A reading of the decibel meter inside the Spectrum Center, the heart rate monitor on head coach Jon Scheyer’s watch and the words per minute from constantly clicking keyboards would all point to one thing: Friday’s ACC semifinal between Duke and North Carolina was madness.
The story of the game was Jae’Lyn Withers’ lane violation, Cooper Flagg’s absence, the Blue Devils’ nearly-blown lead. Then there was the emergence of Patrick Ngongba II, the resurgence of Caleb Foster and the perseverance of the rest of Duke’s starting five. There was simply too much that happened in the Blue Devils’ 74-71 victory to dissect it all.
Friday was a lesson from the book of March: anything that can happen, will happen. Scheyer coached his team to a 15-0 run to end the first half without its leader in every statistical category. He also had to weather the storm of playing against a team with its back against the wall. The highs and the lows against the Tar Heels are a harbinger for what Duke will experience in the NCAA Tournament, for better or worse.
Scheyer is grateful that he has a roster connected enough to handle it.
“We’re a team. That means we do everything together,” Ngongba said.
“We’ve got each other’s back each and every night,” Foster said. “It really comes from practice. We just battle every day, and we uplift each other and make each other better.”
“To see guys that are genuinely happy for one another, and to see guys that genuinely try to grow with what you’re asking them to do, doesn’t always happen,” Scheyer said. “… Tonight Caleb comes in the first half and our team is going crazy for him. Having that connection and then having that toughness along with it, it’s been a special group to coach.”
One play that showcased the Blue Devils’ chemistry came in the middle of North Carolina’s comeback efforts. With 8:42 remaining, Elliot Cadeau was at the line looking to convert on a free throw to cut the lead to 15.
While both teams brought in subs, junior Tyrese Proctor spoke with Scheyer near Duke’s bench. Then he stepped up behind the arc, called out a play to the team and gave an unspoken nod to Ngongba. A few seconds later, the Blue Devils executed to perfection — Proctor set a back screen for Ngongba, who streaked open to catch an alley-oop from Sion James.
High-level communication is expected of competitive teams at this time of year, but it usually does not involve a freshman averaging 10.2 minutes per game. Scheyer explained that Ngongba started the season battling an injury, developed in the background and stepped into a bigger role a few weeks ago when Maliq Brown went down with his first shoulder injury.
That accounts for his comfort around the rim, but only an elite level of connectivity explains how he was able to step into such an important role in such a crucial situation.
The other trait Duke showed that makes it a serious threat nationally was its poise as the game started to swing towards the Tar Heels. Sure, the Blue Devils would have looked even better had they never blown their 21-point halftime lead. But whether it is an experienced, ever-improving North Carolina team, a scrappy double-digit seeded mid-major or some other future foe, another team will go on a run against Duke.
Hubert Davis, the Tar Heels’ head coach, said he reminded his team in the halftime locker room of its previous comebacks this season. They had erased deficits before, and sure enough at the under-four minute media timeout, they were right back in it. On the other hand, even in Duke’s three losses, the game was relatively close the whole time.
While the lane violation was a once-in-a-lifetime saving grace, that will not matter when the Blue Devils play a game like this one again. Scheyer has certainly spoken of not letting the foot off the gas at halftime all season, but now he has an example of what happens if his team lets up.
Sometimes shots will not fall — Duke’s 22.7% 3-point rate was well-below its season average of 37.7%. As much as the Blue Devils want to win, the other team does too, and opponents in March will be capable of making big-time plays.
What Friday taught Duke is to control the controllable. Taking the floor without one of the best players in the country, giving up a massive lead, missing a free throw up by one with 21 seconds left — none of it matters.
What matters is winning.
A simple takeaway from the game is that the Blue Devils are just as capable of winning a national championship as they were 24 hours ago, before this all-time rivalry classic. They’re just as capable as they were 48 hours ago, before Flagg and Brown went down with injury that will keep them sidelined for an unknown amount of time. That is not to say their future did not get a whole lot more volatile, but everything still remains in front of them for the taking.
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Still, despite the endless height up and down the roster, they have a long way to climb to the top.
Dom Fenoglio | Sports Managing Editor
Dom Fenoglio is a Trinity junior and a sports managing editor of The Chronicle’s 120th volume.
