Game Blog: Tar Heels beat Blue Devils in Cameron
Tar Heel Danny Green handles the ball for UNC against Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham.
Feb 12, 2009
11:15 p.m. - The difference in the 2nd half appeared to be the UNC defense. Duke struggled to get into any offensive rythym due to heavy man-to-man pressure from Lawson, Green and Ellington. The Tar Heel seniors get out of town officially perfect for their careers visiting their arch-rival Duke.
Off to the locker room for interviews with coaches and players.
Final Score - UNC 101, Duke 87
11:05 p.m. - There's Duke's energy - Duke has cut the Carolina lead to eight points, with just over a minute to play. Credit strong defense creating turnovers and attacking the glass. Singler was able to rebound a missed free throw by Lance Thomas and make up for Thomas' missed opportunity.
1:16 to play - UNC 92, Duke 84
11 p.m. - Carolina leads by 15 points with just over two minutes to play. Duke's defense leaves a lot to be desired, considering the deficit. After the Devils finally broke their scoreless streak, it's been a series of trading baskets.
2:16 to play - UNC 92, Duke 77
10:55 p.m. - I hesitate to say that's the dagger, but with Duke scoreless for a four-minute stretch and Ty Lawson just hitting a lay-up with a chance to complete the old-fashioned three point play after the timeout... It might just be over. Carolina now leads by 16 with less than four minutes to play. Duke's scoring drought has quieted the student section a bit, of course quiet is a relative term at Cameron. Duke hasn't scored since the 7:41 mark.
The story in the last stretch has really been the Tar Heels defense; pressuring the ball, jumping the passing lanes and clogging up the paint.
3:42 to play - UNC 87, Duke 71
10:51 p.m. - Hansbrough drained it as the shot clock said three seconds. What a devastating defensive posssession for Duke. You keep the Heels from getting the ball in the post for 32 seconds, then the big fella drains one.
5:05 to play - UNC 83, Duke 71
10:46 p.m. - It's amazing how fast Carolina can score. Ty Lawson scored on back-to-back fast breaks for Carolina, created by solid man-to-man defense for Carolina. Lawson's speed is truly remarkable in person. Again, it's beginning to feel like UNC is finding the pace of the game that suits them, and it's not as fast as a typical Heels team desires.
It should be noted that Danny Green has now picked up his fourth foul.
6:41 to play - UNC 78, Duke 71
10:42 p.m. - Kyle Singler has three personal fouls. As does back-up point guard Nolan Smith. Perhaps more importantly, Duke is already in the bonus with 7 team fouls in the 2nd half. This sounds strange, but it feels like Carolina is slowing the game down, and it's helping them. Maybe it's just a seemingly slower pace than early in the game because of all the stoppages for fouls, wet court spots and possession arrows.
7:59 to play - UNC 73, Duke 69
10:38 p.m - Carolina now leads 73-69 with 8:41 remaing. Deon Thompson is starting to look like his 1st half self, hitting a nice shot in the paint, but then getting a soft shot rejected on his next attempt. If possible, it seems calmer, and even cooler in Cameron in the 2nd half. I wouldn't bet on that continuing down the stretch.
10:32 p.m. - Ellington has 7 2nd half points, but none bigger than the three-pointer he hit a moment ago to give Carolina a 67-65 lead. Carolina now seems to be playing their game. This has been a fast paced 2nd half, with Duke settling for undesirable shots. On one possession the Devils were so stymied by Carolina's improved 2nd half defense that they were called for a shot clock violation.
10:24 to play - UNC 69, Duke 65
10:22 p.m. - How often do you see three tied balls called in a span of three minutes? That speaks to the aggressiveness Duke is showing on the defensive glass. Three times the possession arrow has been used in the first few minutes of the 2nd half. Both teams, really are going after every loose ball. Carolina's gotten a couple of transition opportunities since the break, and scored both times. Tyler Hansbrough is starting to demand the ball more, and he's got 4 2nd half points to show for it.
While Carolina has cut their halftime deficit by six points already, the momentum is not clearly on one team's side.
15:31 to play - Duke 58, UNC 56
10:07 p.m. - Rebounding is even, but FG% speaks volumes. Duke is shooting 61.8% after twenty minutes. That is incredible. But not as impressive as what they've done to Lawson and Hansbrough, holding them to a combined 8 points. Lawson has three turnovers and three assists. Carolina as a team has eight assists, to seven turnovers. Meanwhile Duke has assists on 13 of their 21 1st half field goals.
If Carolina is to take over again, they'll need to get Hansbrough the ball more often. He'll need to establish his post position for the Tar Heel guards to get him the ball. Duke's defense has been fantastic, keeping the Tar Heels from getting out into transition.
Enjoy the 2nd half
9:57 p.m. - Lance Thomas sends the Devils to the half with a lay-up over two defenders. Thomas was fouled, missed the free throw and didn't capitalize on the old-fashioned three-point play opportunity. The Blue Devils are led by Scheyer and Henderson, both with 13 points at the break. While Carolina is shooting 50% for the game, that's a bit deceiving. The Heels have been ineffective late in the 1st half, while Duke is starting to create open shots and hit them. The Devils are shooting an astonishing 61%, including 6-of-9 from behind the arc.
I'll be back with official halftime stats
Halftime score - Duke 52, UNC 44
9:51 p.m - Duke's lead has grown to seven points. The Blue Devils' defense is suffocating. Carolina is having trouble getting open looks. Under a minute left in the first half, the last couple of minutes were played without Hansbrough on the floor. He's not coming back after the media timeout either. Roy's probably trying to save his remaining three fouls.
55 second left to the break - Duke 48, UNC 41
9:43 p.m. - Gerald Henderson, Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler have all hit big three's in the last few minutes and Duke now leads 40-36. Carolina is starting to show signs of buckling to Duke's pressure defense. The crowd is rockin' and the Devils seem to be feeding off of their home court advantage. Duke's 22-8 run in about six minutes has been impressive.
3:53 remaining in the 1st half - Duke 40, UNC 36
9:36 p.m. - Duke has been scoring much easier in the last four minutes or so of action. Gerald Henderson and Jon Scheyer have been good sparks for the Blue Devils. Both Henderson and Scheyer are up to ten points. Carolina's look a bit out of sync, but they still have the lead.
The Cameron crowd went into a frenzy when Greg Paulus leapt over the press table to dive for a loose ball.
6:22 remaining in the 1st half - UNC 34, Duke 33
9:27 p.m. - Tar Heels fans might be surprised to read the following two items: Bobby Frasor is 2-for-2 from three point range & Deon Thompson leads Carolina with 10 points. Thompson is 5-of-6 from the field, he's really feeling it. It's obvious the Heels are a confident bunch, but I'm a bit surprised that Thompson is so deliberate with his shot against Duke.
11 minutes and change to play in the 1st half - UNC 25, Duke 16
9:16 p.m - Coach K's patented move is calling a timeout to yell at the officials. Not until the timeout was nearly over did K talk to his team, instead opting to yell "Why isn't that a charge?" for almost two consecutive mintues. K may have a legitimate gripe, but WOW! Watching him work the officials in person is pretty eye-opening.
15:51 remaining in the 1st half - UNC 14, Duke 6
8:50 p.m - The place is packed, the temparature is rising in Cameron. Tim Hall's doing great work at the RBC Center, what a pleasant surprise at the RBC Center Tim. Your live blog is keeping me in the loop as I'm fending off the Duke student section from getting blue paint on our company laptop. Good for the Wolfpack, they need a big win like that. Will they hold on?
Back to work... Cameron Indoor Stadium must be 100 degrees. The press table is even perspirating. The atmosphere is electric, the noise in here hasn't subsided since we arrived over an hour ago. We all know it's Carolina vs. Duke, #3 vs. #6, two huge rivals, two of the top ten teams in the nation. Dicky V is here, the media room is so cramped that reporters are elbow-to-elbow as they try to get their game notes together. We're less than ten minutes from tip, time for the hype to stop and the action to begin.
Let's hope this one lives up to the billing. Here are some keys to the game:
Rebounding - Two of the top three rebounding teams in the ACC; who leads that category could be telling on the scoreboard.
Three-point shooting - Duke needs to be efficient from behind the arc if they want to keep pace with the ACC's highest scoring team.
Defense - Duke brings it every game; will Carolina bring it tonight?
Point guard play - Can anyone slow down Ty Lawson? Will Greg Paulus show great leadership as he did vs. Miami?
Enjoy the game - I'll post again after a few minutes of action.
8:20 p.m. - Both teams are out on the floor warming up. For a few minutes the entire Carolina team was on the floor, with one obvious exception to the Duke students. Tyler Hansbrough wasn't on the court.
No worries, Heels fans. Tyler finally appeared and was welcomed with a rousing "ooohhh" cheer from the Cameron faithful. I'm not sure how none of the fans' hands made contact with Hansbrough's face. It is very close quarters for the Tar Heel players and coaches as they make their way from the locker room to the court. Also, our friend Ryan Craig has already spotted the "Beaker" look-alike heads often seen at the RBC Center when Carolina plays NC State.
The Carolina senior class, led by Hansbrough, has never lost a game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke, meanwhile, has not lost a game in Durham this season. So, obviously something's got to give.
One thing to watch - When Tyler Hansbrough scores his first points of the night, he'll officially be alone in 2nd place on the all-time conference list behind JJ Redick. I'm sure the fans will love that, but don't count on the PA announcer making any special comments.
Enjoy the hype, and enjoy the 20-point lead the Wolfpack have over the Deacs. Wow.
I'll be back with more before the tip off.
Adam Harris of 99.9 FM The Fan is at Cameron Indoor Stadium filing live reports from the North Carolina at Duke game Wednesday night.
