Duke basketball lost to North Carolina on Saturday by a final score of 93-84. It was a forgettable effort for Duke, who fell to 16-5 with the loss. North Carolina, meanwhile, is now 18-4.

Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer revealed one of the primary difference-makers in the game, via Jonathan Levitan of dukechronicle.com.

“The main story for me was the loose balls,” Scheyer said. “Just as you look throughout the game, they were hungrier to get them, and it turned into — I’ll go back and watch the film and see, but I bet close to 15, maybe even 20 points. And you have to give them credit for that.”

Duke lost by nine points, so the effort displayed by North Carolina certainly played a pivotal role in their huge win. The Blue Devils still had some strong individual performances in the game despite the loss.

Duke basketball's performance vs. North Carolina

Jared McCain led the charge with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Kyle Filipowski added 22 points and five rebounds, while Jeremy Roach scored 20 points in the defeat.

Duke and North Carolina both performed in similar fashion on their field goal attempts, with the Tar Heels shooting 50 percent and the Blue Devils shooting 50.7 percent from the field. However, another difference-maker was three-point shooting.

North Carolina converted on nine of their 24 long-range attempts (37.5 percent), while Duke went just 5-19 from beyond the arc (26.3 percent).

In the end, this Duke basketball team should find a way to bounce back soon. The Blue Devils will host Notre Dame on Wednesday in what projects to be an exciting affair.