University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Men's Hoops Looks To End Blue Devils' ACC Streak
February 3, 2000 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 3, 2000
BY DOUG FEINBERG
AP MegaSports Writer
The North Carolina Tar Heels can go a long way toward turning around their season with a victory over No. 3 Duke on Thursday night.
The Tar Heels (13-8, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have been unranked for the past two weeks after suffering their first four-game losing streak in nine years, have been playing better by pounding the ball inside.
North Carolina has won its last two games by getting center Brendan Haywood involved. The 7-footer, who was named ACC Co-Player of the Week, scored 10 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked three shots in the second half as the Tar Heels broke away from a 28-28 tie and won 70-53 at Georgia Tech on Saturday.
He had matched his career high with 24 points in a 75-63 victory over then-No. 22 Maryland on Thursday night.
Thursday's game is the 205th meeting between the schools and marks the first time since the 1989-90 season that North Carolina and Duke have played without the Tar Heels being ranked. The Tar Heels beat the Blue Devils in both meetings that season though they were not ranked in either game.
"For this game, you've got to throw out the momentum. This is not a numbers game, it's a passion and heart game," Duke's Shane Battier said.
On Jan. 17, 1990, unranked North Carolina beat the eighth-ranked Blue Devils, 79-60, in the Smith Center. On March 4, 1990, the Tar Heels beat fifth-ranked Duke, 87-75, in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Duke (16-2, 7-0) looks to continue its dominance over the ACC. The Blue Devils have won 29 straight conference games, including 15 consecutive road victories.
The Blue Devils, who have won 58 consecutive games against unranked opponents, routed Clemson 93-59 on Saturday. Duke raced out to a 42-point halftime lead and never looked back. Chris Carrawell had 20 points and Battier added 17.
Duke, which has won 16 straight games after dropping its first two this season, swept all three meetings with the Tar Heels last year by an average of 18.3 points.
"If we win this game people will say it's a great upset," North Carolina guard Jason Capel said. "But our record doesn't speak as to how good this team can be in this month and in March. We are a good team, we just have to go out there and show it."
Duke snapped a seven-game losing streak at the Smith Center with its 81-61 victory last Feb. 27. The 20-point loss was North Carolina's worst in the 13-year history of the arena.
But Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski knows that last season's success does not matter and that North Carolina is not as bad as its record indicates.
"We're not falling into any sort of trap," he said. "We're going to play an outstanding squad on their home court. We respect them ultimately."
