College basketball’s premier rivalry will be renewed once again as the No. 7 North Carolina Tar Heels closes the regular season slate when visiting the No. 9 Duke Blue Devils. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. ET and the game will air on ESPN. UNC downed Duke 93-84 in their first matchup back on February 3.
North Carolina (24-6, 16-3 ACC) officially clinched a share of the ACC regular season championship on Tuesday, blowing out Notre Dame 84-51. The Tar Heels dominated this game from the opening tip as they never trailed and held the Fighting Irish to just 30.5% shooting. RJ Davis provided 22 points and six assists in the win.
Duke (24-6, 15-4 ACC) has won three straight heading into this rivalry showdown, last handling NC State in a 79-64 victory on Monday. The second half was all Blue Devils as they gradually tacked onto their lead and never looked back. Jeremy Roach led with 21 points and four rebounds in the win.
These two rivals will evenly matched across the board in their first battle this season and Carolina’s ability to turn 11 Duke turnovers into 19 points proved to be the difference. This is truly a best-on-best matchup in the ACC as Duke possesses the most efficient offense in the league while UNC possesses the most efficient defense. The Blue Devils are No. 1 in the ACC in both offensive rebounding rate and three-point shooting while the Tar Heels are No. 1 in those categories on defense. It will be interesting to see which unit can impose their will on the other.
What this game means for North Carolina
North Carolina has already clinched a share of the ACC regular season title and can win it outright with a victory tonight. That would give the Tar Heels the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament and they would be set up nicely with a double-bye straight to the quarterfinals. On top of that, of course the Tar Heels would love to go into Durham and shut the Cameron Crazies up. It’s what this program lives for.
What this game means for Duke
Duke would claim a share of the ACC regular season with a win here and would still have a shot at earning the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament if all the tiebreakers breaks in their favor. On top of that, of course the Blue Devils would love to avenge their loss from earlier in the year with a win in front of their home fans. It’s what this program lives for.
North Carolina vs. Duke odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread: Duke -5.5
Total: 150.5
Moneyline: Duke -192, UNC +160
Pick: Duke -192
Duke has been dominant at home this year with a 15-2 record and an 11-6 record against the spread. The Blue Devils don’t need any extra motivation when facing the Tar Heels at Cameron Indoor, and I think get it done here, but not enough to lay more than two possessions in what should be a close one.
