Photo via Todd Melet
It was almost as if the Tar Heels knew that Duke lost.
Those who could follow both the Duke-Virginia Tech and Syracuse-Carolina games saw the Blue Devils’ 77-72 loss to the Hokies end at almost the exact time the Tar Heels were tipping off against the Orange. Of course, it didn’t happen this way, but I could not help imagining it.
Right after the players gathered at the bench following the starting lineups and Jump Around started, one of them said under his breath, “Hey, Duke just lost.” The word spread around to the entire team and the starters opened the game like they were a little bit giddy about the possibility of moving ahead of the Dukies in the ACC standings.
Syracuse made six of its first seven shots and jumped out to a 15-6 lead, its largest of the game. Carolina was having trouble with the troublesome Orange zone, which looked more like a match-up and kept the Heels from getting the ball into the middle as easily as usual. They were playing pretty awful offense but somehow got to the foul line 21 times, making 19.
Roy Williams kept his team in the locker room longer than usual, perhaps dusting off his speech the night they all returned from the 16-point win in Durham. He said they had to get ready for Florida State because they don’t want to give this one back. He might have also told them to tighten up a defense that was allowing the ‘Cuse to outshoot them from the field and 3-point line.
Maybe someone leaked that while Zion didn’t play at Virginia Tech he was on the bench, with that “put me in, coach” look on his face. Without him, the Blue Devils were in a dogfight in Blacksburg, tying the game in the final minute before failing to score again and suffering their third ACC loss.
Perhaps Zion’s presence meant he might be ready for the rematch in Chapel Hill, when Carolina can sweep Duke and maybe win the ACC race. However Ol’ Roy got their attention for the second half, it worked. The Heels outscored Syracuse 15-3 the first five minutes and took control of the game.
Some sloppy defense and dumb fouls allowed the ‘Cuse to stay close and win most scoring stats besides free throws and 93-85 final. The Tar Heels made 91 percent from the foul line and Coby White had six 3-pointers and his third 30-point game, setting a UNC freshman record. And Luke Maye had a career-high six assists and 12 rebounds. And Cam Johnson had his 26th double-figure scoring game of the season.
And Nas Little hit 7 of 8 clutch free throws.
Oh, and did I mention that Duke lost?
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe:
Related Stories
‹
Chansky's Notebook: All-Around SorryWhat do I feel sorry about over that win that got away? I feel sorry for those fans, many of whom might have thought their team had no chance to beat Duke, but didn’t sell their tickets and yelled their guts out at the Dean Dome, trying to pull Carolina through. I feel sorry for […]
Chansky's Notebook: How About 'Dirty Duke?'Turns out that Duke was caught cheating – twice. The Duke Basketball Report is a fine publication that has existed long before the Internet was invented by whomever. During the early digital days, the DBR was purchased by SB Nation in the giant game of Packman that those big national websites played for years. J.D. […]
Chansky's Notebook: The Great American DivideWhat a Sunday afternoon for Duke and President Trump. Let’s just say, for argument’s sake, that half the country is split down the middle on Duke basketball and President Donald J. Trump. How could you possibly ignore the juxtaposition of the Blue Devils’ last-second escape in the NCAA tournament and the Prez’s acquittal from the […]
Chansky's Notebook: Monday Night Showdown?Is this the year for Duke-Carolina IV? Jay Bilas thinks so. Most college basketball fans cannot believe, with the schools going to the post-season virtually every year, that Duke and UNC have never met in the NCAA tournament. The Blue Devils and Tar Heels did play in the NIT semifinals back in 1971, with Carolina winning […]
Chansky's Notebook: Will The Chalk Hold Up?The real ACC tournament begins today — with an asterisk or two. The chalk has prevailed so far at the ACC tourney in Charlotte, with the top eight seeds playing in today’s quarterfinal games. Seems like the old days when there were only eight schools in the original ACC, not the current subway jam of 15. But for the […]
Chansky's Notebook: Greatest Of This TimeTodd Melet) Going to Charlotte, the Roy vs. K debate doesn’t seem close. The so-called GOAT arguments are always tinged by bias for your favorite team or sentimentality. Some people still think Joe Montana is the greatest quarterback of all time when Tom Brady now has two more Super Bowl rings. The […]
Chansky's Notebook: Duke's Way To WinCarolina is preparing as if Zion will play, even though he won’t. The Tar Heels already had their game plan for February 20th at Cameron, and Roy Williams said they will be ready whether Zion plays or not for Duke. Without him, the match-ups favor the home team, as proven for the last 39 and a […]
Chansky's Notebook: Beware The Blow ByTransition defense will be the key to the Carolina-Duke rematch. So many angles exist for Saturday night’s blockbuster on ESPN, which strangely chose the 6 pm starting time after Zion’s injury and conflicting prognoses from Coach K’s day-to-day diagnosis and word from the Duke medical center that it was a 4-6 week knee sprain. And […]
Chansky's Notebook: Oh, No, Not Again!Could you handle playing Duke three times for the third straight year? If the ACC tournament were this weekend, Carolina and Duke would in all likelihood be playing tonight in the semifinals – once again six days after their second meeting of the regular season. The tournament is still two weeks away, and things could change, […]
Chansky's Notebook: And Did I Mention…It was almost as if the Tar Heels knew that Duke lost. Those who could follow both the Duke-Virginia Tech and Syracuse-Carolina games saw the Blue Devils’ 77-72 loss to the Hokies end at almost the exact time the Tar Heels were tipping off against the Orange. Of course, it didn’t happen this way, but I could […]
›
