The Rivalry Preview:
#1 Duke Blue Devils (28-2, 16-1 ACC) vs #14 North Carolina Tar Heels (24-6, 12-5 ACC)
Saturday, March 7 • 6:30 p.m. ET
Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) • Durham, N.C.
TV: ESPN
Radio: Blue Devil Sports Network from LEARFIELD
Rivalry Renewed: The Duke Blue Devils return to Cameron for senior night to face the North Carolina Tar Heels. North Carolina defeated Duke back in February, derailing a 10-game winning streak for the Blue Devils on a last-second 3-pointer from Seth Trimble.
Broadcast Information TV
TV ESPN
Play-by-Play Dan Shulman
Analyst Jay Bilas
Reporter Kris Budden
Producer Joe Taylor
Director Mike Roig
Broadcast Information Radio
Radio Blue Devil Sports Network
Play-by-Play David Shumate
Analyst John Roth
Engineer John Rose
In Durham 96.5 FM & 620 AM
SiriusXM 84 & SiriusXM app
History
Overall UNC leads, 146-120
In Durham, NC Duke leads, 57-52
at Cameron Indoor Stadium Duke leads, 48-40
In Chapel Hill, NC UNC leads, 66-40
at Smith Center UNC leads, 22-19
Neutral Sites UNC leads, 28-23
Last Meeting @UNC 71, Duke 68 (Feb. 7, 2026)
Coaches
Duke Jon Scheyer (Duke ‘10)
Career Record / at Duke 117-24 (4th) / same
vs. North Carolina 5-3
North Carolina Hubert Davis (UNC ‘92)
Career Record / at School 125-51 (5th) / same
vs. Duke 5-6
North Carolina Tar Heels
The Tar Heels commit the fewest fouls (14.5) and second-fewest turnovers (9.5) per game in the ACC. North Carolina is second in the conference and 19th nationally in assist/turnover ratio (+1.69). UNC leads the ACC in free-throw attempts per game (22.9). North Carolina ranks fourth in the league and is 27th in the nation in defensive rebounding, averaging 27.4 per contest.
Caleb Wilson leads the Tar Heels in both scoring and rebounds but is set to miss the remainder of the season. Henri Veesaar is second in the ACC in double-doubles with 13, averaging 16.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Seth Trimble, who averages 14.5 points per game, has averaged 19.7 points in the Tar Heels’ last three victories. Caleb Wilson has missed UNC’s last six games due to injury. Luka Bogavac also scores in double figures at 10.1 points per game.
Last Time Out:
Luka Bogavac hit a season-high six three-pointers and scored a season-high 20 points as No. 17 North Carolina overcame a sluggish shooting night to outlast a physical Clemson team, 67-63, on Tuesday night in the Smith Center. Bogavac had just three points in the first half, exploding for five threes and 17 points after halftime. The last time a Tar Heel hit six three-pointers in a game was RJ Davis in the 2025 NCAA Tournament win over San Diego State. Davis was in town to have his No. 4 jersey honored in the Smith Center rafters on Tuesday night.
Duke Blue Devils
Duke is No. 1 in NET rankings and owns 14 Quad-1 wins, tied for the most in the country. (Mar. 4) They’ve secured 10 top-25 victories, the most in the regular season in ACC history. The Blue Devils are the top-rated defense in the nation. (KenPom) Duke is the only team ranked in the top four nationally in both offensive efficiency (128.8, 4th) and defensive efficiency (88.0, 1st) ratings. (KenPom) The Blue Devils lead the nation in scoring margin (+20.6). They rank third in the nation and first in the ACC in scoring defense (62.5 ppg). Duke tops the conference and ranks sixth in the country in rebounding margin (+10.4).
Cameron Boozer is the nation’s seventh-leading scorer with 22.6 points per game and tops the ACC in rebounding (10.0 rpg), is eighth in steals (1.6 spg), 13th in assists (4.0 apg), and third in field goal percentage (.583). Boozer has recorded at least 14 points, five rebounds, and two assists in all 30 games this season, the longest such streak by any player (men’s or women’s) at any point in a Division I career this century. (OptaSTATS) Isaiah Evans ranks second in the ACC in free-throw percentage (.888) and is the ACC’s 13th-leading scorer in conference play, averaging 16.5 points per league game. Caleb Foster has distributed 23 assists with just two turnovers in Duke’s last five games. Jon Scheyer has matched Brad Stevens for the most wins (117) by a Division I coach in their first four seasons.
Last Time Out:
No. 1 Duke defeated NC State, 93-64, at the Lenovo Center on Monday, March 2. With the win, the Blue Devils (28-2, 16-1 ACC) secured their second consecutive outright ACC regular-season title and the program’s 22nd overall. Cameron Boozer led all scorers with 26 points while also grabbing a game-high nine rebounds. Dame Sarr put up 16 points, including 14 in the first half, fueled by three triples, which matched his career high. The freshman also grabbed eight rebounds, also matching his career high. Isaiah Evans and Patrick Ngongba II rounded out Duke’s double-digit scoring with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Caleb Foster stuffed the stat sheet with six points, four rebounds, and seven assists, giving the junior back-to-back games with at least six assists for the first time in his career.
Stats Comparison
| G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke | 30 | 40.0 | 28.9 | 57.9 | .499 | 19.9 | 32.4 | .613 | 9.1 | 25.5 | .355 | 16.2 | 22.3 | .727 | 11.8 | 28.2 | 40.0 | 17.3 | 7.9 | 3.3 | 10.5 | 15.7 | 83.2 |
| North Carolina | 30 | 40.0 | 28.1 | 59.4 | .473 | 19.6 | 34.5 | .568 | 8.5 | 24.9 | .343 | 15.7 | 22.9 | .685 | 11.0 | 27.4 | 38.3 | 16.1 | 5.5 | 3.4 | 9.5 | 14.5 | 80.4 |
Stats Comparison Conference
| G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke | 17 | 40.0 | 28.4 | 56.9 | .499 | 19.7 | 32.6 | .604 | 8.7 | 24.3 | .358 | 15.7 | 21.0 | .748 | 10.1 | 25.7 | 35.8 | 16.5 | 8.2 | 2.4 | 9.5 | 14.8 | 81.2 |
| North Carolina | 17 | 40.0 | 28.0 | 59.4 | .472 | 19.4 | 34.6 | .560 | 8.6 | 24.7 | .348 | 15.1 | 22.1 | .685 | 8.3 | 23.4 | 31.7 | 15.2 | 5.3 | 2.8 | 8.8 | 14.1 | 79.7 |
Projected Starters
Duke Blue Devils
G Caleb Foster 6’5, 205lbs Jr.
G Isaiah Evans 6’6, 180lbs So.
G Dame Sarr 6’8, 190lbs Fr.
F Cameron Boozer 6’9, 250lbs Fr.
C Patrick Ngongba 6’11, 250lbs So.
North Carolina Tar Heels
G Seth Trimble 6’3, 200lbs Sr.
G Derek Dixon 6’5, 200lbs Fr.
G Luka Bogavac 6’6, 215lbs Jr.
F Jarin Stevenson 6’10, 215lbs Jr.
C Henri Veesaar 7’0, 225lbs Jr.
Final Thoughts
Already having lost to UNC, Duke should be highly motivated for the get back. The Blue Devils out-rebounded the Tar Heels in game 1 but committed double the amount of fouls as North Carolina; make of that what you will, but regardless, Duke allowed the Tar Heels to shoot 60.7% from the field in the second half and 42% from beyond the arc in the second half. Duke’s defense has to show up for 40 minutes against the team down the road, and Duke has to keep the bigs out of foul trouble. That is putting it as succinctly as I can. Rebound. Stops. Don’t foul.