Carolina-Duke 2: A preview

Image Courtesy: Carolina Blitz

North Carolina at. 4.Duke
Cameron Indoor Stadium (Durham,NC)
Saturday March 5, 6 PM ET
ESPN

Since 1920, college basketball’s best rivalry game has been North Carolina versus Duke. There is no doubt about it. To make things even more interesting, Duke coach Mike Krzyewski’s final regular season game is finally here, set for Saturday, 6 PM ET on ESPN against the Tar Heels. It should be a fun one in Durham for one final regular season showdown.

North Carolina comes in at 22-8 overall and 14-5 in the ACC. Duke, who has already clinched the ACC regular season title at 26-4 (16-3) in the ACC, could put themselves in even better contention for a one seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament with a win over Carolina. Both teams’ inside out play will be crucial to this game. Potential top five picks Paolo Banchero (17 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists per game) and AJ Griffin (10 points and 4 rebounds per game) headline Duke’s first ACC regular championship team since 2010. North Carolina will need star big man Armando Bacot (16 points and 13 rebounds per game) as well as guards Caleb Love (16 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds per game) and RJ Davis (13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists per game) will have to get going if the Tar Heels want to avenge their 87-67 loss at the hands of the Blue Devils last month. The Tar Heels should definitely play better against the Blue Devils than they did a month ago but in Coach K’s final regular season appearance against North Carolina, he should improve his 22-18 record against them in front of his home crowd.

Projected Score: Duke 92, North Carolina 80