Well, a game that was postponed due to inclement weather proved to be worth the wait last night, as the Tar Heels of North Carolina defeated the Duke Blue Devils by a score of 74-66 in Chapel Hill, and the UNC students stormed the floor in elation after the final buzzer. This huge rivalry win comes just weeks after North Carolina was 0-3 in the ACC, and the Tar Heels' impressive play as of late has gotten them to 9-4 in conference play.
Marcus Paige led the Tar Heels throughout a second-half rally after being held scoreless in the first. His 13 points, including two clutch buckets in the closing minutes, proved to be crucial down the stretch as the Tar Heels made up an 11-point halftime deficit, and senior Leslie McDonald added 21 for his season-high mark. UNC's 43 rebounds and late free throw conversions proved to be the game changers after they began 1 of 8 from the charity stripe.
Duke's freshman phenom Jabari Parker and Quinn Cook scored 17 each for the Blue Devils, who led by 11 with fifteen to go before going "ice cold" from the field and scoreless for a six minute stretch. Coach K said afterwards, "The crowd, the team, the intensity, we couldn't match it. We just couldn't match it. We didn't have the life you needed to have."
With the win, the Tar Heels became the first team ever to beat the AP preseason teams ranked 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Personally, UNC's big win makes me pretty happy, being a North Carolina native myself and growing up in a family from Kentucky, one of Duke's biggest rivals.
Following the loss, Duke will host Syracuse tonight at Cameron Indoor Stadium for a rematch of the overtime thriller that occurred in the Carrier Dome just weeks ago, when the Orange Men came out on top.
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/24450525/night-court-unc-nabs-8th-straight-acc-w-horizon-title-clinched
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/north-carolina-rallies-beat-no-042611661--ncaab.html
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