Gameday Preview – Duke vs North Carolina – Sat Feb 1st 2025

The Duke Blue Devils (18-2, 10-0 ACC) host their bitter rivals, the North Carolina Tar Heels (13-9, 6-4 ACC). On paper, the Blue Devils should win this game, opening as a 13.5 point favorite according to Las Vegas. But, as history tells us, records and form do not matter when these two teams meet. 

The UNC Tar Heels went into Pittsburgh to take on the Panthers (14-6, 5-4 ACC) and left with a 73-65 loss. The Panthers were led by Jaland Lowe’s 18 points coupled with Zach Austin’s and Ishmael Leggette’s 15 points. The Tar Heels went into halftime with a 2 point advantage and were in a back and forth contest until the Panther’s Austin drained a three pointer with 2:35 to play that gave Pitt a 67-65 lead. The Tar Heels could not overcome the deficit and left Pittsburgh losers 3 of their last 4 games. The Tar Heels were led by senior RJ Davis’ 16 points and 5 assists.

The Blue Devils continued their tour of Tobacco road when the NC State Wolfpack came into Durham Monday night. In a strange game that saw sickness and crowd members passing out, the Wolfpack started blazing hot putting the Blue Devils in a 13-point first half hole. Every run the Blue Devils had in the first half was met by the Wolfpack who took a 37-33 advantage at halftime. Then Cooper Flagg and the Duke defense woke up. Flagg scored 23 of his 28 in the second half along with 7 boards and 3 assists to give the Blue Devils a 10 point, 74-64 win. Kon Knueppel added 19 points and 6 rebounds making 3 out of the Devils 4 three pointers. 

Key Points:

Carolina

• Limit turnovers. Both teams want to play at a blazing pace. For the Tar Heels to steal a win, they will need to win the turnover and the points off turnovers battle. Force the Blue Devils to play in the half court where they have become stagnant at points.
• Play Fast- Do not let the Blue Devils get set in their elite half-court defense. The Heels need to push the pace and get out in front of the Devil’s D. 
• Stay out of Foul trouble: the Blue Devils are hard to guard, pushing most of their opponents to foul. The Blue Devils then take advantage of the free shots as well as the minibreaks to catch a break. The Heels are lacking the depth, especially in the interior, to have any foul trouble in Cameron.

Duke

• Get Flagg going early. He is a matchup nightmare for the Heels and has been known to struggle finding his shot early. If Flagg gets aggressive early, they can put the Heels away. 
• Urgency- Start the game with urgency. Play like they do coming out of halftime and avoid a big early deficit. A 13 point hole against a rival the caliber of UNC can have the Devil’s scrambling instead of dictating the game. 
• Dominate the Boards. Khaman Maluach and Patrick Ngongba have played big minutes since the Maliq Brown injury. Brown is expected to return Saturday night. The three big men should dominate the glass, allowing for the Devils to find open shots from the offensive glass and easy transition from defensive boards. Control the boards, control the game.