At all times excessive are the stakes when Duke and North Carolina play, however this 12 months, issues go far past bragging rights because the Blue Devils journey to the Tar Heels on Saturday to shut the common season. Duke (22-8, 13-6 ACC) is holding out hope for a double-bye within the ACC Event, whereas the Tar Heels (19-11, 11-8) are combating for his or her NCAA Event lives.
UNC entered the weekend as one of many “First 4 Out” of CBS Sports activities Bracketology Knowledgeable Jerry Palm’s projected subject and desperately wanted some momentum coming into subsequent week’s ACC Event. A Quad 1 win over the Blue Devils would bolster the Tar Heels’ hopes of an at-large bid, but it surely will not be straightforward.
Duke received the primary assembly 63-57 on Feb. 4 by holding North Carolina scoreless for almost 4 minutes down the stretch. UNC shot simply 28.6% within the second half amid the second loss in what grew to become a stretch of 5 losses in six video games. The Tar Heels have since received three straight to maintain themselves on the NCAA Event bubble.
As for the Blue Devils, a victory paired with a Clemson loss to Notre Dame would propel them to the No. 4 seeds within the AAC Event, permitting a double-bye into Thursday’s quarterfinals. Duke enters on a five-game successful streak behind the event of a deep group of freshman contributors as first-year coach Jon Scheyer seeks to start his profession with a regular-season sweep of this system’s arch rival.
watch Duke vs. North Carolinalive
date: Saturday, March 4 | time: 6:30 p.m. ET
Location: Dean E. Smith Heart — Chapel Hill, North Carolina
TV: ESPN | Reside streams: fuboTV (Attempt free of charge)
duke vs. North Carolina predictions, picks
Featured Video games | North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Duke Blue Devils
UNC received the regular-season finale between the groups final season in legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski’s ultimate dwelling recreation and used the victory to jumpstart an unimaginable postseason run. The Tar Heels have their backs in opposition to the wall as soon as once more, and this time additionally they have the house courtroom benefit. The stakes are just too excessive for North Carolina to come back out flat because it has finished too usually this season. Its NCAA Event hopes are at stake, and so is revenge after a dud efficiency in opposition to Duke within the season’s first assembly. Search for the Heels to play impressed basketball. Prediction: North Carolina -2.5
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