AP Photo/Chris Seward
Mike Krzyzewski was victorious in his final trip to Chapel Hill, as Duke earned a 87-67 win over North Carolina in the latest installment of their legendary rivalry.
The ninth-ranked Blue Devils have now won five games in a row after losing in overtime to Florida State on Jan. 18. The Tar Heels had a four-game winning streak of their own, but a loss to Duke sees UNC fall back to earth. Hubert Davis’ squad is now 1-4 against ranked opponents.
Duke was up by 23 points at one point in the first half, but North Carolina clawed back and trailed by 11, 39-28, at halftime.
But four minutes into the second half, the Blue Devils built another 23-point lead. The Tar Heels were basically playing to avoid a blowout as they were outmanned and overmatched.
Notable Performers
AJ Griffin, F, Duke: 27 points, four rebounds, one assist, one steal
Paolo Banchero, F, Duke: 13 points, 10 rebounds, two assists
Brady Manek, F, North Carolina: 21 points, six rebounds
Armando Bacot, F, North Carolina: 12 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals, one block
Griffin Too Much for UNC
Duke’s dominance started with AJ Griffin. The 6’6″ forward presented matchup problems throughout the night and provided a steady source of offense.
Given the stakes of any encounter between these two programs, Griffin wrote his name into Blue Devils lore on this performance alone.
This was also a great showcase for Griffin’s potential at the next level. In his most recent 2022 NBA mock draft, Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman projected him to go sixth overall to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Dick Vitale @DickieV
A PTPER player in the eyes of the <a href=”https://twitter.com/NBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@NBA</a> scouts that has made the biggest jump from the start to now is AJ GRIFFIN <a href=”https://twitter.com/whoisAG21?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@whoisAG21</a> of <a href=”https://twitter.com/DukeMBB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@DukeMBB</a> / also watching BRADY MANEK his range as a shooter makes his stock go up in the eyes of the NBA ppl.
Krzyzewski couldn’t have crafted a better sendoff to Dean E. Smith Center. His players were zeroed in from the opening tip—quickly building a 19-5 lead with a little more than five minutes off the clock—and didn’t let up much from there.
The Blue Devils relished the opportunity to pile on more misery in the second half.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi projected Duke as a No. 2 seed in the 2022 NCAA tournament, and the team looked every bit the part Saturday.
Manek Can’t Do it All for Heels
Brady Manek was the single biggest reason this game wasn’t a blowout in the first half.
Armando Bacot battled foul trouble, while Caleb Love was held scoreless. In addition to playing all 20 minutes of the first half, Manek’s offensive consistency was critical toward keeping the Heels at least within striking distance.
By having to exert so much energy on offense, though, the senior forward might have left himself at a disadvantage on defense. Duke looked to switch Griffin onto Manek with high frequency, and the strategy is a big reason why Griffin was the game’s leading scorer.
In general, it was clear early on the Heels wouldn’t have much chance at an upset. They can’t take down an opponent with as much talent as Duke has when Love is mired in such a brutal shooting funk.
Sam Vecenie @Sam_Vecenie
I was really excited about some of the growth we’d seen in terms of poise and ball-screen comfort from Caleb Love early in the season. But he’s been kind of a mess since mid-January. Not counting today, he entered shooting 26% in his last six games, including 21% from 2-pt range.
All things considered, this isn’t the most embarrassing loss North Carolina has suffered at the hands of its in-state rival. But it was a sobering display of how much work Davis has ahead.
What’s Next?
Duke returns to Durham for a matchup with Virginia on Monday. North Carolina will head south to play Clemson on Tuesday night.
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