By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo: Lance King/GettyImages
On Saturday night, it was a brutal night for the UNC Tar Heels, who the Duke Blue Devils pummeled in this classic rivalry, 87-70.
Tar Heels played lackluster defense. After Duke went on a 16-0 run in the first half, the game became worse. The Blue Devils never trailed.
Tar Heels had no answer to stop the Blue Devils. Freshman Cooper Flagg played sensational all night in his first UNC-Duke rivalry game.
Flagg finished the game with 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Kon Knueppel added 22 points, shooting 7 of 11 from the field.
RJ Davis scored 12 points. Seth Trimble added 10 points. Drake Powell scored 12 points off the bench.
The Tar Heels have too many flaws. Turnovers killed them. This team has a poorly contrasted offense—too much dribbling and not enough communication or connection on the court. Tar Heels looked that bad on Saturday night, with no exaggeration.
The Blue Devils paid the Tar Heels by scoring 19 points off turnovers.
The Tar Heels have lost four of their last five games, falling to 13-10 on the season. The Blue Devils have won 15 straight games, 11-0 in ACC Conference play, their best record since the 2005-06 season.
Saturday’s game didn’t feel like a rivalry game. The Blue Devils are in a whole different league from the Tar Heels this season.
The Tar Heels will play the Pittsburgh Panthers in their next game. Their window of reaching the NCAA tournament is slowly closing.
Coach Hubert Davis could be in the hot seat if the Tar Heels fail to make it to the tournament.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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