Turns out Carolina was looking for Love in all the wrong places.
It took playing in an empty Cameron Indoor Stadium for Caleb Love to find his game against the school that recruited him feverishly. Love exploded with a driving and shooting performance the Tar Heels have been waiting for in a 91-87 win over arch-rival Duke.
UNC’s inside game helped forge double-digit leads in both halves, only to let the Blue Devils come back with their timely shooting and the Heels’ almost-fatal mistakes on both ends of the court. After this breakout game, can we count on Love to score the way he did (9 for 16 and 4 of 5 from outside, both personal bests for the season) on his way to a college high of 25 points?
The erratic freshman point guard went into the game hitting just 30 percent overall and making only 16 of 72 from beyond the arc, combining for four “3s” in his last four games. So has he finally turned the college corner or will this be an outlier for the rest of the season? After playing 31 minutes, Love called it a statement game and predicted it would be the reboot to his Carolina career.
The game plan was to control the paint, and although Garrison Brooks was dominating over the first 10 minutes, he wound up taking only 6 shots (making 4) as Duke sliced the deficit to two points at the half. Brooks took three shots in the second half, when big mates Armando Bacot and Day’Ron Sharpe got into the action as six players wound up in double figures for the first time this season.
Love took the most shots and had seven assists, but his five turnovers – especially two in the frantic closing minutes – could have literally thrown away the victory and his otherwise great game.
Because of those errors, Roy Williams wouldn’t say it was Love’s best game as a Tar Heel. “Turnovers and twice not getting back on defense, he’s gonna hear about that,” the coach said. “But we made some shots, 10 of 15 from the 3-point line.” Kerwin Walton drained all four of his long balls. Leaky Black and Andrew Playtek added the other two.
The Tar Heels allowed Duke (playing three freshmen bigs) to beat them on the boards in the first half, but they did better after the break and finished controlling the glass. Sharpe was the high rebounder for both teams (9) and Bacot and Brooks had six each. While Carolina converted Duke’s nine turnovers into 21 first-half points, the baskets were harder earned in the second half and missing nine free throws kept it close before Black sealed the game with three in a row in the last 15 seconds.
Duke’s leading scorer Matthew Hurt did not scratch for the first 31 minutes, thanks mostly to Brooks’ defense, and ended up missing 19 minutes by fouling out with 4:15 to play. Reputedly having the weaker bench, the Blue Devils’ subs outscored UNC’s 36-14 including sixth-man Sharpe’s 11 points. Carolina’s reserves also recorded 6 of the team’s 16 turnovers.
The Heels had a distinct foul advantage down the stretch with only two while Duke had put them in the double bonus. Using those fouls kept the Blue Devils from attempting a shot in their last possession, and Carolina might have caught a break when no foul was called on Wendell Moore’s turnover in contact going to the basket while trying to draw the sixth foul. Had it been whistled, Duke would have retained the ball with a chance to tie the score or go ahead; instead, Black made his last two free throws.
Even without the always-raucous Cameron crowd, both teams played with the intensity of most blue blood match-ups in a game Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski called “amazingly physical” after his team fell to 5-5 in the ACC and 7-7 overall, which will make it even harder to get an NCAA tournament bid. Carolina increased its already-decent chances by improving to 7-4 and 12-6.
Both teams shot above 53 percent from the field, the Tar Heels hitting more than half of their attempts in both halves for only the second time this season. The continued struggle from the foul line was offset by their high-to-date .667 from the 3-point line (a record against Duke in the Williams era).
The 91 points were the most of the season, helped not only by the great shooting but other highs of 28 points off turnovers and 27 fast-break points. In many ways, it was Carolina’s best all-around effort. And Duke played almost as well.
“It was a very difficult loss,” Coach K said. “Our team was deserving to win, too; it was the best we moved the ball all season. Carolina is so big they can hurt you inside, but Caleb Love’s shooting was incredible.”
We shall see if that’s a new trend or the Tar Heels go back to looking for Love in all the wrong places.
Photo via ACC Media.
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