UNC vs. Duke: Loss to Tar Heels Proves Duke Isn't Title Contender

The two biggest obstacles to Duke's championship aspirations were exposed on Saturday night by North Carolina: its inexperience and its over-reliance on their perimeter game, namely hitting three-point shots.

The Tar Heels waxed the floor with the Blue Devils, winning 88-70 and showcasing Duke's potential downfalls come tournament time. From USA Today:

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The perimeter-reliant Blue Devils finished 6-of-21 from three-point range. They missed 15 consecutive shots, including their first seven threes, and had two seven-minute field goal droughts in the opening half. That left them down 48-24 at the break — their largest halftime deficit anywhere since the 1990 team trailed the Tar Heels by 24 in Chapel Hill.

"When you base, like we do, a lot of our offense on three-point shooting … some will say, 'Don't.' That's who we are, man," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "And if we're not hitting them, we have a much greater chance to lose."

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But the team also showed its immaturity and inexperience.

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"Throughout the year, we've been immature. We always want to see how little we have to do to win," Miles Plumlee said. "You give a team like that a 20-point lead, it's nearly impossible to win. We need to fight, like we did at times, for a whole game."

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Duke is a dangerous team come tournament time, at least in the early rounds, because when their shot is falling, they are capable of scoring at will. But what happens in the later rounds if their shots aren't falling or they find themselves trailing?

How will they handle a team like Kentucky in the paint? What will they do when Syracuse extends that 2-3 zone and makes life on the perimeter difficult? Could they handle a shootout against high-scoring Missouri without the three-point buckets falling?

We know Duke can probably beat any team in the nation on any given day—they proved that by knocking off North Carolina, Michigan State and Kansas already this season—but they've also proven that they can be blown out if their three-point shots aren't falling (Ohio State, North Carolina).

We know that they have the ability to simply outscore opponents, but we also know they are strong enough defensively to overcome nights when that shot isn't falling.

And as Miles Plumlee pointed out, we know they are still prone to bouts of immaturity.

All of which is why Duke is undoubtedly one of the finest teams in the nation, but for my money, is no longer a title contender. They simply aren't on the same level as Kentucky, Syracuse and North Carolina this season.

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