ACC Tournament: UNC vs. Duke preview, game info, prediction and more

It will be UNC vs. Duke round three but this time there is a lot on the line as they meet in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament on Friday night

The North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils will meet for the third time this season and the second time in six days. And this time, the meeting will feature Zion Williamson.

UNC took care of business against Louisville in the first game of Thursday’s night session, beating the Cardinals 83-70 to clinch their spot in the semifinals. Hours later it was Duke that punched their ticket to the semis by beating Syracuse thanks to a late second-half surge.

Now the two teams will meet for a third time this season and the stakes are as high as ever.

The winner of Friday’s showdown will pretty much guaranteed themselves a No. 1 seed in next week’s NCAA Tournament with the loser being left out, for now. There is a slight chance the ACC could get a third No. 1 seed but a lot would have to happen.

There is a lot on the line and it should be an awesome atmosphere in Charlotte as these teams meet again. Obviously, the big storyline will be the return of Williamson and facing North Carolina for the first time in his career.

Williamson looked impressive in his return, scoring 29 points and grabbing 14 rebounds while going 13 of 13 from the field.

The Tar Heels will look to contain Williamson and continue their hot shooting. They shot 46.2 percent from the field in their win over Louisville, led by their own freshman sensation Coby White.

White scored a game-high 19 points in the win over the Cardinals, continuing his hot streak which included a big performance over Duke in the Dean Dome on Saturday. Senior Luke Maye also finished with 19 points in the win over the Cardinals.

Things will be tougher this time around for UNC but a win will lock up that No. 1 seed and make it a three-game sweep over their rivals.

Key to the Game for UNC

Limit R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish. We know that Zion is going to get his and coming off a big game against Cuse, he’s going to have a lot of confidence. If Williamson goes off but UNC wins, the Tar Heels will certainly take that.

In their previous meeting, senior Kenny Williams did a great job on freshman R.J. Barrett, playing tough defense on him. It was a big reason why UNC was able to rally in the second half and get a big win.

Limiting both Barrett and Reddish will be a huge key for the Tar Heels, especially on the perimeter.

Duke is not a good three-point shooting team and UNC should use that to their strength. If UNC can control the paint and force Duke to chuck up threes, it could go a long way for the Tar Heels.

Key to the Game for Duke

Get Tre Jones going. Jones is a good defensive point guard but in the last meeting against UNC he struggled to guard fellow freshman Coby White, especially in the second half. White’s scoring streak in the second half was a big reason why UNC was able to win the game.

This time around, Duke needs Jones to be better both on offense and defense.

Against Syracuse, Jones finished with 15 points but was just 3-of-12 from the floor. He did hit a big three-pointer late but Duke may need more production from him.

Let’s see how he plays this time around.

Last Meeting

As mentioned before, these two teams met just under a week ago in the Dean Dome as UNC completed the regular season sweep. Duke jumped out to an early lead, and held a two-point lead at the break.

But UNC came out hot in the second half.

Backed by White, the Tar Heels were able to extend their lead to 15 late in the game before fighting off a Duke rally. The win marked the first time since 2008-09 UNC swept the regular season series from Duke.

What you need to know

What? (3) Duke (27-5) vs. (2) North Carolina (27-5)
When? Friday, March 15 – 9:00 p.m. EST
Where? Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina
TV? ESPN
Radio? Tar Heel Sports Network
All-Time series? North Carolina leads series 98-83
Prediction? UNC 79, Duke 77