UNC, looking like Duke at the ACC tournament, tries to pull off what only Duke has done
Roy Williams, understandably, is not crazy about being compared to Duke.
After all, Duke is Duke (as Pete Gillen famously once said) and North Carolina built its own distinct brand under Dean Smith which Williams has capably continued and grown.
But the longer this college basketball season goes, the more the Tar Heels look like Duke, or at least a composite sketch of Duke’s best attributes. UNC (25-9) will try to pull off what only Duke has done — four wins in four days at the ACC tournament — in the championship game on Saturday night in Brooklyn.
The Tar Heels, after a 74-69 win over the Blue Devils on Friday, take on No. 1 seed — and No. 1 in the country — Virginia (30-2) at 8:30 p.m.
“It’s strange there,” Williams said when asked about how Duke and Carolina have changed identities this season. “I’m not as comfortable with this change in personality, I can tell you that.”
But UNC’s transformation into a new-school version Duke with a four-guard lineup and an affinity for the 3-pointer had happened long before the ACC tournament. Wing Cam Johnson was put into the starting lineup after the Heels played poorly in a 61-49 loss at Virginia on Jan. 6. Williams has gone with a four-guard, “small ball” lineup ever since.
UNC ditched Williams’ preferred style and lineup, with the offense going inside-out and two post players on the floor. Although, no doubt, it warmed Williams’ heart on Friday to see freshman forward Garrison Brooks (10 points in 16 minutes) excel with junior forward Luke Maye (team-high 17 points).
The Heels have attempted more 3-pointers and been more reliant on their guards this season than any of Williams’ first 14 teams. Even with bigs Maye and Brooks showing out against Duke, the Heels (7-24) still took and made more 3s than Duke (6-23).
In the first 30 games of Williams’ tenure between Duke and Carolina, the Heels had made more 3s than Duke only once (in a loss in 2004). In the three games this season, UNC has out-scored Duke twice from the 3-point line.
What’s new at the ACC tournament this week has been UNC’s ability to morph into old-school version of Duke with a suffocating man-to-man defense. Surely Mike Krzyzewski recognized the intensity of UNC's man defense on Friday, even though the Duke coach has abandoned his trademark for a zone.
In three games in Brooklyn, the Tar Heels have overplayed the ball on the perimeter, contested nearly every shot and made Syracuse, Miami and Duke work on every possession. The only thing missing is a well-timed floor slap.
In Wednesday’s win over Syracuse, UNC allowed the fewest points (59) it has all season. In Thursday’s win over Miami, the Heels cut 26 points off of the Hurricanes’ point total from their loss to Miami on Feb. 27. In Friday’s win over Duke, UNC had a season-high 11 steals and forced 18 turnovers — the most by any ACC opponent this season.
“Defensively, we’ve really stepped up these past couple of games and played a lot better,” Maye said.
Junior guard Kenny Williams even out-Duked Duke in a key moment in the second half while the Blue Devils were making their run. Up 72-69 with 17.8 seconds left, Williams stepped in and took a charge on Duke guard Grayson Allen.
Duke, of course, won the ACC tournament last year in Brooklyn and even beat UNC in the same round. But the Blue Devils, worn out by their four games/four days ACC run, proceeded to lose in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
UNC, in turn, rebounded from its loss to Duke and won the NCAA tournament. So Williams is not interested in following in Duke footsteps next week. But on Saturday in the ACC title game?
“I’d like to, for one more day, yes,” Williams said. “I’d like to be able to do what Duke did last year.”
No. 6 UNC vs. No. 1 Virginia
When: 8:30 p.m., Saturday
Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.
TV/radio: ESPN, 106.1-WTKK
This story was originally published March 10, 2018 at 11:33 AM with the headline "UNC, looking like Duke at the ACC tournament, tries to pull off what only Duke has done."