No. 1 Duke Throttles No. 17 North Carolina in 76-61 Win to Notch 32nd-Straight Home Victory

Jacob Perrine
Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) controls the ball in front of North Carolina Tar Heels guard Seth Trimble (7) during the first half.

Whenever the Cameron crazies get going at the iconic Cameron Indoor Stadium, you can pretty much expect the top-ranked Duke Blue Devils to pull out the win, and they did just that on Saturday night as they dominated the 17th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels to finish the ACC regular season with a 17-1 record.

Cameron Boozer Puts Finishing Touches on ACC Player of the Year Campaign

While the field for the conference Player of the Year award in the ACC had some notable names competing for it this season, the award was essentially Boozer’s to lose at this point, and he left no doubt that he should win it tonight. Boozer would drop another monster double-double of 26 points and 15 rebounds, as he made easy work of the Tar Heels’ much-improved defense in the win.

Although the Blue Devils’ offense didn’t have the most efficient game on offense, as they only shot 42% from the field tonight, their defense made up for those offensive shortcomings. Duke’s defense would shift the momentum of the game after the Tar Heels came within one point just 5 minutes into the second half, as they would hold North Carolina scoreless for over 6 minutes to extend their lead back up to 19.

The Blue Devils’ stifling defense was spearheaded by center Maliq Brown, who had a great outing filling in for the injured Patrick Ngongba II, as he missed tonight’s game due to right foot soreness. Brown would finish with 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 steals as Duke would score 24 points off the Tar Heels’ 14 turnovers in the game. The Blue Devils currently sport the top-ranked defense according to Ken Pom in the nation this season.

North Carolina Can’t Capitalize on Duke’s Injuries in Loss

One of the biggest strengths with Duke this season has been their ability to run a deep 8-man rotation, which was very much tested with the injuries the Blue Devils sustained tonight. On top of Ngongba II being unable to suit up tonight in Duke’s regular-season finale, the Blue Devils would also lose starting guard Caleb Foster, who would leave midway through the first half of the game due to a foot injury.

Despite the Blue Devils’ depth being taken off the board, the already short-handed North Carolina Tar Heels were unable to further put the pressure on Duke from an offensive perspective. The only two Tar Heels who were able to provide any lift on offense came from Henri Veesaar and Derek Dixon. Veesaar would drop 11 points and grab 9 rebounds, while Dixon knocked down 5 threes to finish with a team-high 17 points in the loss.

This flat offensive performance follows the recent bad news dealt to North Carolina surrounding their superstar freshman Caleb Wilson. The team announced yesterday that Wilson has undergone surgery to fix a broken thumb that he had suffered in practice on Thursday. The McDonald’s All-American had been out since February 10 due to a broken left hand and was expected to return for the Tar Heels for the ACC tournament next week.

Duke Expected to Lock Up Number One Overall Seed in NCAA Tournament

After taking home the ACC regular season title with their win over NC State on Monday, the Blue Devils are on the verge of clinching the number one overall seed in the NCAA tournament heading into next week. Duke wrapped up an impressive ACC regular season with a 17-1 record and sports an overall record of 29-2 this season. If the Blue Devils can win their second-straight ACC tournament championship next week, they will capture that coveted number one overall seed for the big dance this month.