NCAA Round Up – Kentucky and Duke Confident, Tar Heels Edge Out NC State

Some of the best teams in the country played their matches last night, and in general, it was a very interesting Tuesday in the NCAA. There haven’t been any great upsets, and the favorites went as planned, dishing their opponents without any particular troubles.

No.1 Duke (13-1) posted another routine win, this time against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (7-7), 87-65. The hosts were near until the closing five minutes of the first half when Blue Devils started pulling away, and ended the opening 20 minutes with an 8-point lead.

The opening few minutes of the second half saw Duke increasing the intensity on the defensive side of the court, and quickly enough they doubled the lead setting their tempo of play. In no time Wake Forest was dragged into Duke’s merciless machine.

As the game progressed, their lead was increasing, reaching its maximum with 5:31 to go, when Zion Williamson made a layup for 81-53. After that the guests slowed down a little bit and allowed for the Demons to decrease the difference.

The above-mentioned Williamson had a career-high 30 points, shooting superbly from the field, 13 of 16, and 3 of 4 for three. He didn’t have a worthy opponent on the court, and his other numbers are proving that claim.

The biggest favorite for the No.1 pick in the upcoming draft also had 10 boards, 5 assists, and 4 steals, posting an all-around performance.

“I think my confidence shooting 3s is getting a lot better.” Williamson said, “Coach is always telling me to shoot the ball, and at first I was like, if it’s not falling, I’m really not going to shoot it,”

Duke Dub! Zion Williamson’s new career-high leads #1 Duke to an 87-65 victory over Wake Forest.

Williamson: 30 PTS, 10 REB, 5 AST
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— CollegeBB News (@CollegeBBNCAA) January 9, 2019

R.J. Barrett added 21. The Blue Devils had 13 blocks, while their opponents didn’t record a single one.

No.18 Kentucky Wildcats (11-3) were 10-0 down against the Texas A&M Aggies (6-7) in the opening minutes of the clash at Rupp Arena. But until the middle of the first half, they managed to turn things around and take the lead. With a 21-10 run they secured a double-digit advantage, entering the second part of the game with 46-34 in their favor.

Though, the guests didn’t want to go down that easily. Slowly, the Aggies started clawing their back in and after 12:05 in the second half, they came down to only two points, 66-64. Unfortunately for them, it turned out to be just a short-breathed spark, because the Wildcats took over the wheel once again and pulled away to a safe distance, in the end, they won with 85-74.

Freshman Tyler Herro had 21 points for the Wildcats, and Ashton Hagans added 18 for the winning team who was almost perfect from the free throw line missing only two of 23 shots they had.

Kentucky -12.5 an early bad beat of the year contender 🤮 pic.twitter.com/4xFl7YNlS3

— br_betting (@br_betting) January 9, 2019

“We started pretty slow and eventually we got it going a little bit,” said Herro. “Second half, we played a little bit better. Overall, we have to start games quicker and better.”

For the Aggies, TJ Starks and Jay Jay Chandler posted 18 each.

In the big state derby, No.12 UNC (12-3) defeated No. 15 NC State (13-2) with 90-82. In the overcrowded PNC Arena, the Tar Heels stunned the hosts, and opened this match with 12 straight points, creating a huge momentum on their side. But as the game developed, the Wolfpack managed to come back and to decrease the gap to only five points at the halftime, 47-42. In the first few minutes of the second half, NC State tied the game twice, but Dean Smith’s boys eventually saved themselves, after improving their defensive effort and leaving the hosts scoreless for almost five minutes, making a 10-0 run during that time.

Heels Up! #12 North Carolina travels to Raleigh and picks up a hard fought win over #15 NC State 90-82.

Luke Maye: 21 PTS, 11 REB, 3 AST
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— CollegeBB News (@CollegeBBNCAA) January 9, 2019

NC State attempted to come back but the Tar Heels’ players were perfect from the free throw line and hit all six attempts, crushing all hopes of the Wolfpack for a dramatic ending.

Luke Maye had 21 buckets and 11 rebounds for the winners, Cameron Johnson 15 and 11, and Kenny Willims 15 and 10.

Braxton Beverley posted 21 for the home team.