Dook vs Carolina Live Rundown 1st Half

It is 9:00pm and that means gametime is upon us. The Blue Team presents a Live Rundown full of intensity and passion: it's Duke vs Carolina.

9:00pm: UCONN at Syrcuse is bringing us a good finish that the Huskies just managed to screw up. A bad three-pointer and inability to stop the long pass over the top robs UCONN of an upset on the road at the Carrier Dome.

9:01pm: We've got Tim Brando and Smilin' Dan Bonner bringing us the action tonight from Chapel Hill. It could be worse. We are at least spared Vitale screaming all night about whatever he screams about. I just hear loud noise with him now. It all sounds the same.

9:03pm: #50 goes into the rafters tonight, last time anyone will don these digits. Shockingly it will read "Hansbrough" instead of "Bersticker".

9:07pm: Tip-off time. Go Heels.

9:07pm: Hess, Jones, & Ayers - good officiating crew in Chapel Hill.

9:08pm: I just realized the Virginia Tech vs NC State game has started. I doubt I focus on it too much tonight, but go Hokies nonetheless.

9:09: Duke is deflecting the ball left and right. Awesome. But Ed Davis dunks to put up the first points tonight for the Heels. 2-0 lead...stop the game now.

9:11pm: The 2-3 zone on the baseline out-of-bounds plays yields a Singler three-pointer. Heels have got to find another way to defense the in-bounds play, this is not working anymore.

9:14pm: 9-4 Duke at the first media timeout. I am rattled by this "type and watch the game" thing already. The Hokies are up 10-4 and I have no idea how anyone has scored. I do know that Ted Valentine is officiating this game, which makes me relieved that he didn't end up about 30 miles down the road tonight.

9:16pm: Chewbek misses a bunny and I get to roll out the first Chewbacca roar of the evening. Always a crowd pleaser.

9:22pm: James McAdoo is behind the bench. James, graduate early and enroll at CH now. Like tomorrow morning. PJ Hairston, I now see you too. Likewise, just come on over to Carolina and suit up. As I type this, Dex clanks a free fro.

9:19pm: Liesl BBM's in to say that she found ESPNUnavailable on her DirecTV package.

9:23pm: Henson channeling Sam Perkins and blocking two shots! Quietly, it appears John may be trying to get off the short bus and graduate to playing real live college basketball.

9:25pm: Completely sick of "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" Gatorade commercial. It was maybe kinda sorta ok the first time...the hundreth? Not so much.

9:26pm: VT is 10-10 from the field and leads State 26-7. Carolina is not 10-10.

9:27pm: Will Graves' lack of defense is killing the Heels as Dan Bonner points out. But his three-pointer from Burlington is not. He has to go for 25 tonight to get Carolina some points and off-set all the ones he gives up. Seriously, we need a big game from Will to have a chance.

9:30pm: Holy Henson Batman. John narrowly misses a steal, comes all the way back for the board, which leads to a Drew II layup. Follows with a spike on the next possession. John! Welcome to the party son.

9:32pm: Tie game. Fist pump. 20-20 at the media timeout. Crowd is good thus far tonight. Way to show up for the Duke game folks. I sat through every game of 8-20, least ya'll students can do is pull a not-so-good team through a few games here. *gets off soapbox*

9:35pm: Hokies are still rolling. I'm not sure what Seth Greenberg will have to yell about at halftime. In other news, ESPN is showing the VT/State game on the mothership in all Raycome markets. This could really drop the Duke/Carolina ratings in the Triangle and in Virginia. Not that any of you care, but still.

9:37pm: I think we have 95 blocked shots thus far. "Duke is having trouble finishing around the rim"...not the first time some of the Dookies have heard that one.

9:40pm: Henson, Gumby, and Good Heavens all in the same sentence from Smilin' Dan. Eventually settles on "Mr. Gadget" to describe Henson. Good heavens indeed.

9:41pm: Marcus Ginyard battles for a loose ball and saves a possession. Get up off that game haters. He'd die for this team to be good. Finishes the possession with a dunk to give the Heels their first lead since 2-0, 24-23 at the four minute timeout.

9:44pm: Float like a butterfly...

9:45pm: I think they should remake that commercial with pictures of Tiger Woods "stinging like a bee". Now THAT would make me buy Gatorade.

9:48pm: II misses a three which Deon rebounds clean. He manages to dribble, gets tied up briefly, and loses the ball cleanly to three Devils without ever diving on the floor. That is why, talented as he may be, Thompson has the reputation for PLAP.

9:50pm: Scheyer miss, scramble, three guys on the floor, scramble some more, Drew controls....and one, bitch.

9:51pm: 28-27 Duke at the half. I feel like we won the National Championship again. Ok not really. But the first half was just as ugly as Carolina needs to make this entire game in order to have a chance to win. This team ain't winning pretty (or at all recently), so they've got to learn to grind games out and do it on the glass and defensive end. Duke shot about 30% the first half I bet, including some open misses, which cannot be expected the rest of the night. The Heels have got to keep the intensity up and make some shots to win this one.