The best rivalry in college basketball adds another chapter to its storied history Saturday night.
The No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels travel down Tobacco Road to Cameron Indoor Stadium to face the No. 17 Duke Blue Devils. UNC surely will look for revenge after Duke’s shocking 74-73 road victory last month.
Arguably more important than pride, though, is what’s at stake for postseason tournaments. North Carolina can clinch at least a share of its first ACC regular-season title since 2012 with a win. It also would give the Tar Heels the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament.
Duke, on the other hand, could snatch a No. 4 seed with a victory over UNC.
The battle comes down to which team utilizes its strengths better, though. Both are very good defensively, but on offense it’s the battle of North Carolina’s inside game versus Duke’s perimeter shooting. The Blue Devils rank second in the conference, shooting nearly 39 percent from 3-point range as a team, while the Tar Heels aren’t even in the top 10. Conversely, UNC sits mere percentage points behind No. 4 Virginia as the ACC’s best shooting team and leads the conference in points, rebounds and assists per game.
So who will win tonight’s sure-to-be-fierce matchup? According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, it’s a toss up.
So grab your popcorn and hunker down for the evening. This is a game you don’t want to miss.
Here’s how to watch Duke-UNC online:
When: Saturday, March 5 at 6:30 p.m. ET
Watch: ESPN or WatchESPN
Thumbnail photo via Mark Dolejs/USA TODAY Sports Images
