After a strong defensive first half the Tarheels collapsed under Duke's full court pressure in the second half and lost to Duke for the second time this season 84-77. Marcus Paige had one of his best offensive games of the season scoring 23 points including 5 for 9 from the three point line and Brice Johnson scored 17.
There were times in the second half, the Tarheels acted like they were throwing around a hand grenade rather than a basketball. They could not break Duke's press, they could not get into their offense, bad turnovers, and the ball seemed to bounce right to Duke on several loose ball situations.
Head Coach was as intense as I have seen him all season on the sidelines but his team could not match that intensity. The Tarheels have several things they can build on from this game. They hit 8 out of 16 three pointers, were a perfect 13 for 13 from the free throw line, and had a great defensive effort.
Duke eploited North Carolina's weaknesses. The most glaring weaknesses were their ball handling and their inability to come off of ball acreens or to switch off on defense. Duke continually drove the ball down the middle for layups and North Carolina did not take advantage of their size inside.
The loss had no bearing on North Carolina's seeding in the ACC Tournament but this was still Duke. They have a few days to iron out the kinks before the start of the Tournament. They play the winner of the Boston College/Georgia Tech game on Thursday.
No comments:
Post a Comment