In the season’s first meeting, the Duke Blue Devils (19-2, 11-0 ACC) crushed the North Carolina Tar Heels (13-10, 6-5 ACC) last night at Cameron Indoor Stadium. After the first five minutes, Duke offered UNC nothing to consistently get with their offense, and the game was all but over.

In the first half, the Tar Heels were only able to shoot 29.6% and 27.2% from three-point range thanks to the Blue Devils. North Carolina lost 87-70, behind by double digits for nearly the whole forty minutes of play, and they never had a chance. For a few minutes in the second half, Duke had a lead of more than thirty points.

Last night, Duke controlled the game in every way. led by rookie marvels Kon Knueppel, who finished with a game-high 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, and Cooper Flagg, who finished with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.

The Blue Devils were dominant defensively, leaving the Heels in the dust early on, even though they played offensively the whole game, shooting 52.8% from the floor as a team, and assisting on 20 of 28 made shots.

Not because Duke played excellent defense as it has throughout the season, but rather because of how swiftly it shut down UNC’s transition game—which is what the Heels rely on—this confirms Duke to be the best defensive team in the country.

The absence of a reliable big inside has been UNC’s biggest problem this season, forcing head coach Hubert Davis to plan his offense around transition. The Heels rank 30th nationally in terms of fast break points per game and have the 23rd fastest tempo in the nation. Few teams attempt to run as often as Carolina, despite the fact that those figures don’t place in the top five or ten nationally.

And it was evident from away that UNC understood that was its only chance of winning. However, Duke quickly eliminated any transitional possibilities the Heels might have had, and it didn’t even appear to be that difficult to do so against one of the nation’s top transition teams.

Although North Carolina isn’t playing at the highest level this season, they are extremely dangerous when they can run. Duke didn’t give the Heels any hope that it would ever work.

Although the majority of the Blue Devils’ fast break scores came late in the second half, after the game was technically ended, UNC averages 14.5 fast break points per game, and the Blue Devils held the Heels to 10.

“It was just such an incredible environment tonight,” Jon Scheyer, the head coach of Duke, stated. “I thought our guys really helped with the defense and how we play on that end to get the crowd going.”

The Blue Devils’ ability to switch from 1 to 5 is a luxury that few teams possess, and it was demonstrated how intimidating Duke’s height and length are to opponents. Duke demonstrated last night why they are ranked third at KenPom in adjusted defensive efficiency and appear to be the finest all-around defensive team in the country. Most collegiate basketball teams lack the ability to be that long and come back in transition to stop anyone.