UNC vs. Duke preview

College basketball’s greatest rivalry is back. Duke will travel the nine miles from Durham to Chapel Hill on Saturday to take on North Carolina in another top 15 matchup in the storied series.

There may be no better example of a rivalry where you throw the records out, throw the talent out. When these two match up, it’s on. The stakes are just amped up when the teams are among the best in the country.

These teams are as good as they are, largely because of the freshman star power. Both were top ten, five-star recruits that are now lighting up college basketball, averaging over 20 points and close to 10 rebounds a game.

For Duke, it’s Cameron Boozer. He’s the latest in a long line of first-year students who show up in Durham and immediately turn into a star, and he’s currently the favorite for the Naismith Player of the Year.

Caleb Wilson is a close competitor. His size, length and athleticism make him almost impossible to guard. These two will likely be matched on each other Saturday night, making for one of the highest profile matchups of the season, and the best in this rivalry in several years.

The Tar Heels hit a rut, losing three out of four early conference games. They have since rebounded, winning four in a row, including a big road win over then No. 14 Virginia.

Duke only had one hiccup, a one-point loss to Texas Tech at Madison Square Garden. Since then, they’ve been dominant, blowing out most of their opponents thanks to a stellar defensive unit that ranks top 10 in the country in points allowed. They’re beating their opponents by an average of 20 points a game, good for seventh in the country.

To counteract that, Carolina will have to be good from beyond the arc. Their 3-point shooting has been inconsistent at best this year, but it was a big reason they got the win against Virginia, as they went 45%.

A lot of their game is down low, though, with Wilson and fellow big man, 7-footer Henri Veesaar. The two are combining for over 36 points and 18 rebounds a game. Veesaar presents a matchup advantage against opposing center Ngongba.

The problem for North Carolina is defensively. It’s the issue that has plagued them since Hubert Davis took over. While Roy Williams’s teams were never defensive juggernauts, their offensive skill pushed them over the top in ways Davis’s teams haven’t since the Final Four run.

Duke wasn’t great in Mike Krzyzewski’s last years either, but that has changed since Jon Scheyer took over, as they’ve progressively gotten better year over year, including being top 10 in scoring defense last year and this year.

The Blue Devils also score at a high rate, averaging just higher than their rivals at 84.1 points per game. They are second in the ACC and top 20 in the country in field goal percentage.

Like Carolina, though, they don’t shoot the threes very well.

That leaves the assumption that this game will be won down low, in the paint. And that’s what rivalries should be—tough, gritty basketball.

That also implies that Duke should have the edge, since they are the more likely team to make just enough stops to win.

But what did we say at the beginning? With this rivalry, it doesn’t matter how good either team is.

In fact, some of the greatest games and moments in the series history have been when one team wasn’t very good. It’s North Carolina vs. Duke. Game on!

Jacob Rudy is a third-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jar7371@psu.edu.