When the ACC Tournament seedings were officially set, we all knew that a third meeting between the UNC basketball program and rival Duke was very much a possibility.
Now, it's a reality, as the two teams will square off on Friday night in Charlotte with a spot in the ACC Tournament finals on the line.
Coming off back-to-back victories in as many days, the Tar Heels hope to firmly put themself among the NCAA Tournament qualifiers. Duke won its ACC Tournament opener on Thursday afternoon over Georgia Tech, but two significant injuries have the Blue Devils a bit worried about the future.
Whether the Blue Devils are short-handed or not, can the UNC basketball program find a way to secure a much-needed Quad 1 victory?
2024-2025 Season
North Carolina Tar Heels
Overall record: 22-12
Conference Record: 13-7
Home Record: 12-3
Away Record: 6-6
Neutral Site Record: 2-3
Duke Blue Devils
Overall record: 29-3
Conference Record: 18-1
Home Record: 17-0
Away Record: 9-1
Neutral Site Record: 1-2
Key Players
North Carolina
RJ Davis (Gr. Guard) – 17.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists
Ian Jackson (Fr. Guard) – 13.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 0.9 assists
Seth Trimble (Jr. Guard) – 12.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists
Duke
Cooper Flagg (Fr. Forward) - 19.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists
Kon Knueppel (Fr. Guard) - 13.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists
Tyrese Proctor (Jr. Guard) - 11.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists
Keys to Victory for North Carolina
Avoid lengthy offensive droughts.
In the win over Wake Forest, North Carolina went over 10 minutes without scoring a bucket, a recipe for disaster if they do that against Duke on Friday night.
In this game, the Tar Heels need to be efficient for 40 straight minutes: random offensive struggles must be avoided at all costs.
The goal in this game should be knocking down 10 or more three pointers. The Tar Heels made 9 in the regular season finale and could really use a hot stretch from beyond-the-arc to help lead them to a potential victory in Charlotte.
Something to Watch For
As mentioned earlier, Duke suffered two major injuries on Thursday afternoon.
The first was forward Maliq Brown, an impact player off the bench for the Blue Devils. It appears as if Brown re-aggravated a shoulder injury from a few weeks back, as it wasn't a pretty sight when he left the court.
While Brown is almost certainly out for Friday night's game, the status of star Cooper Flagg is at the forefront of the attention heading into this contest. Flagg suffered an ankle injury late in the first half against Georgia Tech, one that prevented him from returning to action.
After the game, Jon Scheyer said it would be a "long shot" for Flagg to play on Friday night, but as we know, anything is possible.
If Flagg doesn't play, look for Kon Knueppel to once again take on a heavier dose of the scoring load. If Flagg is able to go, how limited will he be, and how much will Duke push him knowing the NCAA Tournament starts up next week.