Off the cuff: Erratic three-point shooting and poor foul shooting finally caught up to Carolina this year in a game against rival Duke. It was really a remarkable first half for the Tar Heels as they made Duke look slow. Carolina players were hitting their shots and getting out quickly on the fast break. But in the second half Duke picked up its intensity and Carolina couldn't buy a basket from outside of about five feet away from the basket. Carolina was still there late in the game and would have had a good chance at winning if the Heels could have hit their free throws and at least a couple of three pointers. The Tar Heels were 0 of six from behind the arc in the second half and only two of 14 for the game. Duke got 18 more points from three-point land and two more free throws. That's a 20-point differential. Carolina hit just 13 of 22 free throws plus the two players best from beyond the arc went a combined one of nine. Freshman Reggie Bullock was 0 of four from three while Leslie McDonald was 1 of five from three. Dexter Strickland, who had been shooting well lately, was in foul trouble and didn't even take a three and took only four shots. Meanwhile Duke's Nolan Smith scored a career-high 34 points and Seth Curry added a career-high 22. The two scored 41 of Duke's 50 second-half points. Did you see how excited the Blue Devils players, staff and fans were to defeat Carolina, a team they beat by 32 points a year ago? We're talking about the reigning national champions acting almost as if they had won the national championship. I guess that demonstrates the importance of this game and this rivarly. |
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