Quote of the Day
"It means that we lost a game." -Kendall Marshal in response to a reporter's question about what going 3-1 over the last four games means to the team. The kid is a leader, folks.
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Nightmare, absolute nightmare of a second half. I completely thought this game was in the bag, especially when Dexter Strickland banked in the worst shot in basketball from the top of the key with 15:45 left in the second half to put Carolina up 49-39. But, Seth Curry decided to be Stephen for a few minutes and went off for 18 second-half points. My balloon went from fully inflated to a slow leak to a near pop when Nolan Smith put Duke up 60-55 on an old-fashioned three point play with 8:22 left. I completely expected Duke to run away with it at this point, but the youngsters at Carolina kept the game close and avoided a complete meltdown. Moral victories are still losses, but I'm proud of the effort put on display.
Anyone that watches college basketball on a consistent basis knew that Duke was going to make run in the second half at home, and the zebras were going to be a little more lenient with the whistles. It's as predictable as the sun rising in the morning. With a 14-point lead at the break, Carolina needed to make some shots, plain and simple. Looking at the box score, those shots needed to come from the interior. Carolina outscored Duke 48-24 in the paint, and Duke had no answer for Zeller and Henson, who had 48 points, combined. Duke did ratchet up the defense in the second half, but Carolina went away from the big fellas, and settled for jumpers. With that being said, most of those jumpers were fairly open, but 0-6 from the three-point line isn't going to cut it when Duke is on a tear.
Glaring Stats:
13-22: Carolina's free throw shooting. I know it's Cameron, but if you want to win, you have to make free throws.
3-8, 9 points: Harrison Barnes' offensive output. He was hounded on defense, but Carolina needed to make him a priority on the offensive end with the way he's been scoring lately.
48 points: Zeller and Henson's combined point total, though only nine of those 48 came after Duke took a five-point lead with 8:22 remaining.
2-14: Carolina from three. Carolina shot 19-41 from three over the past two games, but couldn't hit an open jumper to save a life last night, and it hurt.
3-11: Kendall Marshall from the field. I thought Kendall showed some aggression in getting to the rim that I haven't seen this season, but his shot selection wasn't good at times. Now don't get me wrong, I love this kid, and he's the future of Carolina basketball, but he wanted to take over last night and I think it clouded his decision making. He did have an A:TO of 6:1 though, which is incredible in Cameron.
16-20: Duke's free throw shooting in the second half. 20 second half free throws from a team that took 13 second half three pointers? It wasn't as if a multitude of them came from Carolina having to foul at the end of a game. Only four, possibly six if you count Marshall's tie-up of Singler, of those free throws came with Carolina in must foul situations.
Overall, another classic in the annals of Carolina-Duke. I hate the final result, but I was pleased with what I saw from Carolina. I saw an aggressive streak from Kendall Marshall, I saw dominance by the Carolina bigs for a large chunk of the game, and I saw dominance on the boards from Carolina. I hate the result, but love the effort.
The altercation: Matt Doherty did two good things for the Carolina basketball program. The first, signing Felton, May, and McCants to national letters of intent. The second, inciting a near-brawl with the Duke bench. An unranked Carolina took the game over the 10th-rated Blue Devils, 82-79.
"Gerald Henderson is a douche" game. Billy Packer will never admit it, but it was intentional, and Henderson got what he deserved, leaving Duke without a national title, and having a mediocre NBA career. Plus, Carolina won the game 86-72.
The Bloody Montross Game: This game took place in 1992, with Carolina ranked #9 and Duke ranked #1. Eric Montross took a shot to his right eye, but calmly sank both free throws. Fastforward to 1:00 to see one of the two free throws. Carolina won the game 75-73.
The punch: High school rivals, Art Heyman (Duke) and Larry Brown's (Carolina) fight turned into a bench-clearing brawl way back in 1961. Duke won the game 81-77, and basically cleared the way for the bad blood between the schools.
Greatest Missed Dunk Ever: Typically, missed dunks are destined for the Sportscenter "Not" Top 10. But not this one, no way. Vince Carter jumped through the roof to get this one, and though he smashed off the iron, a three was the result.
Through my Carolina-blue tinted glasses, I think this rivalry is the greatest in all of sports. I know about Ohio State-Michigan, Red Sox-Yankees, Packers-Bears, but Carolina-Duke just has that little extra for me. I grew up watching it, I remember the scores, the players, the wins and near loses, and everything in between. Tomorrow night is the first installment of two regular season match-ups between the schools, with this one taking place in Durham. If you would have asked me a month ago if I thought Carolina had a fighting chance, I would have told you that anything can happen in a rivalry game (Translation: No way in hell). But, after the offensive outburst that Carolina has put on display over their last four games, I think Carolina is trending more towards a victory now than at any time this season.
Last 5 meetings:
3/6/2010: Duke 82 - 50 UNC, at Cameron Indoor
2/10/2010: Duke 64 - 54 UNC, at the Dean Dome
3/8/2009: Carolina 79 - 71 Duke, at the Dean Dome
3/11/2009: Carolina 101 - 87 Duke, at Cameron Indoor
3/8/2008: Carolina 76 - 68 Duke, at Cameron Indoor
Carolina won six of eight from Duke from 2006-2009, with Duke winning both games last season, including the total Carolina meltdown during the regular season finale in Durham. I guess Ty Lawson and Tyler Hansbrough were big deals.
Forget the keys to the game. This is Carolina-Duke, and it all comes down to heart. After all, in 1995, Carolina was heavily favored and it took two overtime periods to pull out the win in Durham. The biggest issue for Carolina is how the freshman will perform. Freshmen, especially during rivalry games, are a blessing and a curse. They haven't been in this type of environment before, so they don't fully know what to expect. You saw that in 2006, when Tyler Hansbrough, Bobby Frasor, Danny Green, and Marcus Ginyard went into Cameron and beat Duke 83 - 76. That was a bunch of kids who didn't know any better playing without a care in the world. Or, you could have a talented freshmen group like Carolina did last year, and they completely shutdown and get crushed. It can go either way, and let's hope we see shades of 2006 in this group.
Not only are Harrison Barnes, Kendall Marshall, and Reggie Bullock freshmen, but two of the three also have given the Dookies some ammunition, and I'm interested to see what those math majors have come up with. Harrison Barnes, in Duke's eyes, spurned Durham for Chapel Hill when almost everybody, including myself, thought he was a Duke lock. His nickname over on the Duke message boards has become "HBFU", which I'm sure you can figure out on your own. Reggie Bullock, as you'll see with the video clip at the bottom of the post, said Carolina fans were going to have signs that would say, "He look like a rat", referring to Coach Krzyahag;hagkhag;ski. Marshall hasn't done anything to catch the ire of Duke fans, but as Carolina's starting point guard, he'll undoubtedly be subjected to multiple uncalled handchecks, grabs, and scratches. We might even see a few flops, but we all know that's coming.
I have a feeling that this game is going to be another classic in the Carolina-Duke rivalry. I'm going to refrain from making a pick in this one, because my hatred for Duke doesn't allow me objectively see things. I just hope Carolina is able to stop dribble penetration, and that doubling the Plumlees and Ryan Kelly is not part of the gameplan, which would allow Duke's three-point shooters open looks at the basketball.
Only 36 more hours.
Fastforward to 1:20 to hear Reggie's truthful comments.
What an incredible game. I remember being totally devastated with 3:09 left, when Lee Mybologna hit a three to put Duke up nine. But, Carolina held Duke scoreless for the final three minutes, with Marvin Williams putting the final nail in Duke's coffin.
Epic comeback. Enjoy.
