Duke vs. North Carolina score, takeaways: Blue Devils rout rival Tar Heels in Coach K's last game at UNC

AJ Griffin had a career-high 27 points as the No. 9 Blue Devils had an easy time against North Carolina on Saturday

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski's final trip to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, as coach of the Blue Devils couldn't have gone much better. No. 9 Duke jumped out to a quick 23-point advantage and never allowed North Carolina back within single-digits in an 87-67 win.

Duke freshman AJ Griffin scored a career-high 27 points, including the first 10 points of the second half as the Blue Devils pushed an 11-point halftime edge to 21 points, blowing away any thoughts of a Tar Heel comeback. Paolo Banchero didn't shoot the ball well but finished with a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. And guard Wendell Moore Jr. did a little bit of everything with 13 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Brady Manek scored 21 points to lead North Carolina, making 6-of-10 3-pointers.

Duke (19-3, 9-2 ACC) leads the ACC by a half-game over a 9-3 Notre Dame team. The Blue Devils have a quick turnaround, hosting Virginia on Monday. North Carolina (16-7, 8-4) travels to Clemson on Tuesday.

The two teams will meet again in their season finale: March 5 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham.

AJ Griffin looks every bit the lottery pick

Banchero gets the credit as the potential No. 1 pick in this summer's NBA Draft. But on a night where he shot 5-for-14 and scored five first-half points, the Blue Devils were never really tested because Griffin was so lethal, scoring a career-best 27 and shooting 11-of-17 from the field. Those 27 points topped the 22 he scored against Wake Forest and Louisville, respectively.

A renowned shooter out of Archbishop Stepinac in New York, Griffin was limited early this season with an injury. But he's since become an indispensable part of a team that Duke hopes can send Krzyzewski home with another national championship. He's made exactly 50% of his 3-pointers this season, but he's been particularly deadly of late, averaging 20.7 points per game and making 9-of-13 3-pointers over the Blue Devils' last three games.

With Griffin splitting time between the three in big lineups and the four in smaller groupings, he's a tough matchup, and his feathery touch elevates Duke's March Madness potential.

A late Trevor Keels renaissance

Speaking of freshmen, Duke's victory could help Trevor Keels re-find his mojo. Keels exploded onto the scene with 25 points in Duke's Champions Classic win over Kentucky, and with his attacking nature crammed into a linebacker-sized frame, he was a popular favorite to slide into early season mock draft lotteries.

But Keels had scored double-digit points while also making better than 40% from the field just once since the calendar flipped to 2022, 11 points on nine shots at Wake Forest on Jan. 12. Since then, he missed three games with injury, and in his return contest at Notre Dame, Keels played 26 minutes and scored three points on 1-for-8 shooting.

But with North Carolina pressuring the ball to try and find room for a comeback, Keels looked confident in pulling from the outside, scoring 11 points while making 3-of-4 shots from behind the 3-point arc. He also added three rebounds, two assists and a steal.

If Duke can add Keels back to its deep and versatile group of scoring options, the Blue Devils get that much better.

Brady Manek among North Carolina's bright spots

There weren't many positives for a North Carolina team that has gotten bludgeoned by the last three teams the Tar Heels have played ranked in KenPom's top 25: a 17-point defeat to Tennessee, a 29-point thumping at the hands of Kentucky and Saturday night's 20-point loss.

But Brady Manek's shooting would qualify as a plus. He kept North Carolina alive with a 15-point first half, and with a 21-point outing, he's now scored at least 17 points in each of the Tar Heels' last three games.

North Carolina coach Hubert Davis discussed before the season even started how the addition of Manek through the transfer portal could help spread the court for post threat Armando Bacot and allow Tar Heel guards to get a piece of the paint. And while those other parts didn't necessarily play out against Duke, Manek's continued threat from the outside can only help North Carolina find offensive success moving forward.

[Feb 5, 2022 at 8:11 pm ET · Kevin Flaherty]

Not much drama in this one, as Duke's 31-8 start led to a 87-67 victory. The Blue Devils were buoyed by a career-high 27 from AJ Griffin and never let the Tar Heels get closer than 11 points after their hot start.

Duke (19-3, 9-2) leads in the ACC standings by a half-game over Notre Dame at 9-3. The Blue Devils host Virginia on Monday.

North Carolina (16-7, 8-4) is in a crowded mess below the Blue Devils with four other ACC teams sitting between 9-3 and 8-5. The Tar Heels will try to get back on track at Clemson.

[Feb 5, 2022 at 8:01 pm ET · Kevin Flaherty]

After a five-point first half, Paolo Banchero has done a better job finding his offense in the second. He's at 13 points and 10 rebounds now, joining with AJ Griffin's career-high 27 and Wendell Moore's usual box-score filling 13 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals to give Duke all the pop it needed.

The Blue Devils lead 85-57 heading into the final 3:34, Duke's largest lead of the game

[Feb 5, 2022 at 7:51 pm ET · Kevin Flaherty]

Duke and North Carolina have scored on their last seven combined possessions — four for Duke, three for North Carolina — an exchange that only helps the Blue Devils as the clock keeps ticking down. The latest saw AJ Griffin take Armando Bacot off the dribble and take a jumper. When it missed, Mark Williams grabbed the rebound and threw down a vicious dunk as he was fouled by Brady Manek.

Duke leads 72-54.

[Feb 5, 2022 at 7:47 pm ET · Kevin Flaherty]

Duke freshman Paolo Banchero has had a quiet day, but with that 3-pointer off an offensive rebound, he's one rebound away from a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.

The Blue Devils were able to add one point to their lead, and with a 17-point lead with 8:39 left in the game, that might be enough to clinch it.

[Feb 5, 2022 at 7:39 pm ET · Kevin Flaherty]

Those minutes were better for North Carolina, with the Tar Heels cutting Duke's lead to 57-41. And while it might not matter tonight, it's encouraging that Brady Manek has found a comfort level as a shooter and scorer. He scored 17 against NC State, then followed that with 24 points against Louisville and has 18 so far against Duke. That bodes well moving forward.

North Carolina needs another four minutes or so like the last few to get this game to 10 points or single digits and see if the Tar Heels can start to make Duke uncomfortable.

[Feb 5, 2022 at 7:28 pm ET · Kevin Flaherty]

The last four minutes of the half are important, and the first four of the second half are vital as well. And Duke jumped all over North Carolina to start the half, turning an intriguing 11-point game at halftime into a 21-point Blue Devils advantage with a 10-0 run to start the second half.

Duke freshman AJ Griffin was a huge part of that quick change in perspective, scoring all of those first 10 points.

Duke now leads 55-32 and North Carolina's chance at a comeback looks pretty bleak.

[Feb 5, 2022 at 7:08 pm ET · Kevin Flaherty]

Future Duke head coach and current assistant Jon Scheyer noted in his halftime interview that the Blue Devils need to do a better job of tracking North Carolina forward Brady Manek in transition. Manek has 15 of North Carolina's 28 points, including four 3-point makes.

The Tar Heels also found some success moving Leaky Black to defending Duke freshman Paolo Banchero, who started quickly, but finished with just five points. Look for the Blue Devils to try and establish him early in the second half.

[Feb 5, 2022 at 6:53 pm ET · Kevin Flaherty]

Duke leads 37-23 with 2:53 left in the half.

North Carolina has gotten a couple transition looks in the past few minutes, with a Brady Manek 3 cutting Duke's advantage to 15 at 33-18. Perhaps more importantly, North Carolina has been able to stack together a few stops, something that wasn't happening early. Another Manek 3 slices Duke's lead to 14 points, and Manek has 14 of North Carolina's 23, all on 3-point makes.

This is the point where every coach will say that teams need to close out the half well; if Duke can keep the lead at 15ish or push to 20 points, it's a vastly different look than if North Carolina can cut Duke's advantage to 10 or under after such a rough start.