The Duke Blue Devils head down the road to Chapel Hill to battle the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Dean Dome on Saturday. Saturday marks the 266th meeting in the rivalry’s history. North Carolina is Duke’s most frequently played opponent, ahead of Wake Forest (264) and NC State (258). The last 100 games in the series favor Duke, 54-46. The Blue Devils swept the rivalry series last season, including a 74-71 victory in the ACC Tournament semifinals. Duke (79.4”) and UNC (79.3”) are two of the three tallest teams in the country. (KenPom)
North Carolina Tar Heels
The Tar Heels enter rivalry week with an 18-4 record; they are 6-3 in the ACC. The Heels are currently on a 4-game winning streak. North Carolina leads the conference and ranks 10th nationally in assist/turnover ratio (+1.80). The Tar Heels commit the fewest fouls (14.9) and turnovers (9.5) per game in the ACC. North Carolina tops the league and is 12th in the nation in defensive rebounding, averaging 28.4 per contest. The athletic Caleb Wilson leads a quartet of double-figure scorers. He leads the Tar Heels in both points and rebounds with 20 and 9.8. Wilson’s frontcourt mate, Henri Veesaar, is second on the team in both categories at 16.8 and 9. Senior guard Seth Trimble leads the backcourt scoring for UNC with 14.1 points per game, and Luka Bogovac rounds out the scoring leaders with 10 points per game for Hubert Davis.
Last Time Out:
Fourteenth-ranked North Carolina exploded for a 26-9 run to start the second half, outlasting Syracuse, 87-77, behind strong games from Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar on Monday night in the Smith Center. The Tar Heels led by as many as 32 halfway through the second half before allowing Syracuse to close the game strong and pull within single digits in the closing minute. The Orange outscored Carolina, 37-15, in the final 9:38.
Duke Blue Devils
The Blue Devils are coming off a 35-4 season that saw them within a game of a title shot. Duke went 19-1 in conference, winning both the regular season and the ACC Tournament.
The Blue Devils welcome in a number 1 recruiting class after their Final Four run. Jon Scheyer after losing his entire starting lineup to the NBA but retaining core pieces with experience. Leading Duke are experienced returners senior big Maliq Brown and junior guard Caleb Foster, both instrumental pieces in Duke’s run this past season. Duke also returned 3 members from last season’s freshman class in hot-shooting Isaiah Evans, who shot a team-high 41.6%. Duke also brings back Darren Harris, who has reshaped his body in hopes for a larger role, and Patrick Ngongba, who similarly has reshaped his frame, coming into this season healthy.
The Blue Devils enter the week with a 21-1 overall record and a 10-0 record in conference. Duke is one of two teams ranked in the top five nationally in both offensive efficiency (127.0, 5th) and defensive efficiency (91.2, 4th) ratings. (KenPom). The Blue Devils lead the ACC and are seventh nationally in scoring margin (+20.5). Duke tops the conference and ranks 10th in the country in rebounding margin (+9.8). The Blue Devils rank seventh in the nation and first in the ACC in scoring defense (63.6 ppg).
Cameron Boozer leads the Blue Devils in scoring at 23.3 points per game, and he leads the Blue Devils in rebounding at 9.9 per contest. In addition, averaging a double-double, Boozer leads the Blue Devils in assists at 4 per game. Isaiah Evans and Patrick Ngongba both are averaging double figures for Jon Scheyer’s team at 14.2 and 11 points per game, respectively.
Last Time Out:
No. 4 Duke moved to 21-1 overall and 10-0 in the ACC with a 67-49 victory over Boston College on Tuesday, Feb. 3, at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Cameron Boozer eclipsed 500 points for the season with a 19-point performance while tallying his 11th double-double of the campaign with 12 rebounds. Boozer also led all players with five steals, a new career high for the freshman forward. Isaiah Evans joined Boozer in double-figures with 12 points, while Maliq Brown led all players in assists with four. Duke posted its second consecutive wire-to-wire victory and led by as many as 20 points in the second half, helping the Blue Devils to their 10th consecutive victory and 28th straight win at home. On defense, Duke limited the Eagles to 49 points, which matched Boston College’s low point output for the season.
Final Thoughts
This game features plenty of intriguing matchups in terms of who guards whom and which freshman superstar cements himself and puts his stamp on the game. The biggest stat line to watch for me is the rebounding battle. For Duke, if they can find ways to manufacture second chance points but also hold UNC down in that same statistic, they can win this game. It’s a home game for UNC, so I expect some calls to go their way, and Duke bigs, especially, have to be very cautious in terms of picking up early fouls. I expect there to be an x-factor for both teams, someone who isn’t expected to but finds a way to impact this game. For Duke, it could be Nik Khamenia or Dame Sarr; for UNC, it could be Jarin Stevenson or perhaps Luka Bogavac. Another stat to keep an eye on is which team hits from the outside; neither of these teams is strong from beyond the arc, but undoubtedly one will get hot. That team will have the decided advantage.
The storylines write themselves, though. Can Cam Boozer be effective against the ACC’s most athletically gifted player? Can Caleb Wilson dominate this game as he has so many others? We’ll find out Saturday. #GODUKE
