4 Takeaways from Duke’s OT Win Over UNC

College basketball rivalries don’t get much bigger than Duke versus North Carolina. These two storied programs, which have won a total of nine NCAA tournament titles between them, scripted the latest chapter in this riveting intrastate series on Wednesday night at Duke’s famed Cameron Indoor Stadium. Like so many installments before it, this one also turned out to be a thriller. Spurred on by the typically fanatical support of the “Cameron Crazies”, it was the home team which dug just that little bit deeper to eke out a tight and tense 92-90 victory in the ESPN-televised game. Here’s a rundown of our four biggest takeaways from this classic contest.

The Quinn Cook/Tyus Jones guard combo: One of the best in the country

Duke’s starting backcourt duo of senior Quinn Cook and freshman Tyus Jones again proved that they’re among the best in the country with a combined 44 points – just shy of half their team’s total – in the rollercoaster victory. This offensive outburst was complemented by a handy haul of 11 total rebounds and a further 11 assists. This went a long way towards offsetting the impact of the combo’s nine turnovers. Critically, they also came up big down the stretch when Duke needed them most. Jones, who’s proven his clutch credentials on many previous occasions, again came up with the goods late on. He rattled in nine straight points – including the game-tying field goal – to ignite a 9-2 run that forced overtime. He then played a crucial supporting role as Okafor and Cook assumed the scoring mantle in the extra period.    

  

Dynamic duo: Quinn Cook (2) and Tyus Jones (5).
(Courtesy of espn.go.com)

    

Tokoto is the critical cog in UNC’s wheel

Point guard Marcus Paige is the engine that drives North Carolina. The Tar Heels go as he goes more often than not. He had a wretched game as Duke’s D did the business on Wednesday night, scoring a season-low five points on 2 of 11 shooting from the field. He also had just three assists versus two turnovers. Not surprisingly, UNC lost the contest. However, the fact that they still ran the No.4-ranked team in the country so close underlined the importance of springy small forward J.P. Tokoto to the team. The squad’s energizer bunny again stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, three steals, and two blocked shots. Most of this work was put in either side of the half. It keyed a 13-0 run that turned what looked like a budding blowout into a stirring bounce back.       

     

The 3-point shot can really make a big difference

The three-point shot has always been one of the most potent weapons in Duke’s arsenal. Wednesday’s game saw them demonstrate their prowess from downtown once again. The Blue Devils knocked down 10 of their 16 field goal attempts from behind the arc. Shooting guard Quinn Cook was the man with the Midas touch from distance. The 21 year-old dynamo from Washington, DC splashed in six of his nine tries to fuel his team’s stunning shooting display. This contrasted starkly with the two conversions on 10 attempts managed by the visiting Tar Heels, who continued to struggle from behind the three-point line on the season.

Duke’s starting five carries a very heavy burden

There are a couple things which could scupper Duke’s chances of going all the way this year. (We’ll temporarily overlook the awesomeness of Kentucky for the purposes of this article.) Among them is the fact that they have a very shallow roster, which forces their impressive starting five to carry a disproportionately huge burden (relative to most other top title contenders like Kentucky), just about every game. This chronic lack of depth was again illustrated versus North Carolina. All but seven of the team’s 92 points were posted by the starting quintet, as were 39 of their 46 rebounds and 17 of their 18 assists. Getting pushed beyond regulation also meant that three of these starters – Okafor, Jones, and Cook – each logged more than 40 minutes of playing time. To put this into some type of context, no UNC player saw more than 37 minutes on the night, while the bench accounted for 32 of their 90 points.      

Jahlil Okafor played 41 minutes despite rolling his left ankle early in the 1^st half.
(Courtesy of fox23.com)

A trio of matchups to come?

Duke and UNC are scheduled to tango again on March 7 at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill. The start time for the contest is yet to be determined, but ESPN is slated to carry live coverage of all the action. Both teams could also face each other in the 2015 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Men's Basketball Tournament, which will be staged from March 10-14 at the Greensboro Coliseum. It’s a really long shot, but the duo could also meet in the 2015 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.