DBR Newsletter #95
at North Carolina
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Key Stats
Total Possessions: 64
Duke Pts/Possession: 1.07 ppp
UNC Pts/Possession: 1.11 ppp
Duke 3P Pts/Shot: 1.11 pps
UNC 3P Pts/Shot: 1.26 pps
Duke Pts in the Paint: 36 pts
UNC Pts in the Paint: 22 pts
Full Game Stats: Duke Basketball Reference Season Stats
Notes
It was a tale of two halves from beyond the arc, with Duke going 4 for 8 in the first half and 3 for 11 in the second. Meanwhile, UNC was 3 for 12 in the opening half before going 5 for 7, including 3 for 3 in the final 2:30. With neither team getting to the free throw line after halftime (4 FTA combined), Carolina’s three-point efficiency (2.14 points-per-shot) was a key difference, leading them to a 69.6% effective field percentage in the second half.1
All of Duke’s +14 advantage in the paint came before halftime. Paint points were 18-18 in the second half, with Carolina attempting 17 shots in the lane compared to just 6 in the first half.2
Leading 62-53 with 8:23 remaining, Duke scored just six points to close the game while going scoreless for the final 2:51. The Blue Devils led for 37:39 and only trailed for 0.4 seconds - a tough loss for sure but, when asked about his message to the team, Jon Scheyer remarked “….we're not going to hang our heads on this. We played a game where I thought our guys played their hearts out. I thought they played incredibly tough. I thought we weathered some tough storms there….These losses, I've learned, if you handle them the right way, they bring you even closer together than you could have been otherwise. They just do. And that’s how we're going to handle this in our program.”
Thanks for reading, Go Duke!
Duke posted a 42.2% eFG in the second half.
1st half paint shooting: Duke (9 for 17); UNC (2 for 6)
2nd half paint shooting: Duke (9 for 21); UNC (9 for 17)