Preview: #2 Duke Blue Devils (18-2, 10-0 ACC) vs. North Carolina Tar Heels (13-9, 6-4 ACC)

#2 Duke Blue Devils (18-2, 9-0 ACC) vs. North Carolina Tar Heels (13-9, 6-4 ACC)

Saturday, Feb. 1 • 6:30 p.m. ET

Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) • Durham, NC

TV: ESPN

Radio: Blue Devil Sports Network from LEARFIELD

The Blue Devils face off against their arch rival North Carolina Tar Heels in Cameron Indoor Stadium Saturday night. Saturday will be 263rd rendition of the famous rivalry, with North Carolina leading the overall series, 145-117. The Blue Devils lead the Tar Heels, 56-52, when playing in Durham, including a 47-40 ledger at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Across the last 100 meetings between the two foes, Duke holds the edge, 51-49.

TV/Video Stream ESPN
Play-by-Play Dan Shulman
Analyst Jay Bilas
Analyst Jess Sims
Producer Eric Mosley
Director Michael Roig

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

Overall UNC leads, 145-117
In Durham, NC Duke leads, 56-52
at Cameron Indoor Stadium Duke leads, 47-40
In Chapel Hill, NC UNC leads, 65-39
at Smith Center UNC leads, 21-18
Neutral Sites UNC leads, 28-22
Last Meeting UNC 84, @Duke 79 (Mar. 9, 2024)

North Carolina enters the weekend with a 13-9 record and a 6-4 record in the ACC, good for 7th in the league.

North Carolina is the second-highest scoring offense in the ACC and ranks 29th in the nation, averaging 82.5 points per contest. The Tar Heels rank 22nd in the country with 14.7 fast break points per game and 34th nationally with 17.0 free throws made per game, both numbers are second in the league.

RJ Davis is the sixth-leading scorer in the conference with a scoring average of 17.7 points per contest. He leads the Tar Heels in scoring, Davis also averages 4 assists per game. Ian Jackson, a freshman, is also averaging in double figures for the Tar Heels at 14.7 points per game. Jackson is shooting 385 from beyond the arc. Elliot Cadeau’s 128 assists tops the ACC and ranks 15th in the nation, averaging 6.1 per game to lead the Tar Heels. Cadeau Also averages 10.7 assists per game. Seth Trimble rounds out the double figure scoring for North Carolina at 12.3 per game, good for 3rd highest on the team. Trimble is also the leading rebounder for UNC at 5.4 per game.

Duke enters the weekend with an 18-2 record and a 10-0 record in the ACC, giving them a slim lead over both Louisville and Clemson in the standings. Duke has won 14 straight games, the longest active winning streak in the nation.

The Blue Devils rank second in the nation in scoring margin (+20.5), fifth in field goal percentage defense (.372), fifth in scoring defense (59.6), ninth in rebound margin (+9.7), 17th in assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.62), 25th in three-pointers per game (10.1) and 32nd in assists per game (16.8) – all top marks in the ACC. They are the only team in the country ranked among the top-six in both offensive (6th) and defensive efficiency (3rd), according to KenPom. Duke is the only Division I team to score 80 points or more per game (80.0) and hold its opponents to fewer than 60 points per game (59.6).

Cooper Flagg, who turned 18 years old on Dec. 21, tops Duke in points (398), rebounds (159), assists (82), steals (29) and blocked shots (24). Flagg ranks among the ACC’s top-10 in four of the five major statistical categories – scoring (2nd), rebounding (6th), assists (7th) and blocks (8th), while ranking 13th for steals. Freshman Kon Knueppel adds 13.1 points per game to the Duke tally while also dishing 2.6 assists per game and 3.7 rebounds. Tyrese Proctor rounds out the double figure scorers for Jon Scheyer’s team at 10.4 points per game. In the last seven games, Sion James has distributed 31 assists with just eight turnover. James averages 3.1 assists per game, good for second on the team.

PG Sion James 6’6, 220lbs – Grad Transfer
SG Tyrese Proctor 6’6, 183lbs – Junior
SF Kon Knueppel 6’7, 217lbs – Freshman
PF Cooper Flagg 6’9, 205lbs – Freshman
C Khaman Maluach 7’2, 250lbs – Freshman

G RJ Davis 6’0, 180lbs – Grad Student
G Elliot Cadeau 6’1, 180lbs – Sophomore
G Ian Jackson 6’4, 190lbs – Freshman
F Drake Powell 6’6, 195lbs – Freshman
F Jalen Washington 6’10, 235lbs – Junior

There are certain things you can be assured that every North Carolina team will utilize, one is creating fast break opportunities off of makes or misses. The Blue Devils, especially the bigs need to run the floor. Generating easy buckets is one way and one reason why UNC is one of the highest scoring teams in the ACC. Just because UNC isn’t a tall team doesn’t mean they can’t score in the post. Sophomore Elliot Cadeau is a wizard with the basketball and finds his bigs for easy buckets in the tightest of pockets, known more for his assists than his scoring, don’t be fooled. Cadeau has worked tirelessly on his finishes and even as a small guard finishes well through contact.

His backcourt mate RJ Davis may not be having the year he expected from beyond the arc, Jon Scheyer knows that the light can turn on at any time, especially in a game at Cameron. Staying on front of Carolina’s quick guards is job one for the Blue Devil backcourt. Freshman Ian Jackson may be UNC’s most talented player and can score it in bunches. He’s been shooting the ball well from 3 this season, but is also a threat to attack the rim where he can finish with force.

I would expect the Tar Heels to drive the basketball to get free throw opportunities or kick outs to open shooters. Drake Powell has been a good option for corner 3’s when the Tar Heels get teams in rotation, making sure those corners are covered is important for the Blue Devil defense.

• Win the rebounding battle, Duke’s guards have to box out
• Limit fast break points
• Defend without fouling