Duke 89 North Carolina 78

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) -- Duke's depth really took care of short-handed North Carolina, keeping the second-ranked Blue Devils alone atop the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Greg Paulus scored 18 points and was one of six players in double figures in the Blue Devils' 89-78 win over the third-ranked Tar Heels on Wednesday night, ending a three-game losing streak in the heated rivalry.

Jon Scheyer added 17 points for Duke (20-1, 8-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), which ran its spread-the-floor offense to perfection most of the night and repeatedly knocked down 3-point shots to control the game almost the entire way. Duke led by as many as 11 points in the first half and never trailed after the break, taking plenty of the drama out of the game and beating the Tar Heels for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

Duke shot 46 percent and went 13-for-29 from 3-point range, with Paulus going 6-for-8 from behind the arc.

Tyler Hansbrough had 28 points and 18 rebounds in what became virtually a one-man effort for the Tar Heels (21-2, 6-2), who looked a step off all night without injured point guard Ty Lawson. Lawson sprained his left ankle in the weekend win at Florida State.

Box Score Here

The Blue Devil Nation attended the Duke Football Signing Day PC and will have much more on the event later.  Duke signed 17 players which include Quarterback prospect and Parade All American Sean Renfree.  Duke also got a last minute call from Lee Butler who picked the Dukies over Georgia Tech.

Cutcliffe addresses the media to announce his 2008 recruiting class

Lee Butler - be sure to check out this link on how Duke swayed Butler to Durham.

Duke Off vs. North Carolina Def North Carolina Off vs. Duke Def 85.7 Pts F 71.8 Pts A 48.5 FG% 42.2 FG% 34.0 Reb. 29.8 Reb. 91.0 Pts F 66.0 Pts A 48.3 FG% 42.5 FG% 29.8 Reb. 31.7 Reb.

Bob Green's take - UNC is big (Tyler Hansbrough), fast (Ty Lawson), with an excellent shooter (Wayne Ellington).  Throw in a strong defender (Marcus Ginyard) and some key support players (Deon Thompson, Danny Green, Alex Stepheson) and you end up with a formidable opponent.  Fortunately, a breakdown of Duke illustrates that UNC also faces a formidable opponent.  Duke is deep, balanced, and very talented at the shooting guard and wing positions.  Breaking down the game, I see it as:   * Point Guard - Advantage UNC (if Lawson plays) * Post - Advantage UNC * Home court - Advantage UNC * Wing - Advantage Duke * Bench - Advantage Duke * Defense - Advantage Duke   This is #2 Duke vs. #3 Carolina and I'm anticipating a stereotypical battle to the final whistle with the following key points:   * Foul trouble * Turnovers * FG percentage * Free throws down the stretch   My pick: Duke 81 - UNC 80 Check back later for watzones take and some last minute tidbits on tonight's big game.

Mark's take - The intangibles in tonights game favor UNC.  Among them are -

- UNC is a good team and they didn't lose that long ago to Maryland while Duke has had a run since dropping on the Pitt.  UNC's loss is fresher than Dukes leaving that taste.

- UNC is playing at home.  They do not want to lose their second ACC game to Duke on their turf.  This would be disastrous.

- It is more of a must win for UNC in that it will tie them for the ACC lead.  Duke can lose and stayed even.  Duke is the underdog.

- UNC is ranked behind Duke in the polls, yet were supposed to be the clear cut ACC favorite at the start of the season   The rankings are obviously pasted in the locker room and will provide motivation.

- UNC has more upper classmen than Duke.  Experience means a lot in tight contests.

Now, none of these guarantees a Tar Heel win, but one would be unwise to ignore them.  UNC has a huge advantage inside and will pound the ball down low over and over again.  They then hope to kick the ball out for some open threes.  They will look to exploit the Duke defense with back-doors which can kill over playing defenses at times. 

If you think Ty Lawson will not play, think again.  He will very likely play and as I have already stated will come off the bench when they need him most and only then.  Once in, he will play a lot.  Make no mistake UNC needs Lawson.  Without him, Duke should force a bundle of turnovers.

On the Duke side, it is absolutely imperative to keep Singler out of foul trouble.  Same goes for Lance Thomas.  Duke will have to set good picks to get their threes off over a tall Tar Heel team and they must connect on them.  Duke can win if they hit on all cylinders and not allow too big of an emotional home run.  It may well come down to free throws.

In all honesty, I feel UNC should win this game for it is in Chapel Hill.  When teams are close, you have to give the edge to the home team.

You will see two different styles of play in what should be a great game to watch.  I feel both teams will score in the eighties and the pick is ... whoever has the ball last 85-83