HALFTIME: UNC-Wilmington 43, Duke 40

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—A young Duke team has struggled to keep up with the hot-shooting Seahawks so far on the big stage.

The fourth-seeded Blue Devils trail 13th-seeded UNC-Wilmington 43-40 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center Thursday. The Seahawks' three top scorers have combined for 33 points, and has the Colonial Athletic Association tournament champions shooting 52 percent from the floor and 6-of-12 from downtown.

After a slow start, the Seahawks kept up with the Blue Devils by pushing the tempo and pressing Duke. The Blue Devils went cold in the last 10 minutes of the first half and trailed 41-34 before erupting with a pair of 3-pointers in the final 40 seconds to get back within three heading into the locker room.

Brandon Ingram led the way for Duke from the beginning, pouring in 11 first-half points. His length allowed him to spin through the lane and find big men or finish at the cup. The Kinston, N.C., native, playing in his first NCAA tournament contest, is 5-of-9 from the field and has a pair of assists.

But the Blue Devils—who have lived and died by the long ball this year—shot only 3-of-10 from deep as a team, with Ingram hitting a trey just before halftime to follow a Luke Kennard triple on the previous trip. Kennard is Duke's leading rebounder with six, and three of those have come on the offensive glass. The frontcourt duo of Marshall Plumlee and freshman forward Chase Jeter added just three total boards.

Here are some observations from the first half:

• The Blue Devils stayed out of foul trouble early—committing only six in the first half. 
• UNC-Wilmington collected as many rebounds despite making 17 field goals to Duke's 14.
  
• The Seahawks are shooting 50 percent from deep after shooting only 33.6 percent from the range coming into the game.
• The Blue Devils only committed four turnovers, which is lower than their average, and took 16 free throws as the Seahawks committed 13 fouls.
• Plumlee discarded his protective mask coming out of one of timeouts late in the half.