Defense, rebounding cost UNC men against Duke

DURHAM — James Michael McAdoo was helpless — left to his own rumination of what could have been. What if?

He watched Jabari Parker carve through North Carolina’s defense like a warm knife through melted butter. He watched as the Blue Devils manhandled UNC on the boards, 34-20 — the fewest rebounds UNC has put up in a game since March 8, 1987.

There wasn’t much he could do.

The forward had four fouls just 53 seconds into the second half of Saturday’s dance with the No. 4 Blue Devils (24-7, 13-5 ACC). He spent much of the night planted in his seat, surrounded by taunting fans who pestered him about his absence, his superstitious beard, his NBA draft stock.

No. 14 UNC (23-8, 13-5) lost 93-81, its defense folding against the hot-shooting Blue Devils and wilting under the all-imposing presence of precocious freshman Parker and his 30 points.

“It’s frustrating, especially when you have the opportunity to do something great and do something a lot of people didn’t think you could do,” McAdoo said. “To not be able to do that because you kind of shot yourself in the foot is really frustrating.”

The Tar Heels came into the contest with their size and post play looking like their greatest advantages against the smaller, more 3-point-oriented Blue Devils.

After all, UNC had out-rebounded Duke 43-30 in a 74-66 defeat of the Blue Devils at the Smith Center, Feb. 20. Rebounding, again, was a point of focus for UNC before Saturday’s game.

But McAdoo’s foul trouble further thinned a frontcourt that was already thin. Freshman center Kennedy Meeks, who has battled flu-like symptoms throughout the week, felt weak before the game and was limited to just 12 minutes of play.

Suddenly, UNC’s size advantage was no more. Duke made the Tar Heels pay.

“Rebounding battles I thought, going into the game, was going to be key,” said coach Roy Williams. “And I thought it would be an area where we could have an advantage, and instead, they just destroyed us on the backboards.”

Duke tallied 16 offensive rebounds — good for 20 second-chance points — many coming off of 3-point attempts and long jumpers. The Blue Devils were aided by 13 UNC turnovers as well, scoring 15 points off of them.

It was defense that ultimately failed UNC.

The Tar Heels were able to score with relative ease — shooting 60 percent for the game, the best in a loss since 1986. But they had no answer for Parker, who dazzled in the paint, at the line and behind the arc, and redshirt sophomore guard Rodney Hood, who was close behind with 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting.

UNC trailed by just three, 40-37, at the half, but powered by that duo, Duke went on a pulverizing 22-9 run.

Williams said after the game he thought Parker played as though he was possessed. The freshman left UNC’s players frustrated.

“You just have to buckle down and guard him,” said sophomore forward Brice Johnson, who scored 15 points in 27 minutes off the bench.

“It’s very difficult just because he’s a little crafty when he gets the ball in the lane. He can pivot and give a shot fake, and he’s just very crafty under the basket.”

Maybe if McAdoo hadn’t spent 16 minutes on the bench or if Meeks had been fully healthy, UNC would’ve been able to at least somewhat stifle Duke’s dominance.

But the Tar Heels will never know.

“It just sucks,” McAdoo said.

“That’s all I can really say.”