It's hard to see the silver lining in defeat, especially when it comes at the hands of a bitter rival.
But if the No. 6 Blue Devils hope to avoid another late-season swoon like last year's 5-5 finish, they will have to focus on what they did well Wednesday against North Carolina instead of the final outcome when they take on another ACC foe in Boston College Sunday at 5:30 p.m. in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
"There were a lot of good things for us tonight," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said Wednesday after the loss. "We just have to keep getting better."
In particular, Duke snapped out of an offensive funk by notching its highest scoring output in the calendar year. But it will be difficult to sustain that same effort against the Eagles (18-8, 6-5 in the ACC), especially after expending so much energy keeping up with the frenetic pace of the Tar Heels.
"This game is kind of an emotional game and we're coming off an exhausting game, win or lose," said sophomore Kyle Singler, who led the team with 22 points against North Carolina. "You just have to refocus yourself and move on to the next game and, as Coach would say, 'Next play.'"
Duke (20-4, 7-3) struggled to rebound from its last conference loss, playing a lackluster first half Saturday against Miami after being blown out by Clemson three days earlier. Krzyzewski noted that his team was still feeling sorry for itself before it battled back from a double-digit deficit to defeat the Hurricanes, spurred by the energy of its home crowd and the resurgence of senior captain Greg Paulus.
But the Blue Devils won't have the luxury of the Cameron Crazies to motivate them Sunday as they look to improve on their inconsistent road play.
In six home ACC games, Duke has scored more than 80 points per game and given up only 54.6, not counting the 101 points it ceded to the Tar Heels. In contrast, in four road conference tilts, the Blue Devils have only put up 63.3 points per contest and have allowed 62.
Part of the disparity on offense has stemmed from Duke's inability to take care of the ball against opposing teams' pressure in hostile road environments. The team averages more than 16 turnovers away from home compared to just 11 in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The onus of taking care of the ball will fall largely on the Blue Devils' point guard-a position currently riddled with uncertainty. Sophomore Nolan Smith had his starting job taken away after playing one of his worst games against Clemson, but still has seen significant action in the past two games, both with and without Paulus on the floor.
"I don't know what you're looking for rotation-wise," Krzyzewski said about the point guard situation Wednesday night. "We're still finding out about our team. Sometimes when you have preconceived notions, you don't allow the natural course of how things are developing to take place. As far as both of them, they had really good contributions tonight, and they played together, which is a big plus for our team because it's something we haven't seen in a while."
Duke will need its guards to continue their solid play against Boston College's Tyrese Rice, the ACC's seventh-leading scorer with 17.9 points per contest. Rice is capable of erupting on a scoring spree at a moment's notice but has become a more efficient passer this year as the Eagles-projected to finish near the bottom of the conference-now sit in the middle of the standings and are in striking distance of an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
But Sunday's outcome will ultimately come down to how the Blue Devils respond to their latest defeat: whether they sulk like they did against Miami or embrace the challenge of turning over a new leaf in their season.
"We've had a lot of improvement in the last week," Paulus said. "We just have to keep growing, keep developing and learn from these types of opportunities."
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