Halfway through the 249th meeting between the No. 8 North Carolina basketball team and No. 1 Duke, the Tar Heels lead, 42-32.
Spearheaded by 18 points from senior forward Luke Maye, UNC capitalized early after projected NBA lottery pick Zion Williamson went down with an injury just 34 seconds into the game. Williamson, whose 6-foot-7, 285-pound frame posed a massive size advantage for Duke coming into the game, would later be declared out for the game with a knee injury.
Meanwhile, UNC built up a double-digit lead, keeping the Blue Devils at arms length and a margin of as many as 13 points along the way.
With 20 minutes left to play, the statistics tip the balance in favor of the Tar Heels moving forward. When leading at the half, UNC has not lost a game this season.
However, even as UNC put itself out in front, neither team had a stellar half from 3-point land, or from the field at all. Duke made just 13 of 40 shots, including just 2 of 20 from behind the arc, while UNC went 18-40 and 1-14 from three.
