There were no fans inside Cameron Indoor Stadium, and neither team ranked for the first time since 1960, but this season’s first rendition of the Duke vs. North Carolina still lived up to the series’ standards. In the end, the Tar Heels took their best offensive performance of the season past Duke for a 91-87 victory that the Tar Heels desperately needed.
Duke (7-7, 5-5 ACC) also had his highest-scoring output of the year, but languished defensively against a North Carolina team deadly in both paint and perimeter just four days after scoring only 50 points in an ugly loss to Clemson. Freshman Guard Caleb Love led the way for the Tar Heels (12-6, 7-4) with a career-high 25 points, giving UNC the explosive guard game it had missed for much of the season thus far.
Still, a Duke team that got just seven points from top scorer Matthew Hurt kept UNC on their heels to the last buzzer. Freshman forward Jalen Johnson drove to the basket with a chance to level the game, but was whistled for a trip with eight seconds to go. From there, North Carolina’s frigid game at the free-throw line.
While a few late free throws from Leaky Black secured the result, a surprising dose of three-point shooting propelled the Tar Heels for much of the game. UNC went on to rank worst in the ACC and nationally in most 3-point shooting stats, but made 10-of-15 from outside the arc, with Love and Kerwin Walton combining to make 8-of-9 to make Duke’s 11 -of- 25 nights from 3-point range.