Duke has made it a habit to rain on North Carolina’s parade this year. The Tobacco Road rivalry has been entirely one-sided, with Jon Scheyer’s team taking the obvious upper hand. After Friday’s semi-final win against UNC, the Blue Devils demolished their last hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament, even without Cooper Flagg. However, the victory wasn’t as smooth as they would have liked.

Duke’s 74-71 win over UNC, sealed the Tar Heels’ 22-13 fate, dropping them from Joe Lunardi’s ‘Last Four In’ to out of the 68-team field, while exposing Duke’s vulnerabilities to the other 67 NCAA hopefuls.

While Jon Scheyer’s team might have beaten UNC, they nearly squandered a 21-point first-half lead against the Tar Heels. Duke was playing without their NPOY candidate, and the difference showed! While it was a great collective effort from the team, they lacked the explosiveness we expected. Analysts were quick to point out the concerns they had after Duke’s performance on Friday.

On The Field of 68: After Dark, show hosts Rob Dauster and Jeff Goodman talked about the UNC vs Duke game. Dauster had his doubts about Duke’s effectiveness for one critical reason. “I thought that tonight was the first real time that I’ve watched them, where I said it might be a problem that there is no true point guard on this roster.” The analyst said, questioning Duke’s facilitation and guard play.

Not only that, the Tar Heels backcourt outperformed expectations on defence. Seth Trimble, RJ Davis, and Drake Powell bottlenecked Duke’s offensive ploys in the second half, leading to a nail-biter finish. And according to Dauster, it is definitely something to take note of.

He addressed the glaring fault in Duke’s offensive system. “The on-ball pressure that North Carolina put on Duke was something where I don’t think the Blue Devils were really able to handle it at all.” At this stage in March, right before Selection Sunday, teams have their ears to the ground, looking for any openings that they can exploit.

Duke, in the absence of Cooper Flagg, has given March Madness competitors a lot to note down. Their lack of a true point guard, and their inability to handle on-ball pressure certainly expose them to a lot of liability in March, leaving their playoff hopes quite shaky. However, according to analysts, there’s an easy fix for Jon Scheyer’s squad!

Cooper Flagg’s court vision the missing link for Duke in the ACC Tournament?

A single rebound threw a wrench in Duke’s plans for the ACC Tournament, and maybe even the national postseason. Even after scans came back negative for anything serious, Cooper Flagg’s absence was felt by Duke against UNC. Their inability to keep constant pressure against Hubert Davis’ team is largely due to a weakened front court. Flagg’s defensive hustle had the potential to nip UNC’s comeback in the bud, but it was not to be. However, that’s not all that the six-foot-nine star provides for his team.

Rob Dauster, on The Field of 68: After Dark, posed a very important question for Duke moving forward? “Is there a point guard on this Duke roster?” Sion James, their true one guard, got into a heap of foul trouble, leaving their back-court exposed.

Jeff Goodman, however, pointed out the ace up Scheyer’s sleeves. He responded to Dauster’s question. “His name is Cooper Flagg! He’s not a point guard, he’s a point forward.” After his injury, Duke lost a ton of facilitation inside the arc.

Flagg’s ability to dominate within the paint drew help towards him, creating open looks for his teammates all season! Not to mention, the big man from Maine led the Blue Devils in assists, averaging over four per game. His tendency to make the extra passes, and share the glory with his teammates, is what makes him a well-rounded prospect.

It will be interesting to see how long it takes him to get back to full fitness. According to the Duke medical team, there might be swelling that Flagg will have to manage. The Blue Devils will have to maintain a delicate balance between playing the young talent, and managing his injury as March Madness progresses.