Just like last year when UNC was on the bubble and they had to beat Duke to even be considered to get into the dance even if the over hyped ESPN pre-game coverage were getting everything ready for Coach K’s final going at party Carolina not only did not get the memo that they were suppose to lay over and play dead but they spoiled the party and all of the 100 lettermen and overflowing crowd went home with a bad taste in their mind and a memory that will last forever…
This year there shoe 👟 is on the other foot 🦶 as Duke knows they can be the final nail in Carolina’s chances of getting back to the dance 🪩. UNC also knows this as well so I expect the Tar Heels to play with a giant sense of urgency.
The matchups will be interesting as the Blue Devils are really big and athletic and it showed in the first battle in Durham as they had a record day in blocks with Dereck Lively at 7’1 having 8 of them and never being called for a foul. Which is hard to still believe but again it was at Cameron.
After watching the recent Duke and State game Lively had problems with the Wolfpack big man who used his body to move the seven footer out of the way and unlike the first game Bacot needs to also muscle the Duke Center and use some simple head and shoulder fakes to get fouls on Lively. Mando cannot play scared and try his best to take over the game.
To me the biggest matchup today is Kyle Filipowski vs Pete Nance. Filipowski is another 7 footer who can score from both the inside and outside. He killed State inside the paint getting so many offensive rebounds which resulted in easy baskets 🧺 or free throw attempts. Pete needs to play like he did against Clemson and Florida State not only scoring but also making a big difference defensively.
Mark Mitchell and Dariq Whitehead will take turns trying to score on Black and I am really interested to see the Whitehead vs Black battle since Whitehead did not play in the first contest in Durham and gave great bulletin board stuff when he said Black could not cover him earlier in the season. We will see if he eats his words like Banchero did last season.
Guard play will also be interested to watch. Jeremy Roach is the key to the Duke attack he keeps all of the freshmen in line by leading by example. He also had State going crazy as he drove for layups, hit jumpers and found teammates for easy scores. RJ Davis who a ton of teams have gone after recently will have his hands full trying to keep up with Roach 🪳 so I would not be surprised if Trimble gets more time than normal trying to slow the important Duke guard down.
At the other guard spot the 6’5 Tyrese Proctor has the responsibility of trying to slow down Caleb Love who as we all know loves to play against the Blue Devils. This is one of those instances where I truly believe a experienced junior guard who has been there and done that and it probably facing Duke for the last time will take it to the freshman Duke defender.
Duke probably has the advantage when it comes to the bench but Puff, Washington and even Styles might just rise to the occasion.
Unlike the first game where Carolina only took three free throws I expect being at home they will get many more which I feel will make the difference. Duke in Cameron had a bunch of break away layups and in this contest Carolina needs to reverse than trend and get some easy hoops. The three pointers in the last three games have been falling and for the Tar Heels to win Davis, Black, Love and Nance to continue the trend I think it will happen again. I like UNC 75-70
This year there shoe 👟 is on the other foot 🦶 as Duke knows they can be the final nail in Carolina’s chances of getting back to the dance 🪩. UNC also knows this as well so I expect the Tar Heels to play with a giant sense of urgency.
The matchups will be interesting as the Blue Devils are really big and athletic and it showed in the first battle in Durham as they had a record day in blocks with Dereck Lively at 7’1 having 8 of them and never being called for a foul. Which is hard to still believe but again it was at Cameron.
After watching the recent Duke and State game Lively had problems with the Wolfpack big man who used his body to move the seven footer out of the way and unlike the first game Bacot needs to also muscle the Duke Center and use some simple head and shoulder fakes to get fouls on Lively. Mando cannot play scared and try his best to take over the game.
To me the biggest matchup today is Kyle Filipowski vs Pete Nance. Filipowski is another 7 footer who can score from both the inside and outside. He killed State inside the paint getting so many offensive rebounds which resulted in easy baskets 🧺 or free throw attempts. Pete needs to play like he did against Clemson and Florida State not only scoring but also making a big difference defensively.
Mark Mitchell and Dariq Whitehead will take turns trying to score on Black and I am really interested to see the Whitehead vs Black battle since Whitehead did not play in the first contest in Durham and gave great bulletin board stuff when he said Black could not cover him earlier in the season. We will see if he eats his words like Banchero did last season.
Guard play will also be interested to watch. Jeremy Roach is the key to the Duke attack he keeps all of the freshmen in line by leading by example. He also had State going crazy as he drove for layups, hit jumpers and found teammates for easy scores. RJ Davis who a ton of teams have gone after recently will have his hands full trying to keep up with Roach 🪳 so I would not be surprised if Trimble gets more time than normal trying to slow the important Duke guard down.
At the other guard spot the 6’5 Tyrese Proctor has the responsibility of trying to slow down Caleb Love who as we all know loves to play against the Blue Devils. This is one of those instances where I truly believe a experienced junior guard who has been there and done that and it probably facing Duke for the last time will take it to the freshman Duke defender.
Duke probably has the advantage when it comes to the bench but Puff, Washington and even Styles might just rise to the occasion.
Unlike the first game where Carolina only took three free throws I expect being at home they will get many more which I feel will make the difference. Duke in Cameron had a bunch of break away layups and in this contest Carolina needs to reverse than trend and get some easy hoops. The three pointers in the last three games have been falling and for the Tar Heels to win Davis, Black, Love and Nance to continue the trend I think it will happen again. I like UNC 75-70
