Rivers Hits the Game Winning Shot!!! “It was Awesome baby with a
capital A!!!” by Lauren Beasley
Its rivalry week baby! The big game of the day was Duke vs. North Carolina! In the words of Dick Vitale it was “Awesome baby with a capital A!!!”
Duke coming in was looking for a win obviously after losing a
heartbreaker at home versus Miami. North Carolina was feeling good and looking
to continue their five game win streak.
I will start with North Carolina, for them it was the tale of no defense and missed opportunities. Offensively it was interesting, Harrison Barnes was horrible in the first half, he was non aggressive, some said it was due to his ankle injury but not sure if that’s was the case. In the second half, he caught fire, and scored 19 points and he finished the game with 25 points. Kendall Marshall and John Henson had solid games at their positions. Now Tyler Zeller was the achilles heel for UNC, he was unstoppable especially in the first half,
he crashed the boards, was great in transition and in the post. Then in the second half he makes three key mistakes. First, Duke shoots what looks like an air balled three pointer and he tips it in. Second Zeller get fouled and missed a clutch free throw which allowed it to bea two point game. Lastly Zeller switched on to Austin Rivers off the pick and gave Rivers way too much room and allows him to make the game winning three point shot. Now I’m not putting it all on Zeller, but as a veteran player, he can’t make those mistakes that late in the game.
Furthermore I put blame on UNC defense; they did a horrible job defending Duke especially from the three point line. Duke shot 36 three pointers, from a defensive stand point that is ridiculous. UNC also did a horrible job of putting Duke away, more than once UNC was up by double digits and did not put Duke away, big mistake.
Now Duke was interesting in this game as well. Defensively they were horrible. Duke allowed UNC to dominate the boards. They did a horrible job of checking Kendall Marshall and allowed him to penetrate way too easily. Duke actually pressed up against Marshall like he was shooter which allowed him to drive past them, instead of backing up and making Marshall shoot, bad move on their part. Duke was also out hustled for the most the entire game. Now offensively Ryan Kelly and Seth Curry had solid games especially in the clutch. The only person who came to play for forty minutes was the true freshman Austin Rivers. Rivers finished the game with 29 points, including the game winning shot. He did a great job of creating for himself and taking good shots. He honestly saved Duke in this game and made the right read off the pick and made a clutch shot to win the game.
However one thing that did bother me in this game was the clutch three that Seth Curry hit, Curry actually traveled but the referees missed the call. Now that’s not to say Duke still wouldn’t have won but it’s a key moment in the game where that play can and did change the momentum for both teams. Of course at this point there is nothing anybody can do about it, we can’t go back, but it’s something to think about.
Other than that it was a great game, a true Duke and North Carolina game, full of emotions, game changing moments, great plays, great players and great finish. Pure Greatness.