Duke basketball leads North Carolina Tar Heels 39-28 at half: 3 early observations
Duke came out of the gate hot Saturday night, while North Carolina had a hard time connecting during the first half inside the Dean Dome. After the end of the first half, the Blue Devils led UNC 39-28.
Not much went right for the Tar Heels early, while it appeared Duke couldn’t miss. The Blue Devils led the entire first half.
HERE ARE THREE OBSERVATIONS FROM THE FIRST HALF:
DUKE CAME OUT CLICKING
The Blue Devils scored on their first four possessions of the game. Duke didn’t look rattled at all by the sold-out crowd, jumping out to an 8-2 lead. The Blue Devils led by as many as 23 in the first half and were in control right from the start.
Six Duke players scored in the first 20 minutes. The Blue Devils got five points from the bench, compared to zero from UNC.
THE AJ GRIFFIN SHOW
While his classmates Paolo Banchero and Trevor Keels got a lot of rookie love, it was A.J. Griffin who made his presence felt early.
Griffin started the game 4-of-4 from the floor. By the time he missed his first shot, Duke was up 31-10.
At one point, Griffin had more points by himself (7) than the Tar Heels (5). He finished the first half with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
MANEK SHOWED UP BIG
Brady Manek was the one UNC player who looked engaged during the first half. The Oklahoma transfer was the lone Tar Heels player in double figures and led all scorers with 15 points at the break.
Manek shot 4-of-7 from 3, but his highlight was a drive and dunk that brought the crowd to its feet.
Manek is coming off a season-high 24 point game against Louisville.
This story was originally published February 5, 2022 at 7:07 PM.
