Blue Devils-Tar Heels: Shorthanded North Carolina Falls to Duke

The biggest rivalry in college basketball, and arguably, in all of sports.

Separated by nine miles, the third-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels took on the second-ranked Duke Blue Devils in front of 21,750 fans jammed into the Dean Smith Center.

North Carolina's starting point guard Ty Lawson decided not to go Wednesday night after suffering a high ankle sprain Sunday afternoon.

Duke came out of the gates gunning after hitting three after three. Tonight it was not about Jon Scheyer or Demarcus Nelson but the go to guy was Greg Paulus. The 6-1, 185-pound point guard came out with a chip on his shoulder after suffering two loosed to the tar heels last year. Paulus came out and hit the games first shot. And then another and then another. The junior guard finished with a team high 18 points and didn't miss his first five three pointers. "We definitely drove the ball and got a couple good penetrate and kicks,"Paulus said.

On the other side of the rivalry was 6-9, 250 pound Tyler Hansbrough who came out with a bang. Tyler not only banged in the middle and got points but he added another dimension to his game. The 10-foot jumper. He hit three of those in the first half and it really opened up the inside game.

After closing up the half with a run the game was 42-29 with the advantage going to Duke. Paulus, Singler, Scheyer and Nelson came out and hit everything in sight. The Blue Devils made 13 three pointers and it really fueled them to the victory. With Bobby Frasor injured also the tar heels called upon Queinton Thomas and Marcus Ginyard. Both of them finished with eight turnovers combined.

The presence of Ty Lawson was deeply missed. Although Ginyard scored 16 points to try and spark the Tar Heels but the blue devils of Duke proved too much for the shorthanded Carolina. Duke hit their free throws at the end and soared to a 89-78 victory over there feared rival. Tyler Hansbrough finished with a game-high 28 points. Coach Mike Krzyzewski said of his team, "they're pretty special right now"—and indeed, the Blue Devils are nothing short of special.