Duke-North Carolina Round II: I Told You So!

Feb. 8th, 2008.  That was the day I wrote my first article about Duke and UNC.  I told my fellow UNC fans not to be discouraged.  I told the Dukies not to be encouraged.  I told you Ty Lawson would make the difference.  I told you Danny Green and Wayne Ellington wouldn't shoot a combined 4-24.  I'd like to say I hate to say I told you so, but I don't.

I told you so. 

UNC dominated the game until late in the second half.  Duke made a nice run to get back into the contest and eventually took the lead at 68-66.  The Blue Devils' lead didn't last long, and Duke forgot to score for the rest of the game.  

Junior forward Tyler Hansbrough didn't have the statistical game he had in the first contest but played very solid and was steady for the Heels.  16 points and 15 rebounds put him over 2,000 career points as he helped lead the Heels to another victory on senior night in Durham, N.C. 

Ellington and Green stepped up big in this game making big plays all night long.  The duo combined for 34 points, 11 rebounds, and shot 50 percent from the field.  

Then there was Ty Lawson.  

The sophomore guard played well for UNC scoring 10 points off the bench in 23 minutes. Lawson created several turnovers grabbing three steals and causing problems for Duke guards every second he was on the floor.  

UNC locked up the ACC regular season championship with the win last night and should get a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.  This is really going to benefit the Heels during the NCAA tournament.  They will be able to get all the way to the Elite Eight without leaving North Carolina. 

The biggest factor I saw in this game was the number "8."  The difference in turnovers from the first game to the second game.  UNC committed 20 turnovers in the first game and just 12 last night. 

As good as it felt watching the win Saturday, it still doesn't make up for the tragedy on UNC's campus this week.  

Eve Carson, the student body president at North Carolina was found shot dead in a residential area of Chapel Hill, N.C.  The teams had a moment of silence for the memory of Carson.  

The police are making some headway in the case however.  They have found a person of interested who had been using Carson's debit card and was driving a vehicle police believe to be Carson's.  I hope they can apprehend the perpetrator and lock him up for a long time.