Duke vs. North Carolina

First off, let me mention that I'm a little surprised ESPN didn't give this thing more coverage. Yikes! ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN 360, ESPNHD, yada yada yada. It was a little out of hand for a game that featured a #1 team that had lost earlier in the week against a #15 team.

But that's not to say it wasn't enjoyable. However, my official prediction of the night did not come true, as Dick Vitale did not have a heart attack. But he seemed awfully close at times. But again, I like listening to games with Vitale, because I'll be honest, I get pumped up for it.

I think both of these teams (obviously) have a shot to make good runs in the Tourney. Despite this loss and the really poor game by Redick, they'll be fine. As for North Carolina, they're young, but they're getting better and better, and Roy Williams is a heck of a coach. I wouldn't want to see them in my bracket of the NCAA Tourney, because they could be a scary team.

Now for the game itself. Coming in, I thought Duke would win and have a little easier time this game than they had the last time they played North Carolina, when they won 87-83. Early on, it looked like I was right, as they jumped out a 13-2 lead on senior night, including J.J. Redick starting 4 of 5 for 9 points, and showing why he's the Player of the Year in College Basketball. After that early burst, however, North Carolina was fantastic.

At halftime, it was 38-37 Duke, but North Carolina had weathered the early storm and was playing very well, even though Tyler Hansborough only had 8 points at the half. In the second half, North Carolina kept attacking, and J.J. Redick kept missing, finishing up 5 of 21 from the field for 18 points, missing 15 of his last 16 shots. Duke was not able to overcome this despite solid efforts by Shelden Williams (18 points, 15 rebounds), DeMarcus Nelson (17 points), and Lee Melchionni (11 first-half points).

In the end, North Carolina was led by their freshman, and pulled it out by a score of 83-76. As if you didn't know already, Tyler Hansborough is really a special player. The freshman finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds, and was really the best player out on the court. He scored on Shelden Williams in the post, took him to the hoop from the outside, and even hit a 3-pointer. He's got to get consideration for the All-American team, and what he has done as a freshman in the ACC is nothing short of incredible. If he sticks around for a couple more years, he'll absolutely dominate.

I was also impressed by Bobby Frasor, who made good decisions all night, especially for a true freshman playing in Cameron Indoor Stadium. He finished with 10 points and 5 assists, but he played really well in his 29 minutes. Yet another freshman for UNC that played well was Matt Ginyard, who had 12 points off the bench and really provided a lot of energy.

If there's any consolation in the loss for Duke, it's that DeMarcus Nelson really stepped up as the 3rd scorer tonight. If Duke is going to make a really deep run into the Final Four, they are going to need a third scorer to ease the burden of Shelden Williams and J.J. Redick, and Nelson is as good a candidate as any for Duke.