North Carolina not only has a hated rivalry victory on the line when they host Duke on Saturday night, but also a statement to make to the committee as one of the top seeds in the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels are coming off of a loss to Virginia, getting a taste of their own medicine when they shut down the Cavaliers at Chapel Hill. The Blue Devils brushed off a two-game losing streak after defeating Florida State on Tuesday. Tipoff is set for 8:15 PM Eastern time and the game can be seen on ESPN, WatchESPN, and the ESPN mobile app.
No. 17 Duke (23-7, 11-6 ACC)
The Blue Devils have had the most success in this rivalry as of late, and they picked up a huge 75-70 win over Florida State just in time to capture the momentum. The offense has dwindled from their over 80-point average on the season to just 72.8 points in the past five games. duke will have to find a way to generate the 86 points they had in the recent victory over their rival.
In that game back in mid-February, Grayson Allen (14.5 ppg, 3.7 apg) led the team with 25 points on 7-of-12 shooting from 3-point range. He's been dealing with an ankle injury as of late, but they'll likely suit him up for this matchup. Luke Kennard (19.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg) also converted 8-of-15 field goals
No. 5 North Carolina (25-6, 13-4 ACC)
The Tar Heels have been riding high at the end of February with four straight wins until running into the buzzsaw that was Virginia.
They were held to just 43 points on 35.4 percent shooting. The Cavaliers defense also forced them to cough the ball up 14 times.
It's safe to say that UNC won't have a showing like that on offense again. Justin Jackson (18.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg) has had the most production as of late with 20 or more points in three of his last four games prior to the Virginia loss.
Joel Berry II (14.7 ppg, 3.8 apg) had a team-high 12 points in that loss to UVA.
Duke has won five of the last six meetings against North Carolina. However, the Tar Heels are favored by 6 points and the O/U is set at 156 points. UNC is 16-13-1 against the spread this season and an even better 10-4 at home.
