UNC 79 - Duke 71: Box Score of the Day

CHN now features a live scoreboard, stats, standings, etc.. here. Occasionally, we'll be featuring a box score of the day, with some commentary on why the box score is interesting. It might be involve a huge upset, a big personal effort, some odd statistical, occurrences, or other intriguing tidbit.

Box Score of the Day:

Today's pick is.. UNC's 79-71 win over North Carolina.

With Duke trailing 70-68 with 3:25 left, it looked like episode #227 of this fine rivalry would turn into a classic.. but the Heels pulled away late for a rather anti-climactic win. UNC locked up the ACC crown and a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament as well. A lot of talk was made about Ty Lawson's injured toe, but did anyone really think he wasn't going to play?

In a lot of respects, this game played out just how you'd expect. UNC was able to control the boards against a Duke team lacking a true big man. (A lot of talk was made that Lawson is what separates UNC from everyone else.. but what Duke truly needs is not Lawson, but a legitimate big man who can handle the likes of Hansbrough or Thompson). Duke tried to outshoot their opponent, but it didn't work against a UNC team that has a much more versatile attack. Singler kept them alive early, while Scheyer did his best late. Ultimately, UNC just had too many options. (Again, its not merely Lawson that separates UNC from Duke, but that UNC has 6-7 offensive weapons, while Duke has 3-4.)

Did we learn anything about UNC today? Not really. The win just re-affirmed what we already knew: this is a team on the verge of making a legitimate National Title run. I think we learned more about Duke: this is a team, despite the loss, that's playing their best ball of the season.. who the doubters will probably have to to pay serious attention to.