DURHAM, N.C. — It’s official, America.
Duke is officially a team to be feared again.
Led by their poster boy of controversy, Grayson Allen, who had been scrutinized ever since his third tripping incident back in December, the Blue Devils secured their first marquee win of the season by beating No. 8 North Carolina 86-78.
Allen led the way with 25 points — including seven 3-pointers — before fouling out in the final minute. It was his third straight game scoring 20 points or more.
Duke stumbled through the season and into ACC play with head coach Mike Krzyzewski juggling a lineup of injured players — highlighted with a one-game suspension of Allen after he tripped an Elon player on Dec. 21.
And when Krzyzewski himself missed four weeks — and seven games — while recovering from back surgery, many wondered if Duke would ever live up to its preseason No. 1 ranking.
It has taken some time, but against the Tar Heels they finally looked capable.
Even when Allen picked up his fourth foul with 8 minutes, 35 seconds left and the game tied at 66-66, the Blue Devils still managed to forge a 75-71 lead without him.
Duke freshman forward Jayson Tatum, who scored five points including a 3-pointer after Allen’s exit, took advantage of being primarily matched up against sophomore Luke Maye. Tatum finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Duke’s sophomore guard Luke Kennard added the other four points during the span of Allen’s absence. Kennard continue to be steady for the Blue Devils, finishing with 20 points.
North Carolina’s vaunted rebounding advantage took a hit before the game started when senior forward Isaiah Hicks was ruled out with a hamstring injury. Hicks had started every game this season and was averaging 13.2 points and 6.1 rebounds in ACC play.
The Tar Heels lead the nation in offensive rebounding percentage grabbing 42.8 percent of their misses. They also led the nation in rebounding margin grabbing an average of 13.7 more boards per game than their opponents.
Rebounding never became much of a factor.
In the first half, the teams were even with 14 each and just three offensive boards. North Carolina shot 56 percent from the floor and there were not a lot of misses to go after.
The loss for Carolina was its first with Theo Pinson in the lineup. The junior guard returned after missing the past three games with a right ankle injury.
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