(From a UNC fan’s perspective)

Whether you’re a Carolina or Duke fan, or a college basketball fan in general, you have to acknowledge what a great basketball game this was. Carolina got up by 13 and Duke came back. Duke got up by 7 in the second half and Carolina wasted no time in regaining the lead. The lead flip-flopped between the two teams, making it as exciting of a college basketball game as we’ve seen all season. The intensity and the passion of both teams were clearly evident, which is why college basketball to me will always reign supreme over the NBA.

After Carolina beat Duke in the first two meetings this season, they were looking for their first three game sweep of the Blue Devils since the 1975-76 season, with Duke’s Zion Williamson playing in the matchup for the first time this season. While RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish attempted to carry the load in the first two matchups, they felt pretty non-existent last night. Barrett played all 40 minutes, going just 5-15 from the floor, scoring 15 points. Reddish was just 3-7 with 6 points, while Jordan Goldwire (who is that?) received five more minutes of total playing time than Reddish. As expected, the offense, especially down the stretch, went through Williamson who took advantage with 31 points.

Carolina’s Cam Johnson got off to an extremely hot start at the beginning of the game, but cooled off in the 2nd half, which really hurt the Tar Heels. The team shot just 4-27 from the 3-point line, which was similar to their first matchup with Duke. It’s hard to win very many games when you shoot that low of a percentage behind the arc. Luke Maye who is usually dependable for a couple of threes per game was 0-3. Johnson was just 2 of 7. Kenny Williams was 1-6. And most noticeable, Carolina’s number one playmaker and second best shooter Coby White was 0-6 from three-point land. If you would have told me these numbers before the game, I would have thought Carolina would lose by double digits.

As a Carolina fan, the results of the game are comforting in a way, and worrisome in another. The fact that they shot so poorly and only lost by a point (with the chance to win) to a good team is promising. They can win a game in so many different ways and that is crucial heading into the NCAA Tournament. However, they can get very reliant on the three-point shot and when it’s not falling, it can spell trouble. It’s during these times I would like to see them go inside more and influence the game in the paint. The problem is, like last night, sometimes they stick to the unsuccessful three a little too long.

One thing I definitely wanted to see more of last night for the Tar Heels was their transition game down the stretch. Now, you can say they were tired, and I’m sure they were, but Carolina is deeper than most teams in college basketball. So I would’ve liked to see them utilize their bench more to keep players fresh and run, run, run. Duke is not a very deep team and was already gassed in the 2nd half. If Carolina would have given more minutes to Brandon Robinson, Nassir Little, and even Seventh Woods, they could’ve ran even more to completely wear out the Blue Devils. A deep bench is one of Carolina’s big strengths and sometimes they don’t utilize that advantage enough.

One last thing I have to wonder after that game is something I’ve wondered a thousand times. Why didn’t Roy Williams call a timeout at the end of the game? Down by a point, he sat on two timeouts and forfeited the opportunity to set up a game winning play. Instead he relied on his players, which resulted in a Coby White forced jump shot. It wasn’t a good look, and you would have to think they could’ve gotten a better look if Roy had set something up. I don’t fault Coby White one bit, though. With the high intensity and emotion of the game, he did everything he could to win the game. According to White post-game, he wanted to drive, but his foot slipped from under him, leading to the jumper. But Roy has to take control of the high intensity and emotions of the game by calling a timeout, composing his players, and drawing up a high percentage look. But that is Roy’s style, to let his players figure it out, no matter how big the stage is. We seen it two years ago when Luke Maye hit the game-winning shot against Kentucky to send them to the Final Four. Sometimes is works and sometimes it doesn’t, but it really frustrates fans when it doesn’t.

Zion Williamson clearly makes a big difference for Duke, but it wasn’t as much as many people kept making it out to be after the first two matchups. There were far too many people that acted as if Duke was head and shoulders better than Carolina with Zion on the floor, and that simply isn’t the case. Without Williamson, they are double digit-losses worse than the Tar Heels, as we’ve already seen. With him, it makes it a very good matchup as we seen last night. In my opinion, Carolina is still the better team because so many different players can step up. Duke goes through Zion. They have a lot of talent, they just don’t play fluently together, as expected from freshmen-heavy teams. Both teams are very good though, and have the potential to win the whole thing in early April.

In looking at the results of this game in a positive light, a loss isn’t the worst thing in the world for Carolina. Sure, you always want to beat Duke, but it gives the Tar Heels an extra day of rest to prepare for the big tournament. It just so happens that when Carolina wins the national title, they don’t win the ACC Tournament, so….you get what I’m saying. It should be interesting going forward as to who gets the #1 seeds in the tournament. I think the Tar Heels clearly deserve one of them, but if the tournament people want to put them on the #2 line I’ll say the same thing…Bring it on. I really like where the team is at going into this thing.

Garett

Reaction to UNC-Duke Round 3