Duke To Host North Carolina For First Matchup Of The Season
Eight miles is what separates the two blue blooded rivals.
On Wednesday night Duke who recently returned to the top spot in the AP Top 25 poll will not only host North Carolina who is ranked eighth in this weeks AP Top 25 poll but will look to avenge their narrow loss from last seasons first matchup where they lost by a score of 82-78 in Chapel Hill. They will do so with a couple new faces on the floor who will get their first taste of playing in the Duke / North Carolina rivalry. Those players include freshman point guard Tre Jones who is the younger brother of Tyus Jones who helped Duke win the 2015 national championship and who is currently a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves of the NBA. Along with Tre Jones fellow freshman R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson will also get to experience their first Duke / North Carolina game. However, In the regular seasons first matchup Duke will be at full strength while North Carolina will not as Sterling Manley is still dealing with a knee injury he suffered against Harvard on January 2nd. “according to https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/article226440195.html
Duke comes into the game with a record of 23-2 while they’re 11-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference while North Carolina comes into the game with a record of 20-5 while they’re 10-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
As for Duke’s previous game, they snapped their two game losing streak to another tobacco road rival in NC State.
- RJ Barrett had Duke's first triple-double in 13 years, finishing with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in the second-ranked Blue Devils' 94-78 victory over North Carolina State on Saturday night. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211791050
Zion Williamson scored 32 points on 12-of-16 shooting and Tre Jones added 13 to help the Blue Devils (23-2, 11-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) win their ninth straight. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211791050
Barrett became the fourth Duke player with a triple-double and the first since Shelden Williams in January 2006. He completed it in the final minute, hitting Williamson for a layup that put Duke up 90-74. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211791050
Duke overcame 19 percent shooting from 3-point range by building a 44-26 rebounding advantage and scoring 22 points off N.C. State's 12 turnovers. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211791050
Markell Johnson had 16 points and 10 assists, Torin Dorn scored 17 points and C.J. Bryce added 13 points for the Wolfpack (18-8, 6-7), who had their two-game winning. “according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211791050
Like Duke, North Carolina also won their previous game as they downed Wake Forest in Winston Salem.
Eighth-ranked North Carolina responded to its first loss in a month by pouncing on an overmatched opponent and rolling to its biggest margin of victory ever in an Atlantic Coast Conference road game. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/16/mens-basketball-tar-heels-dominate-wake-forest.aspx
Cameron Johnson scored 27 points and fueled the Tar Heels' game-opening run of 18 straight points in Saturday's 95-57 win at Wake Forest. The 38-point margin of victory was a school record, surpassing the previous highs of 34 points in league road games at Virginia and Virginia Tech during the 2004-05 season. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/16/mens-basketball-tar-heels-dominate-wake-forest.aspx
It also marked the most lopsided win by either team in the longtime instate series, as well as Wake Forest's worst loss in their Joel Coliseum home of nearly three decades.
"We jumped on them early," senior Kenny Williams said. "I think our defense was really focused and we made everything tough on them." “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/16/mens-basketball-tar-heels-dominate-wake-forest.aspx
Still, Williams pointed to UNC being outrebounded to say things weren't perfect. Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams, too, could point to 11 first-half turnovers for the Tar Heels (20-5, 10-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) as another concern. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/16/mens-basketball-tar-heels-dominate-wake-forest.aspx
Minor issues, all, after a blowout win. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/16/mens-basketball-tar-heels-dominate-wake-forest.aspx
The Tar Heels, who lost to fourth-ranked Virginia on Monday, ran out to leads of 18-0, 25-3 and 35-7. They shot 74 percent in the opening half and finished at 62 percent while making 16 of 25 3-pointers, with that 64-percent conversion rate a program record for any road game in which they attempted a minimum of 20 3s. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/16/mens-basketball-tar-heels-dominate-wake-forest.aspx
Johnson finished 10 of 13 from the floor and 7 of 10 from behind the arc, making his first eight shots overall and his first six from behind the arc.
"I don't think I really shot the ball too well in practice yesterday," Johnson said. "So I really kind of took some extra time to do some extra shoulder work, make sure that was feeling all right, get everything moving well. And I guess it paid off for today." “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/16/mens-basketball-tar-heels-dominate-wake-forest.aspx
Freshman Jaylen Hoard scored 17 points on an ugly afternoon for the Demon Deacons (9-15, 2-10), who shot 21 percent to fall behind 49-21 by halftime. Wake Forest finished at 33 percent. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/16/mens-basketball-tar-heels-dominate-wake-forest.aspx
"We came out and didn't do a lot of things well," Wake Forest coach Danny Manning said. "Carolina came out, made some shots, rebounded the ball, put us in a tough spot. ... And then from there, it just kind of snowballed." “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/16/mens-basketball-tar-heels-dominate-wake-forest.aspx
Tip-off is set for 9:00pm from Cameron Indoor Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN and Raycom Sports.