Going into last night’s game, Carolina fans understandably weren’t optimistic. Caleb Wilson, who was the best player on the floor in the first game against Duke, had to wait painfully from the bench as his team got ripped apart in the second half of round two. UNC held up pretty well against the Blue Devils in the first half all things considered, but then the 24-2 run happened in the second. It’s also worth noting that this happened despite the fact that they were down two starters in Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba.
Let’s go ahead and discuss a few takeaways from the beating the Heels took in Cameron Indoor.
Advertisement
Maliq Brown was the difference-maker in this game
ESPN does a really good job of gassing up Cameron Boozer whenever he is on the floor. That isn’t to say that he doesn’t deserve it — he finished the game with 26 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists — but Maliq Brown arguably had a bigger impact last night with his incredible defensive performance. He finished his night with 15 points, nine rebounds, two assists, five steals, one block, and zero turnovers.
UNC had an awful time hanging onto the ball in this game, and Brown was a huge reason why. He did a great job intercepting passes, playing physical, and making things extremely frustrating for the Heels. Being asked to step up in Ngongba’s absence against your most hated rival seems like a big ask, but Brown made it look easy. While there’s plenty to say about how the Heels’ ability to take care of the ball, Duke’s senior forward deserves a lot of credit for causing chaos whenever he was on the floor.
UNC’s front court disappeared in the second half
Henri Veesaar and Jarin Stevenson both had pretty good performances in the first half against Duke. They combined for 17 points and 12 rebounds, and for a while it felt like maybe they could handle Cameron Boozer and Maliq Brown without Caleb Wilson. Then the second half happened, and it was like both guys never left the locker room. Why? Well, Veesaar provided some insight after the game:
Veesaar in particular had to be the better version of himself if the Heels wanted to come away with a win. Instead, he only had two points, three rebounds, and two turnovers in the second half. Stevenson’s stats were identical, though he only coughed up the ball once. We saw a lot of Zayden High in the second half as well, and while he was able to score a few more points than the other two bigs, he had an awful time guarding Cameron Boozer. This is stating the obvious, but Veesaar disappearing in any half during the postseason will likely result in the Heels having to pack their bags and go home early. Perhaps a better performance from one of the other two bigs could save them, but ultimately Davis needs one of his best players to be just that on a consistent basis, because it’s win or go home from here on out.
Advertisement
Turnovers and poor rebounding sank the ship
We’ve discussed Maliq Brown’s ability to force turnovers and the bigs disappearing in the final 20 minutes of the game, but we need to discuss turnovers and rebounding on a micro level. Duke won the rebounding battle 24-29, and they were able to score 14 second-chance points off 18 offensive rebounds. Meanwhile, the Heels turned over the ball 14 times, which led to 24 points off turnovers. UNC shot better than the Blue Devils last night despite the fact that they are the best defensive team in the country, but these two stats cooked the Heels’ chances of winning the game.
It is also worth noting that one of the reasons Duke was able to go on a 24-2 run in the second half is because UNC turned the ball over six times in almost 11 minutes. There’s no doubt that it was going to be hard to keep the Blue Devils off the boards, but the Heels do have more control over taking care of the basketball. Yes, Maliq Brown was disruptive on defense, but that doesn’t mean that better choices couldn’t have been made. Hubert Davis will have his hands full smoothing these things out before the ACC Tournament. Maybe things won’t go as sideways without someone painted like a smurf breathing down their throats. One can only hope, anyway.
