Duke’s hot shooting from deep propelled them past their rivals, North Carolina, at Cameron Indoor Stadium in a tight one.
Every time that the North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils, it’s a near-formality that the two rivals are going to go back-and-forth and the outcome isn’t going to be decided until late in the game. As they met at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Thursday night, the narrative followed the normal pattern.
Without Isaiah Hicks on the floor, North Carolina lost one of their biggest advantages in this game, that on the glass. However, even Hicks may not have been able to contend with what Duke killed the Heels with—the long ball. Grayson Allen and Luke Kennard all game and then the addition of Jayson Tatum in the second half all burned UNC on Thursday night.
If the Tar Heels would get out ahead thanks to a run—most likely spearheaded by Justin Jackson or Joel Berry—it was a few three balls that would put Duke back ahead. Ultimately, it was a dagger late in the fourth quarter by Allen that put the Blue Devils ahead by more than two possessions that put the game out of reach.
3 things we learned
Grayson Allen is great when he’s focused
Yes, there are always going to be tripping jokes to make about Grayson Allen—in addition to Ted Cruz ribs as well. However, what that often leads fans to forget is just how dangerous of a player he can be when he’s focused. The crap he takes is deserved because he oftentimes loses control of his emotions and causes him to both play poorly and act even poorer. Allen was locked in for the rivalry matchup on Thursday night, though, and the Tar Heels paid the price to the tune of 25 points and a nice all-around effort as a leader.
Isaiah Hicks is crucial to North Carolina’s tournament run
At full-strength and even coming off of a loss like this, it’s hard not to look at North Carolina as a title-contender. They were in the game and one buzzer-beater short one year ago and could easily get back to that point. One thing that Thursday brought to light is the fact that they aren’t going to get back to that place without Hicks in the lineup. The big man is so crucial both as an athletic scorer and a rebounder on both ends of the floor and that was clear when Luke Maye was forced to make plays on either end.
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Jayson Tatum might be alright in the NBA
Looking at Duke’s recruiting class coming into the 2016-17 season, all of the hype surrounded Harry Giles. While the young man who missed the start of the season recovering from an ACL injury has been impressive in moments, Jayson Tatum has surpassed him in star-power for this season. The lanky athlete can do it all and certainly did it all to the Tar Heels on Thursday night. If he contributes as he did in the second half consistently throughout the rest of the year, Duke too can compete for a title.