Duke basketball rolls to 20-point win over UNC, maintains hold on top spot in the ACC
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Duke vs. North Carolina basketball
Duke won its first matchup with UNC this season: Our News & Observer sports team has complete coverage from the Saturday, Feb. 5 rivalry game at the Dean E. Smith Center.
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In a rivalry renowned for high-intensity, thrilling matchups, No. 9 Duke turned Mike Krzyzewski’s final game at the Smith Center into his most relaxing.
Duke knocked North Carolina wobbly with a proverbial opening punch and the Blue Devils finished off the Tar Heels with another spurt to start the second half to rout their rivals, 87-67 Saturday night.
Duke (19-3, 9-2 ACC) maintained its hold on first place in the ACC by jumping to a 31-8 lead behind red-hot shooting. After the Tar Heels cut their deficit to 39-28 at halftime, the Blue Devils scored the first 10 points of the second half — all by freshman A.J. Griffin — to quiet the capacity crowd once again.
“We wanted to come out and impose our will early in the second half,” said Duke junior forward Wendell Moore, who scored 13 points. “I feel like on the defensive end that’s what we did. And on the offensive end, A.J. led us for, what the first three or four minutes? I mean, he was on a different level. So amazing. He played a great game.”
Griffin was Duke’s star of the game, scoring a career-best 27 points while making 11 of 17 shots, including 3 of 6 3-pointers.
The Blue Devils shot a sizzling 57.6% from the field, just off their season-best shooting percentage of 58.3% in an 88-73 win over N.C. State on Jan. 15.
Here’s are the rest of Duke’s highlights from its fifth consecutive win:
Opening both halves with a rush
The Blue Devils made 13 of their first 17 shots of the game as they sprinted to a 23-point lead at 31-8 with 9:59 to play until halftime. Griffin had nine points during that stretch.
But he was spectacular in the opening three minutes of the second half, scoring the game’s first 10 points after halftime.
Before a minute of the second half had been played, Griffin had hit a jumper, stole the ball from UNC’s Leaky Black and sank a 3-pointer. He added another 3-pointer and his jump shot with 17:14 to play gave Duke a 49-28 lead.
“A.J. exploded,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “You know, we wanted to run a couple things for him. But we ran one thing, and then he just, he went off and our guys found him.”
Blue Devils spoil another perfect home record
For the third time this season, all in ACC play, Duke played a team that was previously perfect on its home court and left with a win anyway.
UNC had won its first 12 games at the Smith Center this season before Duke’s 20-point win.
Last Monday night, Duke beat Notre Dame, 57-43, to leave the Irish 9-1 at Purcell Pavilion.
Duke topped Wake Forest, 76-64, in Winston-Salem on Jan. 12. The Demon Deacons are currently 13-1 at the Joel Coliseum this season.
Duke won while Banchero struggled
An ACC player of the year candidate who entered the game averaging 17.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, Duke freshman Paolo Banchero played a minor role as the Blue Devils built their large leads.
Banchero made just 2 of his first 10 shots, scoring just five first-half points. He finished with 13 points while making 5 of 14 shots. He also grabbed 10 rebounds to produce his sixth double-double of the season even on a day when he wasn’t at his best.
Duke picks up a NET boost
UNC entered the game in desperate need of a Quad 1 win to improve its NCAA tournament resume.
Instead, Duke claimed the win and is now 5-1 against Quad 1 opponents. The Blue Devils entered the game No. 12 in the NET, while UNC was No. 36. The Tar Heels are now 0-7 this season in Q1 games.
Keels fine coming off bench
Playing in his second game since returning from a calf injury in his right leg, Duke’s Trevor Keels remained in a reserve role.
After starting Duke’s first 17 games, Keels missed three games after suffering his injury on Jan. 18 in a 79-78 overtime loss at Florida State.
He returned to play last Monday, playing 27 minutes in the Blue Devils’ 57-43 win.
Against UNC, he entered the game at the 14:24 mark of the first half. He played 20 minutes, scoring 11 points looking like the steady force in the backcourt Duke needs to be at its best.
This story was originally published February 5, 2022 at 8:17 PM with the headline "Duke basketball rolls to 20-point win over UNC, maintains hold on top spot in the ACC."
