CHAPEL HILL - This wasn't the way Ademola Okulaja expected to finish his career in the Smith Center.
After playing Duke close in Cameron a month ago, the Tar Heels approached Senior Day Saturday night hoping to exact revenge. Instead, UNC came away with one competitive half before becoming another of the Blue Devils' blowout victims.
It was the first time in eight years that the Tar Heels walked off their home court against Duke on the losing end.
"For the big game we stepped up, we played them very well the first half but not in the second half," Okulaja said. "It shows me two things. A, hopefully we'll finally learn that we have to play for 40 minutes, not just 20 minutes. B, we have to play superb for every practice and every game. If we do that, we slowly become better and better."
The Tar Heels were at least as good as their opponent until Duke opened up a big lead early in the second half. Then, the Blue Devils
With Duke dominating inside, particularly on the boards, the Tar Heels began taking jump shots on every possession. When the shots stopped falling, there were no second-chance rebounds available.
"We didn't make open shots any more," Okulaja said. "Nothing went in. They used that and scored every time we made a mistake. We just went into a slump and they're a superb team."
Okulaja disagreed with comments from the Duke locker room that suggested the Blue Devils' superior conditioning took over in the second half. The senior from Berlin, however, certainly struggled himself in the second half.
He made just 1-of-5 shots in the final 20 minutes and grabbed two rebounds, after pulling down five in the first half. The Tar Heels as a team shot just 31 percent in the second half and were outboarded 28-16.
"They did a pretty good job for a while, but I basically just missed shots," Okulaja said. "I missed an open three-I can shoot threes. It was awkward."
Of course the entire experience can only be characterized as awkward for a team that hadn't lost by more than 17 points since the Smith Center opened 13 years ago.
Now, a North Carolina squad that still finished with 22 wins is forced to regroup before heading to Charlotte for a shot at its third-straight ACC tournament title.
"I think we are capable of competing with the best in the ACC," Okulaja said. "Hopefully we'll learn from this and play hard in practice all this week and go into this ACC tournament with a lot of confidence and strive for a three-peat.
"Now [Duke] won the regular season but you don't get anything for that. You get a 'Congratulations.' But at the same time in order to get something you have to win the ACC tournament. It's a whole new ballgame."
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