Holliday: Tar Heels take down Duke, lead the ACC by two games

Duke focused its defensive attention on R.J. Davis, holding the ACC’s leading scorer to a mere 4 points in the first half. But the Blue Devils played Armando Bacot one on one, and Bacot, after weeks of seeing mostly double teams – along with getting a pep talk from his coach – took advantage of his open space and dominated inside. Also Duke elected to defend the 6-7 Harrison Ingram with guards. 6’9 Mark Mitchell was part of the strategy to contain Davis. We didn’t see much of Mitchell on Ingram until late in the game. And Ingram made the Devils pay hitting 5-9 three points shots, all over the arms of shorter players.

And maybe another consequence of the “Stop Davis” strategy was a loss of ball pressure. Duke ranks among conference leaders in forcing turnovers. UNC, which coughed up the basketball 17 times recently at Florida State, committed exactly one turnover in the first half against the Blue Devils. To me, that is astonishing.

Jon Scheyer had reasons to play the Tar Heels a little bit differently given UNC’s greater depth, especially in the front court.

Scheyer wanted a half court game where someone other than RJD would take the shot. Duke left Elliott Cadeau wide open at times, daring him to shoot. Cadeau made just 1 of 9 (though several rimmed out) but at the same time he ruined the Duke game plan in other ways. Time after time Cadeau pushed the ball down court creating a faster tempo. UNC scored 10 fast break points in the first half. And even when the Devils got back on defense, Cadeau and his companions quickly moved the ball in the direction of a high percentage shot. The Heels shot 51% in the first half and scored 45 points; that’s halfway to 90, an unthinkable number for a Duke defense to allow.

That was certainly not the tempo Duke wanted. The Devils, who trailed by 10 at the break, had to play even faster in the second half trying to catch up.

Duke shot 54% in the second half but could not put together any kind of run. The Blue Devils cut the UNC lead to 8 a couple of times but could get no closer until the final seconds.

Also Duke endured a three possession drought about six minutes in during the second half, which fueled a six point surge by the Tar Heels. When Ingram grabbed a rebound and knocked down a jumper to make it 63-48, Scheyer called time out. That was Carolina’s biggest lead of the game and meant that Duke’s second half mission would now be more difficult. Much more difficult.

The Blue Devils certainly made shots to get back into the game. Jared McCain, Kyle Filipowski, and Jeremy Roach all scored 20 points or more, but seemingly every time Duke scored the Tar Heels answered. The loudest retort came with six minutes left. Cormack Ryan missed a three. Ingram sprinted toward the sideline and made a diving save of the rebound. Ingram whacked the ball hard and only a great play by the quick Cadeau kept it from crossing the center line. Soon after that Davis threw a quick pass to Ryan, still beyond the arc. He did not miss the second time. The crowd exploded as the Heels went up 77-64.

Carolina did miss a couple of late free throws and went most of the final 2 ½ minutes without scoring a field goal. A dunk by Filipowski cut the margin to seven. Truth be told the score might have been closer were it not for two superb defensive plays by Ryan. He blocked a layup with his right hand to save a certain two pointer; a few moments later he stole the ball, stopping another Duke chance to score. So seven was a close as Duke got and after Filipowski’s dunk, Bacot answered with one of his own. Exclamation point! UNC had its victory and a record of 10-1.

Ingram, Bacot lead No. 3 UNC past No. 7 Duke in season's first meeting

Duke leads the ACC in three point shooting, hitting 40% in conference games. The Blue Devils are especially lethal shooting threes on the run. But Hubert Davis’ defenders held Jon Scheyer’s shooters to 5-19 from beyond the arc, and just 2-11 in the second half.

Now Duke scored 54 points in the paint and shot 51% for the game. But UNC made the Blue Devils work for offense, preferring to give up the hard-earned two rather than the easy three.

Rebounding was essentially even, something I’m not sure Scheyer thought about when he called out his team for not giving enough effort. I mean UNC is statistically a much better rebounding team and for Duke to make it even on the boards was a very good accomplishment.

Turnovers were a surprise. Duke, which normally takes very good care of the basketball, committed 11 to UNC’s 5. And many of the giveaways were live ball turnovers that led to UNC fast breaks and sped up the pace of the game.

Fouls and free throws also played a big part. Duke did not shoot a free throw until the second half and would up making 9-11 from the line. UNC shot a whopping 25 free throws, making 18, which as it turned out were more than enough.

The one Duke starter who did not produce on offense as usual was Tyrese Proctor. This super soph averages 11 points per game, 38% from three. Proctor though, scored just two points in Chapel Hill. Scheyer noted that his defensive responsibilities on Davis may have worn him down.

Hubert Davis pointed out Filipowski’s evening was made more difficult by having to expend so much energy guarding Bacot. Filipowski scored 22 points but hit just 1-6 from three. Also he was outrebounded by TWO of his teammates.

UNC enjoyed an edge in bench play. Seth Trimble certainly made the most of his 19 minutes of court time, giving UNC a rested defender against the prolific Duke back court. Trimble also gave the Heels a boost on offense with 10 points, almost all in transition or driving to the basket. The give and go with Bacot on which he scored was truly special.

Again, the big story for me was Duke’s “stop Davis” strategy. R.J. eventually scored 17 points, just 4 below his average. Was the result really worth the sacrifices the Blue Devils made? While multiple Duke defenders keyed on Davis, Filipowski was left to guard Bacot by himself. And he couldn’t. Bacot scored 25 points on 10-13 from the floor. Mando also grabbed 10 rebounds – yet one more double double – and handed out 5 assists. The 25-10-5 performance had not been seen at UNC in decades.

Ingram might have been the biggest winner in the Duke game plan. Instead of having to contend with 6’9 Mark Mitchell, the one they call Harry managed to get nine open looks beyond the arc, shooting over guards. He made five of them. With his mother and Duke volleyball player sister Lauren cheering him on (though Lauren talked trash pregame) Harrison scored 21 points. Ingram also grabbed 13 rebounds, got a hellacious blocked shot against Proctor, stole the ball four times, and of course made the UNC team’s signature play diving for a rebound that led to an extra three.

Apart from freshman Jared McCain who scored 23 points, led Duke with 11 boards, and spent a chunk of his night guarding the much bigger Ingram, Duke’s Scheyer did not like his team’s effort. “I wasn’t happy with the way we competed,” Scheyer said post game. “That’s disappointing for me.”

The Duke coach couldn’t wait for the early week practices. “This is gonna be a one-time thing. We’re gonna get back to work and compete our butts off,” he said. Duke hosts Notre Dame Wednesday night.

UNC meanwhile hosts a Clemson team that just suffered yet one more brutal loss. The Tigers trailed surging Virginia just 66-65 and they had the ball. Rather than attack the basket, the Tigers put up a three that missed. So while Clemson at #37 is highly regarded by the NET rankings, the Tigers are in 11th place in the ACC with a 4-6 record. The Tigers have lost to Georgia Tech in double overtime, and then on the final possession against Duke and Virginia.

And of course UNC and Clemson have already met this season. UNC’s 65-55 win in early January marked the beginning of UNC’s much improved play on defense; and also started a three game slide for Clemson.

With the ACC now starting the second half of the 20-game conference season, Virginia, Duke and Florida State all have three losses. NC State and Wake Forest both have four.

UNC’s remaining schedule pits the Tar Heels against many of these contenders listed above, as well as a couple of teams desperately trying to boost their NCAA Tournament resumes. UNC has a home and home with explosive Miami, currently 6-5. The Heels have a home game against formidable Virginia Tech, which like Clemson, is well thought of by the NET despite a losing ACC record. Most of all UNC must visit Charlottesville, where the program has now won since 2012.

And of course UNC must play Duke again in March-this time in Cameron. I’m betting Duke will play a very different game.