One of the biggest rivalries in college basketball will write its next chapter tonight. Duke and North Carolina, who are just separated by 9 miles, will meet Wednesday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium in what will be the 139th time meeting between the two.
Duke and North Carolina are moving in opposite directions at this point in the season. Duke is looking for their 6th straight win which would make 9 of 10 since losing back-to-back games in the middle of January. Justice Winslow has been a main reason for the resurgence of Duke. He was banged up in January and it was really affecting the team.
The main reason for the strong play by Duke has not been Justice Winslow however, nor has it been because of Jahill Okafor. Duke has been great these past few weeks because of their backcourt duo of Quinn Cook and Tyus Jones who have averaged a combined 29.6 ppg and shooting around 44 percent from three point range. If Duke can win this game they would put themselves in great shape to be a #1 seed come March. Their next four games are - Clemson, at Virginia Tech, - Syracuse and - Wake Forest before the season finale in Chapel Hill.
North Carolina has been in a little bit of a tailspin of late. The Tar Heels have lost three of their last four games including giving up 89 points against an offensively challenged Pittsburg team over the weekend. Aside from defense the Tar Heels major problem has been injuries. Joel Berry and Desmond Hubert are lost for the year but perhaps the worst injury to Carolina is the nagging foot problem that star point guard Marcus Paige has been dealing with. Paige is dealing with planter fasciitis which has affected his play for the better part of conference play.
If Carolina loses this game it will be their eighth loss on the season and their 5th in ACC play. It would also put Carolina in the 5th spot in the ACC which means they would not get the double bye in the ACC tournament that the top 4 teams receive.
But forget all that and throw the records out the window. This is North Carolina - Duke.
These players will want it more than any other game this season. North Carolina will bring their A game tonight and give Duke everything they have. Will Duke continue to roll as we head towards March or will North Carolina give Duke their second defeat in Cameron Indoor Stadium in the past month? Let’s get it on.