CHAPEL HILL—In another fast-paced track meet, Duke never created much separation from North Carolina but holds a slim 40-38 advantage at the break. Here are five observations from the first half of play:
Player of the half: Cam Reddish
Reddish has been red-hot from long distance, silencing the crowd with three 3-pointers and leading the Blue Devils with 17 points thus far. The freshman forward has also shown more aggression than usual attacking the basket, spinning once late in the half for an impressive finish at the rim with Cameron Johnson defending him closely.
Luke Maye locked down
After North Carolina's senior forward erupted for 30 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Tar Heels to a win at Cameron Indoor Stadium, Maye has had a much quieter start in his final home game. Defended primarily by Reddish and R.J. Barrett, Maye got free in the paint for an early tip-in but hasn't been effective offensively since then. He has just two points on 1-of-6 shooting.
Another early injury
Starting big man Marques Bolden collided hard with the basket stanchion less than three minutes into the game and went down clutching his left knee. Bolden was trying to chase down Garrison Brooks going up for a fast-break dunk. He limped straight to the locker room with his arms around teammates Antonio Vrankovic and Justin Robinson and has not returned to the bench.
Attacking the glass
North Carolina's first five points came on second-chance opportunities, but after the first couple of minutes, Duke has neutralized the Tar Heels on the boards, even without Bolden. Guards Tre Jones and Alex O'Connell have contributed from the perimeter with several defensive rebounds, and the Blue Devils are outrebounding North Carolina 22-18 as a team.
Tar Heels heating up
North Carolina has already made far more triples than it did in its subpar 2-for-20 performance at Cameron, with Kenny Williams knocking down a pair of back-to-back 3-pointers to keep the Tar Heels close in the middle of the half. Williams leads North Carolina with 12 points, and the Tar Heels are shooting 5-of-15 beyond the arc. Willams also contributed defensively, drawing a pair of charges on R.J. Barrett, who has three fouls at halftime.
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