After each Duke basketball game this season, check back here for the Player of the Game and more. In the year’s first installation of the Tobacco Road rivalry, the Blue Devils were stifled by the Tar Heels in a 84-93 defeat, and the Blue Zone is here to analyze the contest:
One player: Harrison Ingram
In his first appearance in the Duke versus North Carolina rivalry, Stanford transfer Harrison Ingram seemed right at home. The junior was a difference maker early, recording several rebounds and assists, before he turned it up offensively. With a lot of the Blue Devils’ focus defensively on graduate center Armando Bacot, Ingram was often left open, and he took advantage of it. He netted three 3-pointers in the first half and didn’t look back, finishing with 21 points and 5-of-9 from behind the arc. Defensively, Ingram led all players with four steals, which allowed North Carolina to get 16 valuable fast break points. His 13 rebounds were also a game high, capping a complete performance as Ingram made his own mark on a storied rivalry.
One word: Haphazard
For Duke, one of the biggest storylines in the loss was ball security. The Blue Devils turned it over 11 times, a staggering number compared to the Tar Heels’ five. At one point in the second half, the margin was 9-2. From the tip, it was a sloppy game, and both teams struggled to hold on to the ball. Duke, however, seemingly could not come up with it, whether off of loose balls, bad passes or rebounds. Crucial misses at getting the ball gave North Carolina additional possessions, which it almost never took for granted. Late in the first, a wide-open Elliot Cadeau three was off the mark, and both sophomore forward Mark Mitchell and freshman guard Caleb Foster got out-boxed before the ball found its way back into Cadeau’s hands. With a fresh possession, the point guard quickly dished to an open Ingram in the corner for a three to put the Tar Heels up by eight. Instances such as these were the story for the Blue Devils, as their inability to control the ball resulted in giving a much older and experienced North Carolina team more frequent and better chances at scoring. Duke looked incohesive and were not gelling in any way similar to its opponents, which was the key difference in its loss.
One stat: Six bench points
Offensively, the Blue Devils were led by three players with 20 or more points — Jared McCain (23), Kyle Filipowski (22) and Jeremy Roach (20). But outside of these, points seemed few and hard to come by. Most notably, sophomore guard Tyrese Proctor had two points all game, a shockingly low output that was a limiting factor for Duke. However, another low output came from the bench, as graduate center Ryan Young and Foster combined for six points, a slim number compared to the Tar Heels’ 14. Coming off a strong outing at Virginia Tech Monday, Young needed to step up again for the Blue Devils to find success. While he was fairly efficient defensively, often matched up on Bacot, he was unable to provide a scoring threat to make up for Proctor’s lack of points. In most games where Proctor is on normal pace, the bench threats are not always as important, but they were on Saturday — and did not show up.
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