Takeaways from UNC basketball's loss at Duke
· Yahoo Sports
Going into the game, No. 18 North Carolina was a whopping 17.5-point underdog to No. 1 Duke as they went to Durham for the rematch. With no Caleb Wilson, the Tar Heels were up against it against arguably the best team in the country.
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Yet, the Tar Heels trailed 41-40 on their third possession of the second half and had the ball with a chance to take the lead. However, Duke blew the game wide open with a 24-2 run that spanned more than 10 minutes. The Blue Devils led by 25 points with six minutes to play, which was the largest deficit of the season for Carolina.
While Wilson’s absence hurt UNC’s chances in the rematch against Duke, the Blue Devils were without starting center Patrick Ngongba, while starting point guard Caleb Foster left the game with a lower-body injury late in the first half and did not return.
However, the Tar Heels could not spoil Duke’s Senior Night by sweeping the Blue Devils after winning the first game.
Here are the main takeaways from Saturday night’s game.
Turnovers
UNC had 15 turnovers to Duke’s eight, allowing 24 points off turnovers, an average of 1.71 points. It's never easy to win on the road, but it's even harder when you're turning the ball over at a high rate. This has plagued the Tar Heels a couple of times this season, but that second half was just brutal all around.
If UNC wants to make a run in March, it is going to need to really cut down on the turnovers.
Interior play
North Carolina was out-rebounded 42-19 and allowed 18 offensive rebounds compared to just five for the Tar Heels in the game. That resulted in 14 second-chance points for Duke.
With how good Duke is, giving them that many second chances on offense is never a good thing. We've seen UNC struggle to rebound against Duke in the first meeting as well.
Derek Dixon
The freshman point guard scored 17 points on 5-for-8 shooting with all five baskets coming beyond the arc. He also had three assists.
It was the first time he had more than 10 points in a game since Jan. 24 in UNC’s win over Virginia, when he scored 11. While North Carolina lost, the play of Dixon was a bright spot. Let's see if he can have a strong March to close out his first season in Chapel Hill.
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Basketball: Takeaways from loss at Duke