The Duke Blue Devils (19-2, 11-0 ACC) dismantled the North Carolina Tar Heels (13-10, 6-5 ACC) last night at Cameron Indoor Stadium in the first edition of the rivalry this season. The game was practically over after the first five minutes as Duke gave UNC absolutely nothing to consistently get with their offense.
The Blue Devils held the Tar Heels to just 29.6% shooting in the first half and 27.2% from three point range. North Carolina never had a chance, being down double digits for almost the entire forty minutes of action in an 87-70 loss. Duke was up by over 30 points for a few minutes in the second half.
Duke dominated in every facet of the game last night. Led by freshmen sensations Cooper Flagg, who finished with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks, and Kon Knueppel who finished with a game-high 22 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
Despite flowing on offense for the entirety of the night, shooting 52.8% from the field as a team and assisting on 20 of 28 made shots, the Blue Devils got it done defensively which left the Heels in the dust early on.
Why this proves Duke is the best defensive team in the nation isn't necessarily because it played outstanding defense like its done all season, but because of how quickly it shut down UNC's transition game, which is what the Heels live off of.
UNC's biggest issue this season has been the lack of a consistent big inside, leading head coach Hubert Davis to scheme his offense around transition. The Heels sit with the 23rd fastest tempo in the country and are 30th nationally in fast break points per game. Even though those numbers aren't in the top five or ten nationally, few teams try to run as much as Carolina.
And it was clear from early on that UNC knew that was its only hope of winning, but Duke immediately shut down any transition opportunities the Heels had, and it didn't even look like much of a challenge to do so against one of the best transition teams in the country.
Granted, North Carolina isn't a premier team in college basketball this season, but they are deadly when they can get out and run. Duke gave the Heels no signs of life that that was ever going to work.
UNC averages 14.5 fast break points per game, and the Blue Devils shut the Heels down to 10, although most of those came late in the second half when the game was officially over.
"It was just such an incredible environment tonight," Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said. "I thought our guys really helped with the defense and how we play on that end to get the crowd going."
It was put on display just how overwhelming Duke's size and length is to opponents, and the Blue Devils' ability to switch 1 through 5 is a luxury not many teams have. The ability to be so long and get back in transition to stop anyone is something most teams in college hoops can't do, and Duke showed last night why they are ranked 3rd at KenPom in adjusted defensive efficiency, and look like the best all-around defensive team in the nation.
After winning its 15th straight game, Duke is next up at Syracuse (10-12, 4-7 ACC) on February 6th (7:00pm ET, ESPN2).