ACC Supremacy

Man, I should have kept my prediction-making ways going, because I totally called this one too.

Sure North Carolina didn't have Ty Lawson, but past that, everyone knew UNC had the edge. Home court advantage was theirs, and most people thought that despite the inferior ranking, the Heels were the team to beat in the ACC, and Duke's lack of a big man would ultimately hurt them.

It hasn't caught up with them yet.

Duke's assault was varied. In the first half, the Devils forced turnover after turnover and made them count with a shower of three pointers. Second half, Duke attacks the inside after UNC guards the perimeter and then dominates the boards on defense. For a team with no big man, Lance Thomas and Kyle Single sure did a bang-up job of bringing the ball down when North Carolina missed (a lot of) shots.

Greg Paulus was a monster. His 18 points led the team and every last one of them came from his 6-8 three point shooting, a career high. The play when Paulus swished it while falling down was one of the defining plays of the game.

You always had a feeling the game was going to get closer, simply because that's what happens when these two teams play. It wasn't the case this time. Duke had an answer for everything UNC had, and ultimately won the game by 11, a huge number for this rivalry. Say what you will Heels supporters, but Duke is the ACC's top dog, and they've got a good chance to prove it again against these same Tarheels in March, with or without Ty Lawson.