Duke came into the season as one of the favorites to win it all, but hasn’t played up to that level all year.
Well, until now.
The 18th-ranked Blue Devils (19-5, 7-4 ACC) finally put it all together as they took down No. 8 North Carolina (21-5, 9-3 ACC), 86-78, at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Grayson Allen scored 25 points, including seven 3-pointers while Luke Kennard chipped in with 20 points. Freshman Jayson Tatum scored all 19 of his points in the second half to pace the Blue Devils. Tatum also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds and five assists in the win.
The game more than lived up to the hype as both teams came in each having won 48 games as well as scoring the same number of points (7,437) during that span. So not surprisingly, Thursday’s game featured 17 lead changes, nine ties with neither team leading by more than eight points.
Tatum, a freshman, had arguably his best game of the season despite a scoreless first half. The first-year player erupted for 19 points in the second half and led the Blue Devils in rebounds (9) and assists (5).
Tatum didn’t score his first points until the 16-minute mark in the second half, but made sure to do it in style.
After taking the ball on the left wing, Tatum split two defenders before throwing down a monster one-handed dunk over North Carolina big man Kennedy Meeks to put Duke up 53-46. That momentum then helped the Blue Devils hold off a late run by the Tar Heels to get the home win.
Duke's Jaysom Tatum with a monster slam to put the Blue Devils up 53-46 over North Carolina. #UNCvsDUKE #Duke #BlueDevils #ACC pic.twitter.com/VH39VA65U0
— Fan Insider (@FanInsider_) February 10, 2017
The win was extra special for Melanie Day who was recently diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. Day fought off the disease and was cancer free back in 2014, but the disease has since returned and is terminal now.
The former BYU basketball player — who has loved Duke since she was a child — ended up getting two tickets to Thursday’s game after Coach K learned of her story. With the win, Day can now officially cross her No. 1 item off of her bucket list.
