Duke Basketball: Takeaways from Senior Night victory over North Carolina

3. Vernon Carey Jr. continues his recent stretch of dominance

There was a point this season where it felt like Vernon Carey Jr. was potentially the frontrunner for the Wooden and Naismith Player of the Year Awards. That cooled off as Duke basketball continued to lose and Carey’s scoring didn’t have the same impact. On Saturday, Carey was truly dominant, registering his first 20+ point game since February 19 against NC State.

Carey is no doubt a skilled big man, but on Saturday he outworked them as well.

The North Carolina big men were effective on the offensive glass but that had more to do with the Tar Heels poor shooting than a lack of box-outs from Carey. Throughout the game, Carey sprinted down court full bore, filling the lane and often finish the fastbreak with authority.

When Carey didn’t receive the ball immediately on the break, he would usually fall into a pick-and-roll set and then promptly seal his man on is back in the low post. Once Carey has a mismatch—or even if a big is still on him—he has a few different moves at his arsenal but usually will go to a quick-release jump hook with a soft touch.

In Duke basketball’s 13-point win over North Carolina, Carey’s final stat line was 25 points, 10 rebounds, a steal and a block in 27 minutes. He has shot 77% or better from the free throw line in five straight games and slowly but surely seems to be handling pressure and double teams better. With Carey and Tre Jones looking comfortable in the Duke offense, and Coach K getting plenty of contributions from the Duke role players, the Blue Devils will be a tough out in March.