Beyond the arc: Duke men's basketball vs. North Carolina

<p>Grayson Allen matched a career high with seven 3-pointers on his way to his highest scoring output of ACC play Thursday.</p>

Grayson Allen matched a career high with seven 3-pointers on his way to his highest scoring output of ACC play Thursday.

The No. 18 Blue Devils shot lights out and improbably kept No. 8 North Carolina off the boards in an 86-78 win at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke has now won 12 of its 16 games against its biggest rival in this decade.

Revisiting the three keys to the game:

  • Be active on the glass: For the first time since 2014, the Blue Devils outrebounded the Tar Heels. With North Carolina forward Isaiah Hicks sidelined by a hamstring injury, Duke won the battle of the boards 31-30 after getting dominated 64-29 on the glass in a home loss a year ago. Freshman Jayson Tatum led all players with nine rebounds.
  • Lock down the perimeter: The Tar Heels shot just 4-of-12 from beyond the arc, with all their players besides Justin Jackson and Joel Berry II combining to attempt just one triple. Several of Berry's shots came from well behind the 3-point line late in the second half after long defensive possession for the Blue Devils, and Duke held North Carolina to just eight points in the final 7:35. One of the Tar Heels' secondary perimeter weapons, starting guard Kenny Williams, was invisible in his 20 scoreless minutes on the court, only attempting one shot.
  • Keep the ball moving: The Blue Devils shared the ball effectively like they have during much of their four-game winning streak, with 15 assists on 30 made field goals and 10 turnovers. Tatum had a career-high five assists, reversing the ball and kicking passes out to Grayson Allen and Luke Kennard on the perimeter for open shots. This was also Duke's second straight game with 10 or fewer giveaways.

Three key stats:

  • The Blue Devils outrebound North Carolina 31-30: The Tar Heels entered Saturday as the best rebounding team in the nation with an average margin of 13.7 on the boards. But 6-foot-10 Kennedy Meeks had just five rebounds after pulling down 21 in the same building last season, and Duke held North Carolina to just seven offensive rebounds. Both teams shot so well that there were not many rebounds to be had on either side, but the Tar Heels were unable to exploit some of their biggest mismatches in the post.
  • North Carolina shoots just 10-of-18 from the free-throw line: Berry, the ACC's third leading free-throw shooter at 87.3 percent, stepped to the line for the front end of a one-and-one with the Tar Heels trailing 72-71 and missed it with less than five minutes left. North Carolina never had a chance to take the lead again. It was one of several missed opportunities at the line for the Tar Heels, with Jackson also missing two free throws.
  • Tatum scores all 19 of his points in the second half: Tatum had a quiet first half but was almost unstoppable with 19 points after the break, highlighted by a one-handed slam over Meeks with 16:13 remaining. The St. Louis native shot 7-of-8 from the foul line and iced the game with a rebound and two free throws with 16 seconds left.

Three key plays:

  • 10:50 remaining, second half: Tatum drove to the free-throw line to draw the defense and kicked to Allen on the right wing for the junior's sixth 3-pointer of the night, ending a 15-3 North Carolina run and trimming a five-point deficit to two.
  • 1:20 remaining, second half: With the Blue Devils leading by just two, Allen pulled up to the top of the key and drilled a 3-pointer to keep the Tar Heels at arm's length. It was the last shot from the field either team made all game.
  • 0:37 remaining, second half: Tatum launched a wide-open 3-pointer that would have put the nail in the coffin but missed off the back rim. Matt Jones beat Berry to the spot for the offensive rebound, though, giving Duke a fresh shot clock and forcing the Tar Heels to foul instead of getting a possession with a chance to tie the game.

And the Duke game ball goes to.... Grayson Allen

Allen was locked in from the perimeter throughout the night, matching a career high with seven 3-pointers and making clutch shots down the stretch for the second straight game. The Jacksonville, Fla., native added three rebounds and three assists before fouling out with about a minute left. Allen's 25 points were his most in an ACC game this season, and he has now shot a blistering 20-of-41 from beyond the arc in his last four games.

And the North Carolina game ball goes to.... Justin Jackson

The junior guard came out hot and scored 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the first half, but went quiet for much of the second half until knocking down a deep triple for the Tar Heels' only made field goal of the final seven to cut a six-point Duke lead in half with 2:58 left. Jackson finished the night with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting and added five rebounds.

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