Here’s What Plagued Duke in Second Half Against UNC

Pure heartbreak. The No. 4-ranked Duke Blue Devils (21-2, 10-1 ACC) fell in Chapel Hill to No. 14 North Carolina (19-4, 7-3 ACC) on a buzzer-beating three. The Blue Devils went scoreless over the final two and a half minutes of the contest.

It was a game that Duke controlled for almost the entirety of the way leading up to the final five minutes. The Blue Devils held a lead as large as 13 in the second half and were up by double digits for a good portion of the first frame. However, it all came crashing down in the final few minutes.

The loss won't do much damage to Duke's resume in the grand scheme of things, but this will be an extremely tough pill for Scheyer and his squad to swallow, given how the Blue Devils were in control for the majority of the game.

Feb 3, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) drives to the basket as Boston College Eagles forward Aiden Shaw (23) defends during the second half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images | Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

Second Half Plagues Blue Devils

Duke was in full control of the paint in the first half, and it looked for a while like the Blue Devils were going to take the victory handily on the road. Duke entered the halftime locker room with a 41-29 lead.

Then, North Carolina made finding the paint a much stronger intent in the second frame, and the Blue Devils had no answers for Henri Veesaar. After going scoreless in the first half, Veesaar went for 13 points across the second 20 minutes to go along with 11 rebounds. This marked Veesaar's ACC-leading 13th double-double of the campaign.

SETH TRIMBLE WINS IT FOR NORTH CAROLINA 😱

OUR SPORT>>>> https://t.co/LetlawFb6y pic.twitter.com/oSMZvxphLj
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) February 8, 2026

UNC freshman star Caleb Wilson was also incredible, going for 23 points on 8-of-12 (75%) shooting from the field.

Duke did its job in the paint offensively, outscoring the Tar Heels 36-22 in that facet of the game.

Final from UNC pic.twitter.com/TPCr5dPq4z
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) February 8, 2026

What ended up being a major deciding factor in the final result, however, was Patrick Ngongba's foul trouble.

Absence of Pat Ngongba Played Major Role in Loss

Duke doesn't have a lot of depth at the true center position, and sophomore center Pat Ngongba has been one of the most productive centers in the ACC on both sides of the ball this season.

Ngongba was great defensively while on the floor, but he ultimately fouled out of the contest with about six minutes to go. The sophomore tallied just four points in 16 minutes of action.

The absence of Ngongba left Scheyer with just Maliq Brown at the five, who was also dealing with four fouls down the stretch. This greatly limited the aggressiveness that Duke could play with defensively in the paint and left North Carolina with much freer opportunities for easy looks inside.

It's a brutal loss for the Blue Devils who just saw their 10-game win streak snapped.

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