UNC Basketball: Biggest Takeaways from Rivalry Showdown with Duke

The North Carolina Tar Heels (21-10) dropped their second game of the season to the Duke Blue Devils Saturday night at the Smith Center 84-77.

North Carolina had plenty of chances to pull ahead during the rivalry showdown but failed to capitalize during key stretches. 

The loss dealt the Tar Heels a big blow heading into the ACC tournament in Greensboro next week, where they will enter as the No. 5 seed. 

Here's a look at the biggest takeaways from North Carolina's 10th defeat of the season. 

The Tar Heels Failed to Capitalize During Key Moments

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During two key stretches of the game, the Tar Heels failed to open up a massive lead on the Blue Devils. 

In the first half, North Carolina went on a 12-0 run over a span of six minutes in which Duke went cold from the field. 

Despite going on the big run, the Tar Heels missed a total of 11 shots from the 9:54 mark of the first period to the 3:33 mark. If the Tar Heels had made a few of those shots, they could have been looking at a huge lead heading into the locker room. 

In the second half, North Carolina did not take a hold of the game with Tyus Jones, Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow on the pine. 

Instead of opening up a crucial lead in the middle of the second half, the Tar Heels handed Duke the advantage on the scoreboard. 

Due to North Carolina's offensive lapses in those two key periods, it was unable to keep up with Duke over the final few minutes of the game. 

Too Few Free-Throw Attempts

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North Carolina converted on all 13 of its trips to the free-throw line, but it could not take full advantage of its accuracy from the charity stripe. 

Against a team like Duke, the Tar Heels should have pounded the paint to put Okafor and Amile Jefferson into foul trouble. 

The only UNC player who made more than two trips to the line Saturday night was Marcus Paige, who was 6-of-6 on his free-throw attempts. 

In comparison, Duke was 21-of-26 from the line, and three of its players made more than four trips to the charity stripe. 

If the Tar Heels had charged the lane more over the course of the game, they might have been able to cut the deficit without any time going off the clock.

Instead, they were forced to hit jump shots and three-pointers in an attempt to pull within reach of the Blue Devils. 

Kennedy Meeks Threw off the Balance in the Frontcourt

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While Brice Johnson and Justin Jackson were busy making significant contributions, Kennedy Meeks was rarely seen on the offensive end of the court. 

Meeks ended with two points on a 1-of-7 night from the field, which is awful compared to the combined 31 points created by the other two key members of the frontcourt. 

In North Carolina's three previous losses, one member of the trio failed to score in double digits. Jackson scored eight against Pittsburgh, Johnson only reached four points against North Carolina State, and Jackson contributed two in the first defeat to Duke. 

If this trend continues, the Tar Heels could be facing an early exit from the ACC and NCAA tournaments. 

However, if the three frontcourt players can all find a way to star in the scoring department, North Carolina has a chance to be a legitimate threat for the rest of March. 

We Don't Have to Worry About Marcus Paige

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Paige was the best North Carolina player on the court Saturday, as he led the team with 23 points to go along with his five assists and three steals. 

As we noted earlier, the junior guard was a perfect 6-of-6 from the line, and he was 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. 

During the last comeback attempt of the night, Paige scored seven of the team's final nine points in the last one minute, 18 seconds of the game. 

The guard's performance came as a welcome sight to many after he failed to score more than 10 points in four of his last six games leading into Saturday night. 

With Paige firing on all cylinders in the final stretch of the game, the Tar Heels do not have to worry about the guard showing up at certain key points during the postseason. 

If he continues to score around 20 points per game throughout the rest of the season, North Carolina should be able to contend for a win in each contest.

J.P. Tokoto Could Have Been More Effective

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J.P. Tokoto ended the Tar Heels' final regular-season game with 10 points, six rebounds and five assists. But he could have been a bigger contributor if he had made some smarter decisions. 

Instead of attacking the rim and earning points in the paint, Tokoto decided to pull up for jumpers throughout the majority of the game. 

He could have acknowledged the jump shots were not working in the first half and changed his approach, but he opted to continue to shoot from just inside the three-point line. 

Tokoto's shot selection may have been affected by the presence of Okafor in the paint. But even when the Duke big man was off the court, though, Tokoto didn't switch up his game plan. 

With every game now meaning a ton over the next few weeks, Tokoto needs to make wiser shot choices or pass the ball to teammates who are in better shooting form. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

All statistics obtained from ESPN.com and NCAA.com.