Duke rallies to beat North Carolina 79-73

Posted On: February 9, 2011 By: Cliff Comments: (zero)

It was another classic Duke / North Carolina showdown Wednesday night in Durham as Duke rallied to beat Carolina 9-73 in front of a jam packed Cameron Indoor Stadium. Things went bad for the Blue Devils right from the opening tip off as the Tar Heels pretty much made every basket and grabbed every rebound as they jumped out to a double digit lead. UNC would dominate the first half and take a 43-29 lead in to the locker room but that is where things turned around for Duke.

I don’t know what was said at halftime but I’m sure it had something to do with getting a rebound and driving to the basket rather than jacking up quick three point shots. The Blue Devils came out on fire in the second half and quickly cut that Tar Hell lead in half behind great defense, rebounding and getting the ball inside with Kyle Singler.

It was around the eight minute mark when Duke finally took the lead behind Seth Curry who caught “NBA JAM ON FIRE MODE” and scored seven points in one minute. It was like Seth was out there shooting like his older brother for a while. Curry finished the game with a season high 22 points but he was not the player of the game for Duke.

Senior Nolan Smith who said this game was the biggest of his career dropped down a career high 34 points. Twenty two of his points came in the second half but it was the first half where he kept the Blue Devils in the game. Without Nolan knocking down shots in the first half, Duke would have been looking at a 20 point deficit going in to the locker room. Nolan knew he had to do something early when the team was struggling and that is when the Senior stepped up big time.

With the win, Duke extended its home win streak to 33 games, the longest active home win streak in the nation. The Blue Devils are 62-2 at home since the start of the 2007-08 season, with the only two losses coming to North Carolina.

- Cliff @justdukecom

Category: Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Game Notes