The UNC and Duke basketball rivalry dates all the way back to January 24, 1920 where the Tar Heels got the first victory in the series by a score of 36-25. Since then, there have been many memorable moments such as in 1974 when UNC scored 8 points in 17 seconds to send the game into overtime where they eventually were victorious. In 1995, Duke’s Jeff Capel hit a half court shot to send the game into a second overtime, but the Devils fell short. UNC’s Jerry Stackhouse shot a monster dunk against Duke, which also took place in 1995. Austin Rivers scored a game winning three pointer in 2012. UNC’s Tyler Hansbrough won all four times he played at Cameron Indoor Stadium from 2006-2009. The two schools have combined for 41 ACC Tournament Championships (Duke- 24/UNC-17), 51 ACC Regular Season Championships (UNC-29/Duke-22), 33 Final Fours (UNC-18/Duke-15), and 10 National Championships (UNC-6/Duke-4). Overall, UNC is leading the series with 132 wins compared to Duke’s 103.
In the first match-up of this year, the number 3 ranked Duke Blue Devils were expected to blow out the unranked UNC Tar Heels at home, but that was not the case. UNC came out on fire, and the Blue Devils, who usually excel at shooting three pointers, were struggling. The Tar Heels led most of the game until some good shooting and questionable calls allowed Duke to prevail. In this match-up you should expect another close game and hopefully less bad calls. The Blue Devils are just coming off of a 3 point victory against the number 5 ranked Miami Hurricanes and were boosted by the return of senior Ryan Kelly who scored 36 points in his first game since breaking his foot in January. UNC is also playing their best basketball of the season and haven't lost since the February 13 showdown with Duke.
The Tar Heels will be led in this game by sophomores James Michael McAdoo and P.J. Hairston and junior Reggie Bullock. McAdoo is best when he is able to face up to a slower defender and beat him with his quickness and athleticism while Hairston and Bullock are mainly mid range and three point shooters. The Blue Devils have a similar style of play where they mainly rely on three pointers from Kelly and Seth Curry, a senior.
The ‘Dukies’ also have a strong force in the paint with National Player of the Year candidate Mason Plumlee. Plumlee is at his best against smaller people so he can use his strength to get to the basket and draw fouls.
Overall, you should expect the Tar Heels to get the ball inside to McAdoo where he can exploit Plumlee’s main weakness, his defense, and get to the basket where you will see many dunks. You can also expect to see a plethora of three point shots for both teams as UNC and Duke are both strong in this area. The score will remain very close throughout the game but in the end the Tar Heels will be too aggressive for the Blue Devils to stay out of foul trouble and will come out with a victory that will help their seeding in the NCAA Tournament. GO HEELS!
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