HALFTIME: North Carolina 46, Duke 42

CHAPEL HILL—The Blue Devils knew heading into Wednesday's rivalry game that the Tar Heels were capable of dominating the interior with their size. Brice Johnson has fulfilled that prophecy thus far.

No. 20 Duke trails No. 5 North Carolina 46-42 at intermission at the Dean E. Smith Center, with Johnson already tallying an electric double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore Luke Kennard, sophomore Grayson Allen and graduate student Marshall Plumlee are all in double-figures for Duke, but the Tar Heels are outscoring the Blue Devils 30-22 in the paint and 8-0 in transition.

Junior Matt Jones suffered what appeared to be a left ankle injury midway through the first half and had to be carried off the floor, unable to put any weight on the injured foot. Now playing without two of their three captains, the Blue Devils have managed to stay within striking distance in a hostile environment.

Sophomore Justin Jackson set the tempo on the first play with an offensive rebound and put-back for an and-one opportunity. North Carolina grabbed three offensive and three defensive rebounds in the first four and half minutes and—as expected—scored 12 of its first 16 points in the paint.

On the other end of the floor, freshman Brandon Ingram started very quietly, making a 3-pointer but missing six of his first seven shots. Production instead came from Kennard—who delivered a personal 7-0 spurt off the bench—and Allen attacked the rim as usual, leading Duke with 13 points at the break. Kennard's last basket of his mini-run gave Duke its first lead of the game at 20-18 with 11:53 to play.

Johnson continued to get whatever he wanted inside, cleaning up the glass with 11 total rebounds compared to Duke's 14 as a team. Several of those came on the offensive end, where the senior was quick to deposit the ball via put-back dunks, a big part of North Carolina's 15 second-chance points.

Here are some observations from the first half:

• Ingram struggled in the first half, going just 2-of-10 from the field and picking up two personal fouls. The freshman does have a team-high six rebounds.
• Plumlee poured in 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the first half.
• Senior Marcus Paige has been quiet so far for the Tar Heels, scoring just four points on 2-of-4 shooting.