Notes: Duke at North Carolina

1. Wow. Just wow. What a finish. What a game. Every now and then the Duke-UNC rivalry lives up to its considerable hype. Tonight we witnessed one of those games. I had written Duke off after the Tar Heels built up a 13-point second half lead. Down 10 with 2 and a half minutes left, a comeback seemed all but impossible. Rivers' 3 at the buzzer gave new life to a Blue Devils squad that has looked like a solid team with little chance of competing against the Kentuckys and Ohio States of the world come March. And UNC's collapse raises all sorts of questions about a team that seemed to have righted itself after its embarrassing 33-point loss to Florida State.

2. Love him or hate him, Austin Rivers is going to be a special player at the college level (assuming he sticks around for another year). Sure, he's a gunner, and it's hard to argue that he makes those around him better. He's a talented scorer who doesn't bring much else to the table at this early stage of his career. That being said, he's leading the 9th ranked Blue Devils in scoring as a freshman and just put 29 on the rival Tar Heels. There aren't many players in the country who could have done what he did tonight.

3. People have been saying it all year, but it's worth mentioning again after tonight's collapse - the Tar Heels lack the killer instinct possessed by teams that win championships. The talent and skill are there. I'm just not sure Roy Williams' squad has the mentality needed by a team that is going to win 6 straight games in March and April.

4. It should be mentioned that Carolina's top 4 players all had good individual games tonight. Harrison Barnes finished with 25 points with most of those coming in the second half. Tyler Zeller had as good a first half as anyone has had in the country this year and finished with 23 points and 11 boards. John Henson tallied 12 and 17. And Kendall Marshall finished with 14 points and 8 assists. (I thought Marshall did a really good job of being a threat to score tonight.)

5. Stat of the night - UNC hit one 3-pointer as compared to the 14 made by the Blue Devils. At some point, Roy Williams has to make adjustments. Duke made a number of difficult shots, but, if UNC decides to make taking away the 3-pointer a priority, I think the Tar Heels win that game.

6. Losing Dexter Strickland to injury for the rest of the season certainly hurts UNC's depth, especially at the point guard position where Strickland served as Marshall's backup. And while I'm not suggesting the injury has helped the Tar Heels, it has provided an opportunity for sophomore wing Reggie Bullock. Bullock should have been starting at the two spot the entire year. He's UNC's best perimeter defender and adds length to an already extremely long starting five.

7. Call me crazy, but, despite Carolina's failures against Florida State and now Duke, I still think this team has a chance to win the National Championship. They wouldn't be my pick right now, but I'm not writing them off, either.

8. Oh, and one more thing, we all know the popular narrative this season about the Tar Heels has been that they don't play defense. As recently as two weeks ago, in my midseason awards post, I made a crack about how much more awful UNC's defense would be without John Henson. Upon further examination, I'm not so sure I was being totally fair (or particularly accurate for that matter). I'm not saying the Heels are stalwarts on the defensive end, but an examination of the numbers reveals that this team actually plays pretty good defense. Statistical guru Ken Pomeroy currently has Carolina rated as the nation's 14th best defense. I should also note that the Heels' vaunted offense is rated 17th in the country according to Pomeroy's system. No ranking system is without its flaws, but I find Pomeroy's system to be both an accurate evaluator of a team's play and a reliable predictor of a team's success. I'm not suggesting that UNC is actually a great defensive team or that they put forth maximum effort on that side of the ball. In fact, I continue to believe that, given the Heels' personnel, they could be a much better defensive team. I'm simply saying that the narrative we've all come to believe concerning UNC's supposed ineptitude on the defensive end doesn't quite ring true.

Notes: North Carolina at Kentucky

1. The rest of the NCAA can breathe a sigh of relief - Anthony Davis is human. While he blocked John Henson's shot with five seconds remaining to seal the win for the Wildcats, Davis had a pretty pedestrian game (7 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals). Davis is the most talented player in the country, but the Tar Heels have now provided a blueprint on how to slow down Davis. The trick - put a body on him. Be physical with his 6-10 220-pound frame. And, no matter what, don't leave him when penetration occurs or when the ball enters the post. Because, if you leave him to play help defense or if you fail to keep a body on him, Kentucky is going to lob it to Davis for an easy two. The Tar Heels defended Davis as well as anyone could hope to, and I expect other teams to adopt this approach going forward. Of course, most teams don't have a John Henson or a Tyler Zeller, so this strategy will, at best, slow down Davis. Then again, slowing down Davis is kind of best-case scenario at this point.

2. Anthony Davis is a future number one pick, and Terrence Jones is a preseason All-American, but Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was Kentucky's best player on Saturday. Kidd-Gilchrist was fantastic, scoring 17 points, grabbing 11 boards, slashing to the basket, and, as usual, playing with unmatched energy on both ends of the floor.

3. The season is still young, but, at this point, Marquis Teague does not appear to be in the same league as Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, John Wall, or Brandon Knight. And, to be honest, I'm not sure it's fair to hold Teague to the standard set by those four. Unfortunately for Teague, the comparisons are inevitable given John Calipari's track record with freshman floor generals. Teague struggled against the Tar Heels and exhibited the poor decisionmaking that has plagued him so far this year. The freshman point guard appears to be more of a gunner than a playmaker. Complicating matters, Kentucky has looked better with sophomore Doron Lamb running the point. While there may be a temptation to remove Teague from the lineup, I would advise against any such move. Doron Lamb is Kentucky's best shooter and has one of the country's best mid-range games. Coach Cal needs Lamb running off screens and receiving the ball on the wing. Moving Lamb to the point would leave Kentucky without a sharpshooting wing and would stunt Teague's development. If Kentucky is going to win an eighth National Championship, Teague will have to improve. However, with the talent surrounding him, he doesn't have to be the next John Wall.

4. North Carolina, everyone's preseason number one, now has two losses. These early setbacks have exposed some of UNC's vulnerabilities, but I think the Tar Heels performed well on the road against Kentucky. The good news for UNC fans is that the Tar Heels are a very good team that has room for improvement. Yes, Harrison Barnes has a deadly outside shot, but he could start taking the ball to the hole more often. Sophomore Reggie Bullock and freshmen P.J. Hairston and James McAdoo will continue to develop over the course of the season. After a disappointing freshman campaign, Bullock looks to be gaining confidence, and I expect him to overtake Dexter Strickland by season's end. I love Hairston's game. He's a big-bodied two-guard with a nice stroke who provides instant offense off the bench. McAdoo is a top-flight athlete who really runs the floor well. He's still learning on the offensive end but is an active defender who will provide the Tar Heels with yet another long post defender.

5. So, who's number one? Kentucky or Ohio State? Kentucky has more talent. Ohio State has more depth. Kentucky has the most talented player in the country. Ohio State has the nation's best player. The Wildcats beat Kansas by 10 on a neutral floor and edged North Carolina by 1. Ohio State beat Florida by 7 and dismantled Duke, beating the Blue Devils by 22. I would probably give the edge to Kentucky for now but just barely.

Freshman Power Rankings 1.0

1. Jared Sullinger, Ohio State, 6-8 260
Burly big man reminds me of Elton Brand and may end up the most dominant player in all of college basketball.

2. Harrison Barnes, North Carolina, 6-7 210
Has all the tools, but can he help the Heels rebound from an embarrassing 2009-10 season?

3. Brandon Knight, Kentucky, 6-3 185
Cerebral point follows in footsteps of Rose, Evans, and Wall.

4. Joe Jackson, Memphis, 5-11 160
There's some Iverson in this waterbug's game.

5. Tobias Harris, Tennessee, 6-8 220
Do-it-all big will be the best player on Bruce Pearl's roster from day one.

6. Tristan Thompson, Texas, 6-9 240
Think LaMarcus Aldridge with some Ed Davis sprinkled in.

7. Josh Selby, Kansas, 6-2 185
Explosive combo guard with ability to take over needs to be a team player on ultra-talented Jayhawks squad.

8. Adreian Payne, Michigan State, 6-10 215
Izzo's most talented post player since Zach Randolph.

9. Kyrie Irving, Duke, 6-2 175
In unique position of starting at point guard for defending champion expecting to repeat.

10. Reggie Bullock, North Carolina, 6-5 190
Big, athletic two-guard with tons of upside.