University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Know Your Opponent: Duke
March 9, 2019 | Men's Basketball
By Bobby Hundley
Duke (GoDuke.com)
Location: Durham, N.C.
Rankings: No. 3 KenPom, No. 4 AP
NET/SOS: No. 3 NET, No. 2 SOS
Record: 26-4, 14-3 ACC
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): UNC leads 138-111 (UNC 88, Duke 72, Feb. 20, 2019, Cameron Indoor Stadium)
KYO: Duke - Feb. 20
The four games over 17 days since the first meeting with Carolina have been a mixed bag for Duke. With star freshman Zion Williamson out of the lineup since the opening seconds of UNC's 88-72 win in Durham, the Blue Devils have gone 3-1 with wins over Syracuse, Miami and Wake Forest and a loss at Virginia Tech.
R.J. Barrett has become even more of a focus of the Duke offense in Williamson's absence. In the first 25 games of the season, Barrett attempted 18.5 field goals per game and averaged nearly six free throws a night. In the last five contests (including the first Carolina game), the freshman from Canada has gotten up close to 20 shots from the field and 7.4 free throws, including a whopping 23 and 14 against Wake Forest on Tuesday.
While classmates Tre Jones and Cam Reddish are locks to join Barrett on the floor for the vast majority of minutes, the other two spots in the lineup have been a little less predictable of late. Jack White didn't play at all in the win at Syracuse, but he finally broke out of a two-month shooting drought with a 3 for 3 showing from deep against Miami. Alex O'Connell has started each of the last four games and had a career-high 20 points at Syracuse. And Javin DeLaurier has joined fellow junior Marques Bolden as a more consistent contributor in the post.
In addition to pride and rivalry bragging rights, seed implications for both Charlotte and beyond are on the line Saturday night in Chapel Hill. Both teams are locks for an ACC double-bye, but the winner will grab the regular season title and the No. 1 seed next week if Virginia falters against Louisville. Throw in the fact that the winner also is likely to have the upper hand for a top seed in the NCAA tournament and you've got the potential for yet another classic in a series that rarely disappoints.Â
Duke (GoDuke.com)
Location: Durham, N.C.
Rankings: No. 3 KenPom, No. 4 AP
NET/SOS: No. 3 NET, No. 2 SOS
Record: 26-4, 14-3 ACC
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): UNC leads 138-111 (UNC 88, Duke 72, Feb. 20, 2019, Cameron Indoor Stadium)
KYO: Duke - Feb. 20
The four games over 17 days since the first meeting with Carolina have been a mixed bag for Duke. With star freshman Zion Williamson out of the lineup since the opening seconds of UNC's 88-72 win in Durham, the Blue Devils have gone 3-1 with wins over Syracuse, Miami and Wake Forest and a loss at Virginia Tech.
R.J. Barrett has become even more of a focus of the Duke offense in Williamson's absence. In the first 25 games of the season, Barrett attempted 18.5 field goals per game and averaged nearly six free throws a night. In the last five contests (including the first Carolina game), the freshman from Canada has gotten up close to 20 shots from the field and 7.4 free throws, including a whopping 23 and 14 against Wake Forest on Tuesday.
While classmates Tre Jones and Cam Reddish are locks to join Barrett on the floor for the vast majority of minutes, the other two spots in the lineup have been a little less predictable of late. Jack White didn't play at all in the win at Syracuse, but he finally broke out of a two-month shooting drought with a 3 for 3 showing from deep against Miami. Alex O'Connell has started each of the last four games and had a career-high 20 points at Syracuse. And Javin DeLaurier has joined fellow junior Marques Bolden as a more consistent contributor in the post.
In addition to pride and rivalry bragging rights, seed implications for both Charlotte and beyond are on the line Saturday night in Chapel Hill. Both teams are locks for an ACC double-bye, but the winner will grab the regular season title and the No. 1 seed next week if Virginia falters against Louisville. Throw in the fact that the winner also is likely to have the upper hand for a top seed in the NCAA tournament and you've got the potential for yet another classic in a series that rarely disappoints.Â
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