC still finds itself on the bubble of making the NCAA Tournament, with not a single quadrant-one win on the season.
