When Duke walked out onto the floor before the opening tip against North Carolina Wednesday night, two players were noticeably absent from the court.
Fortunately for the Tar Heels, they remained noticeably absent throughout the rest of the night.
Captains Josh McRoberts and DeMarcus Nelson began the game on the bench for the Blue Devils-the first time all season the duo was not in the starting lineup. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski made the decision to bring his two leading scorers off the bench earlier in the week and thought the change would get his team off to its best start.
"Everyone felt like our standards weren't being upheld," Nelson said. "It comes from the upperclassmen, myself and Josh-especially being the marquee guys. When our coaches feel like we're not doing what we're supposed to do, then they're going to take action. It was definitely appropriate."
The decision paid off at first, as Duke got off to a 13-6 lead before its two captains entered the contest. When they entered with 16:22 remaining in the half, both struggled to get into the flow of the game-especially on the offensive end of the court.
McRoberts and Nelson only played 30 and 25 minutes, respectively, but even when they were in the game, the Blue Devil offense seemed to revolve around freshmen Jon Scheyer and Gerald Henderson. Duke took 63 shots in the contest, but only 11 of those attempts were from either McRoberts or Nelson.
"We need those guys to be themselves," sophomore captain Greg Paulus said. "A lot of the things don't change whether you come off the bench or if you start. The job is still the same."
Duke's freshmen did what they could to pick up the void left by McRoberts and Nelson on offense, but ultimately it was not enough. Scheyer had a career-high 26 points, and Henderson looked like a veteran driving to the basket, but they could not overcome a feisty North Carolina squad that shot 59.3 percent from the field in the second half and outrebounded the Blue Devils 22-14 in the frame.
While Scheyer and Henderson showed no signs of nervousness in their first taste of the Duke-UNC rivalry, McRoberts and Nelson struggled to make their presence felt when the team needed them most.
Duke led the Tar Heels 50-40 after Nelson's layup with 16:50 remaining in the game. Over the next five minutes as North Carolina's defense intensified, McRoberts picked up three fouls and missed two foul shots, while Nelson committed a turnover and was unable to get to the rim.
The stretch was key for North Carolina, as it held the Blue Devils without a basket and chipped away at Duke's lead. After McRoberts picked up his fourth foul with 11:47 remaining, the visibly frustrated forward sat on the bench with a towel over his head.
After some consolation from forward Lance Thomas and Henderson, McRoberts re-entered the game with 8:55 remaining and his team up 54-52, but he had to play more conservatively down the stretch.
"I picked up four fouls pretty early in the second half," McRoberts said, "I wasn't able to play as aggressively [down the stretch] as I would have liked."
Despite poor play from two of its leaders, Duke still led most of the way. North Carolina did not take its first lead until Reyshawn Terry's layup with 5:15 remaining and had no answer for Scheyer, who shot 8-for-18 from the field and hit four three-pointers.
Regardless, Duke cannot expect to beat a team like North Carolina without effective play from its two leading scorers. Foul trouble and solid defense by the Tar Heels certainly were a factor, but if Duke wants to return to the upper echelon of the ACC, McRoberts and Nelson have to play like the captains they are.
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