Keeping It Heel
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UNC Basketball: Blue Devils vs. Tar Heels game preview

By Brandon Griffin

Feb 5, 2017; Greensboro, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Seventh Woods (21) and Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward V.J. Beachem (3) battle for a loose ball during the first half at Greensboro Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 5, 2017; Greensboro, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Seventh Woods (21) and Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward V.J. Beachem (3) battle for a loose ball during the first half at Greensboro Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 4, 2017; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski bows to the crowd after their 72-64 win over the Pittsburgh Panthers at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 4, 2017; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski bows to the crowd after their 72-64 win over the Pittsburgh Panthers at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports /

Duke Blue Devils

Head Coach: Mike Krzyzewski. Career Record: 1057-323. Coach K is in his 37th season at Duke which is his second head coaching stop. The all-time leader in wins in men’s basketball has been to the NCAA tournament 32 times while at Duke.

During that span he has been to 23 Sweet 16’s, 14 Elite 8’s, 12 Final Fours, and eight national title games. Additionally, he has five gold medals, three of which came as a head coach. When all is said and done, he will probably go down as the best college basketball coach of all-time.

Last Season: Last season, Duke went 25-11 overall. Following up a national title run, the Blue Devils went 11-7 in the ACC finishing fifth in the conference. They beat NC State in the second round before falling to Notre Dame in the quarterfinals.

For their efforts, Duke received a 4-seed in the NCAA tournament. They marched all the way to the Sweet 16 where they were thoroughly beaten by Oregon.

Best Former Player: Grant Hill. Hill is a seven-time NBA All-Star and five-time All-NBA player. He finished his 19-season career with 17,137 points, 6,169 rebounds, and 4,252 assists.

Once thought to be the next Michael Jordan, Hill’s career was cut short by injury. Despite a long career, he never could get his way to the NBA championship and never got the ring that many expected he would have plenty of.

This Season: This season, Duke is 18-5 overall. After being picked by everybody to win it all, Duke has not lived up to expectations. The Blue Devils sit just a half game out of fourth-place in the ACC.

However, it has not been easy and they could just as easily have started ACC play at 2-6. The biggest fear of the Blue Devils this season is to stumble into the NCAA Tournament as an  8-seed, get it together and make a Kentucky-esque run to the championship game, a la Connecticut in 2014.

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