Off the cuff: I had a feeling Carolina was primed for a good performance. My 82-67 predicted score was in the ballpark. Duke helped by shooting poorly (40 percent) and turning the ball over (15 times). But Carolina's ability to get the ball inside or shoot it from outside helped the Heels overcome 20 turnovers. "We need to stop turning the daggum ball over," Coach Williams said. "If you turn the ball over 20 times, you don't win many of those games." In addition to the enthusiasm of playing at home, playing in front of about 3,200 rabid fans and playing for an NCAA invite and a good seed in the ACC tourney, Carolina was playing a Duke team that's just not as good as they are. Still, North Carolina fans are probably hoping after sweeping the Blue Devils that the Heels won't have to beat them a third time. At a shortened senior celebration at the end of the game, Coach Williams told the crowd, "We gave a lot left that we'd like to do. I hope you come on the journey with us." The seniors playing their final game at the Smith Center were Garrison Brooks, Andrew Platek, Walker Miller and K.J. Smith, who scored a bucket late. It was also Armando Bacot's birthday. Bacot scored 18 points, including 11 in the first half when Carolina ran out to a 42-26 halftime advantage. The big lead led to the stupid chant "N.I.T., N.I.T." from the Carolina students. Mercifully, Coach Williams put an end to it quickly. That chant is almost as bad as "OVER-RATED, OVER-RATED." Nothing good comes out of those "cheers." Finally, Sterling Manley saw his first action in two years late in the game. He has at least one more year of eligibility after being injured 18 games into his sophomore season. The team was excited to see him jam down a dunk and block a shot. |
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