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Analysis

Moments after Duke's win over Miami on Saturday, the wound was still fresh on DeMarcus Nelson's face -- a welt just below his left eye, courtesy of an opponents' elbow. Nelson got it while venturing into the lane, where there were plenty of much bigger Hurricanes.

"It was just me down there trying to mix it up with those guys," said Nelson, a 6-foot-4 guard. "It showed me I shouldn't have been down there."

Actually, it's not a question of whether Nelson should be banging bodies down low. Given the dearth of size on the Duke roster, he has to be down there, even if it means taking an elbow or two to the face. So do the rest of his height-challenged teammates.

"We're smaller than most teams, so for us we really need to scrap inside," said Duke guard Jon Scheyer, who has a shiner under his left eye as well. "I feel like every game, another guy's getting stitches."

The Blue Devils have masked their weakness inside quite well thus far, as proven by their 19-1 record (7-0 ACC). But tonight presents their biggest challenge yet. North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough alone is more than most teams can handle down low. Add 6-8 Deon Thompson and 6-9 Alex Stepheson to the 6-9 All-American and you've got matchup problems galore for Duke.

Or is it the other way around?

UNC-Duke basketball games are always interesting, but this one has another level of intrigue -- and no, we're not referring to Hansbrough and Gerald Henderson. It will be a marked contrast of strengths: Duke's perimeter pressure vs. UNC's post power; the Blue Devils' outside shooting vs. the Tar Heels' rebounding prowess.

May the best style win.

Pressure Point

Not to devalue the defensive contributions of Duke's tallest players, Lance Thomas and Kyle Singler, but the best way for the Blue Devils to guard the low post is to make sure the ball never gets there. Duke leads the ACC in forced turnovers, taking the ball away from opponents an average of 19.2 times per game. It was the only way the Blue Devils made it out of College Park with a win Jan. 27. Duke offset a combined 46 points by Maryland big men James Gist and Bambale Osby by forcing 22 turnovers.

Could the Blue Devils do the same to UNC? That may depend on how much Tar Heels point guard Ty Lawson can play, if at all. Lawson sprained his left ankle four minutes into UNC's win at Florida State on Sunday. At UNC's Tuesday practice, Lawson did only light shooting and did not participate in team drills. If Lawson can somehow get back near 100 percent, turnovers shouldn't haunt the Tar Heels.

If not?

"It's going to hard, there's no question about that," said UNC coach Roy Williams. "We have to be a little creative just to get the ball across the 10-second line, as good as they are defensively."

Foul Trouble

Let's assume, though, that either Lawson plays significant minutes or his backup, Quentin Thomas, plays at a high level and is able to get the ball inside to Hansbrough consistently. What then for the Blue Devils?

Somehow Thomas or Singler or maybe even 6-6 forward Taylor King has to try to stop Hansbrough without fouling him. Good luck with that.

"Tyler gets fouled more than anybody in the country," said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. "It's how hard he plays and how well they get him the ball. So he not only can put guys on the bench, he gets their whole team into bonuses by the way he plays."

It has a ripple effect. The free throws lead to points for UNC. The fouls lead to depth issues for Duke and take key players out of the game.

Matchup/matchdown

Of course, Hansbrough and his fellow big men have to play on the other end of the floor as well. That's where things could get dicey for them. Duke could go with Singler and King at its two frontcourt positions. That would require Hansbrough and Thompson/Stepheson to do a lot of defending on the perimeter, where Singler and King thrive. The closest comparison Hansbrough could come up with was when he and his fellow big men had to guard Brigham Young forward Jonathan Tavernari. UNC won that game, but Tavernari scored 18 points, on six 3-pointers.

"It was a difficult matchup for us," Hansbrough said. "But I think we're prepared for it."

If so, no problem. Just stay big and follow the usual game plan. But if Singler gets hot from the outside, or Krzyzewski elects to go with a four-guard lineup, Williams will be forced to make a decision -- stay the course, or match down with Duke by putting 6-5 swingman Danny Green at power forward.

"It depends on how you go through the course of a game," Williams said. "But I do believe that if we have an advantage, we shouldn't give up that advantage. We just have to play better with our big guys against their little guys."

Just as Duke has to play better with its little guys against UNC's big guys.

May the best style win.

Contact Jim Young at 373-7016 or jim.young @news-record.com