After another thriller on February 8th two of the fiercest rivals in college history face off again tonight as UNC looks to keep their winning streak alive to end a disappointing season and Duke looks to bounce back after a rough stretch of games just ahead of selection Sunday. The Tar Heels will head to Cameron Indoor Stadium tonight and everyone knows what happened last time when these two went head to head in Chapel Hill in one of the best games of the NCAA basketball season.
Tonight, though we’re at Cameron Indoor seeing a much-improved UNC team that has won three straight games and must be motivated to beat Duke and end the season on a high note. While, Duke, on the other hand, has lost three of their last five games but is still a 12-point favorite in what is a must-win game for them.
Duke Looks to Impress Ahead of Selection Sunday
The Blue Devils have been a top team all year long and after a big win against NC State, their recent struggles seem to have ended. Heading into a home game as a 12-point favorite is nothing new for this team as they have covered as 12-point favorites in their last three home games. Tonight, they look to continue that as I would expect to see freshman Vernon Carey and point guard Tre Jones be at their best once again. Along with that fellow freshman, Wendell Moore Jr will be fully healthy this time against UNC and his defensive presence will definitely be felt. Even when this team has lost games recently these guys have been pretty consistent performers, and all the meaning behind this on should bring it out again. Duke is always tough at home and it should be no different tonight.
UNC Finally Showing Full Potential Ahead of Final Game
Anyone who knows the history of college basketball knows UNC is almost always an ACC powerhouse, this year though not so much almost at the bottom of the conference. This being said Cole Anthony and crew have been one of the hottest offensive teams as of late. They will come into the game tonight averaging around 1.25 points per possession their past two games and having won three in a row. This team is hot and always steps up when it’s against their biggest rival as we saw last time. Cole Anthony is a future lottery pick and Garrison Brooks
UNC Puts it All Out but Duke Holds Strong
This rivalry has been a must-watch and I think that continues here into the final between these two this year. We all know about almost a month ago now when Duke was heavily favored got outplayed all game by the Tar Heels but were still able to pull out the buzzer-beater win in OT. Duke heads into this game heavily favored again by 12+ points but UNC isn’t the same team they were a month ago they’re hot and have shown no signs of slowing down.
On the other hand, Duke hadn’t looked too great recently until that second half last week which could be just enough momentum for them to pull this one out. At the end of the day Duke is the more complete team and will show it tonight but the Tar Heels will keep it in single digits all game and keep the Blue Devils from covering that 12-point spread.
