Duke is the team that entered Saturday’s rivalry clash with North Carolina that most needed a victory to reinforce its curriculum at the NCAA Tournament. But Tar Heels was the team that played with a palpable sense of urgency in the first half, opening a 42-26 lead to the break.
UNC used its size advantage to dominate the countryside from the start and then got some opportune points out of 3 to prevent the Blue Devils from reducing the deficit in the midst of a bad start. In particular, Duke’s top scorer, Matthew Hurt, struggled in the first half, going scoreless for almost 19 minutes before getting a few buckets late to keep Duke at a screaming distance.
A win would complete a regular season sweep for UNC, which won the first game 91-87 a month ago. It would also solidify the Tar Heels NCAA Tournament curriculum, after they entered Saturday as the projected number 11, according to Jerry Palm. If Duke wants to save its chances of a broad offering, it may need to stage a historic high in the second half.