I've missed some of the recent Duke basketball games, but I wasn't going to miss Duke vs. Carolina.
The Duke vs. Carolina game (64-54 Duke) was hardly a classic. Duke shot 31%. Carolina shot 35%. The reason Duke won was because they shot so much better from the three point strip. Even the free throw percentages were a bit low with Duke at 61% and Carolina at 56%.
It was admittedly an intense game, as it should be, but frustrating, as well. Duke should have blown Carolina out of the water, but couldn’t. In the first half, Duke couldn’t score within ten feet of the basket. Nearly all their baskets came from three point land. When they did attempt to shoot near the rim, Carolina blocked shot after shot. I’ll have to say that Carolina’s shot blocking was an amazing sight to see.
Perhaps in the last ten minutes of the game, Duke was finally able to score some points in the paint. This is how they finally pulled away.
My notes:
Hopefully, Lance Thomas isn’t hurt too badly. I could have sworn I heard the guys on ESPN call him Deon Thompson.
I wish Duke could pound the ball inside more often.
It was nice to see Andre Dawkins play ten minutes – even though he didn’t have much of an impact on the game.
I suspect Carolina will be back next season. I’d rather see a great Carolina team versus a bad Carolina team.
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