Blue Review: A 2021-22 Duke Basketball Recap – Game 22 vs UNC
“Ok, bet” – the Duke Basketball team, probably.
Shameless plug for both my Twitter and exposing a not-so-old, but a bad take, nonetheless. To his credit, Armando Bacot still hit double-digit scoring, but this game was owned for all 40 minutes by the Blue Devils in an 87-67 rout. It was as complete a performance as Coach K’s side has produced all season, in arguably the most important game — at least in sentimental value.
From the tip, Duke (19-3, 9-2 ACC) announced its presence in the place where they are hated the most. A Paolo Banchero jumper just 12 seconds into the game gave the Blue Devils a lead they never relinquished. The Seattle native’s bucket was followed by an AJ Griffin 3-pointer, a 3-pointer from Banchero and then a three-point play from center Mark Williams. What’s the old adage? Good things come in threes. Or, well, in this scenario, good things come in threes of threes.
Duke Basketball continued to pound on the Tar Heels early, opening up a 31-8 lead midway through the first half. UNC took the blows and countered with some of their own, clawing back in the final 10 minutes of the opening period. Behind sharpshooting Brady Manek, who totaled 21 points on the night, the Heels cut the lead to just 11 at the intermission.
But, similar to the first half, the Blue Devils were out of the gates early, and this time, didn’t let Manek and Co. get back into the game. This rivalry typically brings out the best in both sides, but the Tar Heels struggled on Saturday. Griffin led the way for Duke Basketball with a season high 27 points in Mike Krzyzewski’s final game — and win — in Chapel Hill.
“Obviously, it’s a huge win for us,” Wendell Moore Jr. said. “Anytime you can get a win of that magnitude in this rivalry, it means a lot. But first, it was more than about us vs. Carolina. Honestly it was about Coach (Krzyzewski), his last time coming to Carolina, so we wanted to send him out with a win because he definitely deserves it.”
VIA Duke Athletics/goduke.com
AJ Griffin cements his place in rivalry lore
In recent years, Duke freshmen know the experience of etching yourself in the lore of college basketball’s greatest rivalry well. It’s safe to say Griffin can feel confident he is now added to a list that features fellow teammate Wendell Moore Jr., as well as Zion Williamson, Tyus Jones and Austin Rivers.
The stakes really couldn’t have been much higher for this game. Sure, you could’ve had No. 1 vs No. 2, maybe even a Top 15 bout, but in Coach K’s final eight-mile trek down Tobacco Road, Griffin played up to the atmosphere. The 6-6 wing, who had 13-plus points in three of his last four games, was setting the tone for the Blue Devils throughout the game.
“Coming into the half just seeing we were running that play; it’s really just making reads off of that,” Griffin said of UNC’s defense. “We work on that. Coach Nolan Smith helps me with that, to read it. We work on that in warmups too. Just reading the defender and whatever he gives you, just let it fly or take it to the hole, so, that’s pretty much what I saw.”
VIA Duke Athletics/goduke.com
Scoring efficiently at all three levels, Griffin enjoyed the defensive mismatch of Manek or Bacot while Leaky Black guarded Banchero. Off the dribble, the Archbishop Stepinac product exploited the Tar Heels’ defense, getting to the rim and finishing through contact, including this pair of impressive drives in the second half:
Griffin is playing like the projected lottery pick he is, and when he is at his peak, this Duke Basketball team is really hard to beat.
Great balance from Blue Devil supporting cast on both ends of the floor
Okay, so, I feel like we’ve gotten to the point where Banchero and Griffin are the clear 1-2 punch for the Blue Devils. However, Williams, Moore, Trevor Keels and Jeremy Roach can all get buckets when they want, but the Blue Devils are at their best when they settle in and don’t force the issue. That’s exactly what happened against UNC.
The Blue Devils’ unquestioned leader, Moore, had an impressive all-around effort. The junior scored 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting, grabbed eight rebounds, dished out five assists and recorded two steals, with zero turnovers to boot. Moore also put Caleb Love in absolute hell for around 30 or so minutes.
Williams had nine points, six rebounds and two blocks. Keels had 11 points, including 3-for-4 shooting from beyond the arc, and also locked up the Tar Heels backcourt. Roach took part in the defensive disruption as well, while also tallying eight points and four assists.
Did I just regurgitate the box score? To a certain extent, absolutely. But numbers can tell a story in of itself, and it does so in this case. Coach K, prior to subbing in the reserves for garbage time, rather unconventionally went nine deep in the rotation. The Blue Devils were rewarded with important minutes from all players who featured against the Heels.
“Our guys really played well today,” Krzyzewski said. “We beat a very good and hot team. It was a great atmosphere.”
VIA Duke Athletics/goduke.com
Guess who’s back again? Fans… and the pettiness of the rivalry
It’s been almost two years since the Duke-UNC rivalry hosted fans and they were sorely missed, regardless of the shade of blue the majority of the crowd wore.
In case you forgot, it was Coach K’s final trip to Chapel Hill. Some Duke fans felt that Krzyzewski should be honored by the school that has hated him since the moment he arrived in Durham. I, for one, find that silly. So too, did Carolina, as a chorus of “F*** Coach K” chants rained down on the 74-year-old as he entered the Dean Dome for the last time as a coach.
The Tar Heels took the pettiness a step further and honored Roy Williams and Dean Smith at halftime — full disclosure, I’m not angry at the ceremony.
Ultimately, though, that environment is exactly the reception Coach K welcomes and revels in. You know he enjoyed it. Add that to the 20-point drubbing his team handed UNC and he probably couldn’t have asked for a better night.
The rivalry, as always, delivered and we will get Chapter 2 on Mar. 5 in what could very well be the final installment of the Duke-UNC rivalry with Mike Krzyzewski on the sidelines. I’m going to do my best to enjoy it while it lasts.
I leave you with these two thoughts.
First, shoutout Duke’s social media team for these great photos.
Second, I love Duke Basketball.
“We want to do something special,” Griffin said. “When we get knocked down, we want to fight back, punch back. I love that about our team. We have that fight in us and just having the opportunity to send our coach off with his last year on a good note, we just want the best. We hold each other accountable and that’s what’s special about this team. We love Duke Basketball; we love playing Duke basketball.”
VIA Duke Athletics/goduke.com
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