UNC Basketball: 5 key games for the upcoming season
By Reece Helms
Mar 31, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Quinn Cook (middle) sticks out his tongue as he huddles with teammates in the second half during the finals of the Midwest regional of the 2013 NCAA tournament against the Louisville Cardinals at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports
February 12th at home vs Duke
North Carolina and Duke, that’s all that needs to be said. Of course this a key game for both sides, but for this year, it’s an even more important game for UNC, as they lost in both meetings last year.
Tobacco Road has seen lots of classic games in the past, and we can only hope for more of the same this coming year. North Carolina and Duke is one of the biggest rivalries not only in college basketball, but in all of sports.
Despite losing their top 3 scorers from last season, there is still plenty of room for optimism in Durham. Why? Jabari Parker.
Jabari Parker was the No.2 player in last years recruiting class behind Andrew Wiggins, and that is no knock against him, considering Andrew Wiggins is supposedly the best high school player since LeBron James.
Although Duke defeated UNC in both of their meetings last year, and they will meet twice again this upcoming year, we are focusing on one of the match ups in particular, the one in Chapel Hill.
There was a lot of hype going into last years game in the Dean Smith center between Carolina and Duke, as high school phenom Andrew Wiggins was in attendance. A win might’ve swung Wiggins’ interest and made him closer to becoming a future Tar Heel.
Well, that didn’t happen, as Duke blew the Tar Heels out of the gym on Dexter Strickland’s senior night. None of the Tar Heels showed up to play that night, as the entire team only shot 33% that night.
The Tar Heels have to avoid another performance like that if they plan on winning a game vs Duke this season. Every time UNC plays Duke it is a key game, doesn’t matter what sport it is, whether it is basketball, football, baseball, soccer, lacrosse, cockroach racing….ok well maybe not the last one but you get the point, beating Duke is definitely a goal going into the season.