Coach K offers thoughts on first half of Duke-North Carolina

After Duke guard Jeremy Roach converted an and-one opportunity to end the first half, the Blue Devils took a 37-34 lead into halftime of the Final Four against North Carolina on Saturday. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski spoke with CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson, saying he was happy with how players stepped up after Mark Williams endured early foul trouble.

“I’m pleased with my team because Mark got those two early fouls,” Krzyzewski said. “Theo (John) filled in for him and we were able to get a little lead with Mark being on the bench for 15 minutes. Hopefully we can keep him in the ball game and start off the second half strong. Look, it’s a hell of a ball game. Both teams are really playing hard.”

With Williams playing just five minutes in the opening half, John stepped up to score six points and corral four rebounds in his absence. However, he quickly got into foul trouble of his own, picking up his fourth foul late in the first half while trying to guard Tar Heels center Armando Bacot.

In addition to John, Blue Devils guard Trevor Keels also provided quality minutes off the bench to finish with eight first half points. Duke shot 43.2% from the floor and was led by freshman phenom Paolo Banchero, who scored 10 points along with six rebounds. On the Tar Heels’ side, RJ Davis led the team with 14 first-half points.

It was a back-and-forth battle throughout the first half, with the largest lead for either team being just six points. North Carolina found itself trailing by a score of 34-28 before scoring six points over the final 1:30 to tie the game at 34. That’s when Roach delivered his and-one play with just four seconds remaining to enter the locker room with plenty of momentum.

If Duke beats North Carolina, it will advance to the national championship on Monday to face Kansas. The Jayhawks defeated Villanova by a score of 81-65 on Sunday to claim the first spot in the title game.