UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Dominate Duke on Senior Night
by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn
The North Carolina basketball team faced off against their arch-rival Duke in their final game of the regular season on Saturday night. The Tar Heels came ready to play tonight dominating the Blue Devils from start to finish on both ends of the floor. The Heels got off to an 11-2 start and never looked back. They would lead by as much as 22 in the first half as they were just too much for the Blue Devils.
In the second half, UNC extended their lead to as many as 24 and continued to overwhelm Duke with their play. The Tar Heels were very efficient on offense throughout the game. They had 21 assists and shot 55% from the field and 44% from 3 point line in the game. They also played stifling defense, holding Duke to just 40% from the field and did not allow them to get any rhythm on the offensive end. Four Tar Heels scored in double figures and they held Duke’s best player, Matthew Hurt, to just 14 points on 37% from the field. North Carolina sweeps the season series against Duke on the year and ends the season on a high note with an 18-point win.
UNC Game Stats
1st 2nd TOT North Carolina 42 49 91 Duke 26 47 73 North Carolina Pts FG 3FG FT REB A TO Min +/- 1 BLACK 2 0-2 0-1 2-2 4 2 2 27 6 3 PLATEK 0 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 2 1 7 1 15 BROOKS 14 6-9 2-3 0-0 5 3 1 25 5 22 MILLER 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 2 4 30 SMITH 2 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 2 4 0 HARRIS 1 0-0 0-0 1-2 3 3 4 11 6 2 LOVE 18 6-12 2-6 4-4 3 7 4 30 13 4 DAVIS 5 1-3 0-0 3-4 2 0 2 17 2 5 BACOT 18 6-10 0-0 6-7 6 0 3 26 8 11 SHARPE 7 2-6 0-0 3-5 5 1 1 16 2 13 KESSLER 4 2-2 0-0 0-0 4 1 0 9 11 21 MANLEY 2 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 2 24 WALTON 18 6-9 4-7 2-2 2 2 1 26 20 35 MCADOO 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 2 TOTALS 91 31-56 8-18 21-26 38 21 20 55.4% 44.4% 80.8% Duke Pts FG 3FG FT REB A TO Min +/- 0 MOORE JR. 8 3-7 0-3 2-2 4 2 3 30 -14 2 STEWARD 16 6-11 2-4 2-3 3 2 2 32 -12 3 ROACH 10 3-7 1-2 3-4 2 3 0 19 -9 15 WILLIAMS 18 7-10 0-0 4-5 3 0 2 25 -27 21 HURT 14 6-16 2-10 0-0 6 1 2 31 -18 5 BRAKEFIELD 2 1-3 0-2 0-0 1 1 1 10 7 12 TAPE 2 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 4 0 13 BAKER 1 0-4 0-3 1-2 2 2 1 13 -12 14 GOLDWIRE 2 1-7 0-2 0-0 2 5 1 24 -2 30 SAVARINO 0 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 -2 34 COLEMAN III 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 3 0 1 9 3 45 WORTHINGTON 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 -2 51 BUCKMIRE 0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 -2 TOTALS 73 28-69 5-27 12-16 31 16 15 40.6% 18.5% 75.0%
UNC Bright Spots
Armando Bacot had 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 block.
Kerwin Walton had 18 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block.
Caleb Love had 18 points, 7 assists, and 3 rebounds.
Garrison Brooks had 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block.
Needs Work
The Tar Heels need to cut down on their turnovers and must make better decisions with the ball. They had 20 turnovers in the game, which is totally unacceptable.
Final Observations
The Tar Heels end the season with 16-9 record and are the sixth seed in the ACC going into the tournament next week. This season has been up and down. The major problem with this team has been how inconsistent they have been this year. They play well for a few games and then play bad a few games. The consistency in their play will be key for them and will determine how far they will go in their conference tournament and the NCAA tournament.
Another key to their postseason success will be how well the guards play with their decision-making. If they cut down on their mistakes, get the big men involved as much as possible, and play confident basketball, they will have a chance to be in every game. This Heels’ team can play with any team in the country when they are at their best, but it is up to them to bring their best every game going forward because it is win-or-go-home from now on. Their next game will be on Wednesday and their opponent will be the winner of the Notre Dame-Wake Forest game.