Classic. That is the only word needed to describe the latest edition of college basketball’s greatest rivalry.
Early it looked like Duke may run away with it. The Blue Devils jumped out to a 17-6 lead in the first 5 minutes. North Carolina was able to weather the storm fairly well the rest of the half. The Tar heels were able to get the deficit down to 4, before Duke was able to maintain the lead, leading 49-42 at the half.
UNC started out the second half with momentum taking the lead with 15 minutes left. The game stayed very close after that until an 8-0 Tar Heel run gave them an 8 point lead with just over 5 minutes remaining. Duke went on a late run of their own to send it overtime overcoming a 5 point deficit with just over a minute in regulation.
Overtime saw big play after big play, both teams gave maximum effort and the big time players came up big. With Duke leading 92-90 North Carolina’s Nate Britt intentionally missed a free throw just like they practice it. The miss hit off the side of the rim, North Carolina reacted perfectly to the miss, but so did the Duke players and they couldn’t get the put back. Duke prevails in a thriller 92-90.
Both teams struggled mightily from the line, shooting a combined 28-51. The main thing that really jumps off the page when looking at the box score is 3 point shooting. UNC shot just 20% (2-10) while Duke made 10-16 from beyond the arc, led by Quinn Cook who went 6-9 from the 3 point line.
Duke had all 5 starters score in double digits, North Carolina also had 5 players score in double digits with two of those players coming off the bench. Quinn Cook and Tyus Jones had a game 22 points each for the Blue Devils. While Kennedy Meeks and Brice Johnson had a team high 18 points each for the Heels.
The rematch from Chapel Hill will happen March 7th in the final game of the regular season.