In a battle between two teams who represent contrasting philosophies at the Georgia Dome, No. 9 Duke got out to a narrow 33-31 halftime lead over No. 3 Kentucky.
The Blue Devils got 28 of their 33 points from their three seniors -- Ryan Kelly, Miles Plumlee and Seth Curry.
The Wildcats, meanwhile, got 26 of their 31 points from four freshman -- Nerlens Noel, Alex Poythress, Willie Cauley-Stein and Archie Goodwin -- who formed the core of yet another sterling recruiting class from John Calipari.
The game itself has been fairly sloppy, with the two teams combining for 14 turnovers and 21 free throws in a game that was marred by whistles.
With Ryan Harrow back in Lexington due to illness, Kentucky spent most of the half without a traditional PG on the floor, causing their offense to stagnate.
Duke, on the other hand, has struggled to finish in the lane over the massive Wildcats front-line, with their offensive success coming from taking three-pointers (4-12 from beyond the arc) and crashing the offensive glass (7 offensive boards) on the resulting long misses.