Duke-North Carolina Round One: A UNC Fan's Perspective

On Wednesday, February 6th, college basketball's greatest rivalry resumed once again in Chapel Hill. 

The game was fun to watch and kept me on the edge of my seat untill Jon Scheyer's late free throws sealed the deal for the Dukies.

This game shouldn't discourage Tar Heel fans or encourage Blue Devil fans too much.  I am going to make it perfectly clear that I am a Tar Heels fan right now.  I can accept the fact that Duke beat us at home. 

The first aspect of this game that makes me not fear Duke is this stat: 6-8.  That was Greg Paulus' stats from beyond the arc  Paulus can barely dribble the ball up the court, let alone be a three point threat like that.  He shot better then he ever has in his career, and I don't see him staying consistently hot from downtown.  

Call me crazy.

The next thing about this game is this stat: 3-14.  That is Wayne Ellington's shooting numbers from the field.  To start the game, Ellington took a couple contested shots that, had they gone in, would have made me think, "I'm glad he made it but that was a stupid shot." 

Ellington averages right around 16 points per game and shoots close to 40% from the three point line.  Against Duke, he had 8 points and shot 0-6 from the three point line, well below his usual production.

The Tar Heels sixth man, Danny Green, shot 1-10 from the field and managed just three total points.  He averages around 11 points per game and didn't seem to be comfortable on the court all night.   

Other than Hansbrough, the only bright spot for the Tar Heels was the play of Deon Thompson.  Thompson had 12 points (5-6 shooting) and pulled down 5 boards, but he only played 18 minutes because of foul trouble.  

The Tar Heels posted 20 turnovers in the game due to lack of guard play.  Quentin Thomas did play capably in Ty Lawson's absence, finishing with 10 points and seven assists with six turnovers.  His biggest mistakes were made when trying to make flashy plays forcing the ball into traffic which got the Duke transition game going. 

Duke did have great balance scoring on offense.  All five starters were in double figures and Jon Scheyer came off the bench to score 17 points.  Their offense is based on penetration to the middle and kick outs to open three point shooters. 

The Tar Heels decided to play the drive and allow them to get open shots from the perimeter.  A

s a team, Duke shot 13-29 from the land of three to the Tar Heels' dismal 3-17 shooting performance. 

This game does sting for now since all my friends that are Duke fans unrelentlessly brag about the victory.  I do believe when Lawson gets back and the Tar Heels meet the Blue Devils in Durham it will be the other way around.  Lawson means so much to the team on offense and you could tell the UNC break was not nearly as effective.  

Once again, I must reinforce the fact that I am not making excuses for the UNC loss here.  I am just pointing out some of the factors that lead to this game that are out of the norm. 

GO HEELS GO!