The best rivalry in college hoops' newest installment will take place Wednesday night in Chapel Hill as the Duke Blue Devils take on the North Carolina Tar Heels. North Carolina enters the game at 21-4 (10-2) and ranked fifth in the nation, while Duke enters the game at 19-6 (8-4) and ranked 20th in the nation. The Tar Heels are in first place in the ACC, while Duke is tied for fifth but only two games back and trying to close the gap.
North Carolina has won their last two games after losing their first two ACC games, but they will have a tougher test Wednesday night. The Tar Heels have yet to lose a home game this season, and this one will be played on their home court. North Carolina looks like they could be one of the top contenders to win it all in April, which isn't much of a surprise, considering they were ranked first in the preseason poll.
North Carolina is led by ACC Player of the Year frontrunner Brice Johnson, who is having a monster senior season. Johnson is averaging 16.4 points and 10 rebounds per game and his rebounding ability could be huge against a Duke team that struggles on the defensive backboard. Johnson has not recorded a double-double in either of his last two games after recording five in a row, so he will look to get a new streak going.
In UNC's blowout win over Pittsburgh on Sunday, sophomore Justin Jackson had a huge impact, as he scored 14 points and had a team high six assists. Jackson has struggled for consistency all year, but if he can play well more often than not the Tar Heels, are a dangerous force. Jackson is shooting just 24 percent from three on the year, but he has made four of his last six and may be breaking out of the season long slump.
Duke had a stretch early on in ACC play, where people were wondering if they would even make the NCAA tournament. They had lost four out of five, Amile Jefferson showed no signs of coming back anytime soon (that is still the case), and the schedule was set to get much tougher. Now, though, the Blue Devils have won four in a row, including wins over Louisville and Virginia, and they look like a huge threat.
Duke is led by sophomore guard Grayson Allen, who is second in the ACC with his 20.6 points per game. Allen leads the team in both points per game and assists per game (3.7), an extremely rare feat. Allen is coming off a game against Virginia in which he hit a buzzer beater to cap off his 15, 7 and 7 stat line. Allen went 0-4 from three in that game and 7-11 from the free throw line, but he is usually money in those areas, as he is a 43 percent shooter from three and an 85 percent shooter from the charity stripe on the season.
While Allen hit the big shot against Virginia, freshman stud Brandon Ingram was the real star of that game. Ingram scored 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds. The 6-foot-9 forward had a stretch where he scored 18 consecutive points for the Blue Devils and was the only Duke player to score for about five-and-a-half minutes. On the season, Ingram is averaging 17.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
Duke has won three of the last four games at the Dean Dome in Chapel Hill, but this North Carolina team has won 14 consecutive home games. Something has to give in this one, and it should be another great installment of this rivalry.
The game is scheduled to tip off at 9 p.m. Eastern time on ESPN, and to watch the live broadcast, go here. For the North Carolina radio broadcast, go here, and for the Duke radio broadcast ,go here.
