Tag: Duke Blue Devils

UNC-Duke tabbed Game of the Week by famed college basketball analyst

UNC-Duke is the college basketball game to watch this week.

No matter the year, talent on each team or how each rival is progressing throughout their respective seasons, the North Carolina–Duke basketball rivalry never fails to disappoint.

UNC swept its hated Blue Devils in 2024, en route to an ACC Regular Season Championship and appearance in the ACC Championship Game. Duke got the last laugh, advancing to the Elite 8, but the Tar Heels have bragging rights from winning both head-to-head matchups.

As the college basketball world would have it, North Carolina and Duke are playing again on Saturday, February 1 at 6:30 p.m. ET. The Blue Devils (18-2, 10-0 ACC) look every bit of a National Championship contender, while UNC’s NCAA Tournament hopes are on life support.

Despite the direction of each program’s season, UNC-Duke was named college basketball analyst Andy Katz’ Game of the Week.

There’s a few other watch-worthy matchups on Katz’ Top 10 list, such as Florida–Tennessee and Kentucky-Ole Miss, but none that create the hype the Tobacco Road Rivalry can.

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Tar Heels fans almost had the opportunity to celebrate on Monday night, with NC State putting a scare into the Blue Devils, but superstar Cooper Flagg took over.

In North Carolina’s season of unpredictables, it stormed back and escaped Boston College in overtime Saturday, 102-96. RJ Davis put UNC on his back, scoring seven of his 22 points in the extra time period, while the Tar Heels generated some rare, defensive stops.

Duke hasn’t lost a game since November (I hope I’m summoning the writer’s jinx), when Kansas won, 75-72, in the Vegas Showdown.

We’re hoping North Carolina keeps Saturday’s showdown close, but don’t be surprised if the Blue Devils end things early.

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Duke women’s basketball jumps back into the top 10 in the coaches poll

After a ranked victory over Georgia Tech on the road this weekend, Duke women’s basketball is back in the top 10 of the coaches poll.

Duke won its second top-25 game in 10 days on Sunday, a 55-50 triumph over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets that vaulted the Blue Devils back up the USA TODAY Sports women’s basketball coaches poll.

In Tuesday’s updated rankings, head coach Kara Lawson and her team jumped up four spots to No. 10 on the heels of their fifth straight victory.

Duke dropped out of the top 15 at the start of the month after an overtime loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels, its second loss in four games to slip to 12-4. Since that game, however, the Blue Devils have held teams to just 47.6 points per game. In fact, they’ve only surrendered more than 50 points in regulation once since January 5, a seven-game run of defensive dominance.

The Blue Devils are 8-1 against ACC opponents, tied for second in the conference standings as of Tuesday morning. The third-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish, undefeated in eight conference games, are the only member of the ACC above Duke in the coaches poll.

The Tar Heels, after a Sunday loss to the Florida State Seminoles, dropped to No. 15 with an 18-4 record.

Duke basketball stays a No. 1 seed in the latest ESPN Bracketology projection

The Duke Blue Devils, now riding a 14-game win streak, are still a top seed in the latest Bracketology projection from Joe Lunardi.

The Duke Blue Devils found a way against the NC State Wolfpack on Monday, their second consecutive second-half sweat against an in-state rival. With an 18-2 record after 14 victories in a row, the team from Durham still looks like an inevitable No. 1 seed in the upcoming postseason bracket.

In a Tuesday update from ESPN bracket expert Joe Lunardi, the Blue Devils occupied the top spot in his East region. The Auburn Tigers, Alabama Crimson Tide, and Iowa State Cyclones occupied the other three No. 1 spots with Auburn listed as the top overall seed.

Lunardi pitted Duke against the Marist Red Foxes in the opening round. The hypothetical East region Lunardi put together could result in some fascinating matchups. The two-time defending national champion Connecticut Huskies could await the Blue Devils in the second game as the No. 8 seed, and the Michigan Wolverines could reignite some old rivalries as the No. 5 seed.

The Florida Gators, Michigan State Spartans, and Mississippi State Bulldogs took the top four seeds in the region.

Four other ACC teams found a spot in Lunardi’s bracket: the Louisville Cardinals (No. 6 in the West), Clemson Tigers (No. 7 in the South), Pittsburgh Panthers (No. 10 in the East), North Carolina Tar Heels (First Four)

Andy Katz names Duke-North Carolina basketball rivalry as his best game of the week

The North Carolina Tar Heels come to Cameron Indoor Stadium this weekend, and one analyst said Duke-UNC is always the game of the week.

College basketball analyst Andy Katz released his list of the 10 best games of the week on Monday, and with the North Carolina Tar Heels coming to Durham, there should be no surprise who is atop the list.

The Blue Devils should be heavily favored in the rivalry battle, even with two straight upset scares. Duke has won 14 consecutive games, undefeated since November 26, while the Tar Heels are 13-8 for the season and 6-3 in conference play.

The team from Chapel Hill has won seven of its last 10 games, however, with a pair of freshmen coming on strong. Ian Jackson has averaged 15.0 points while Drake Powell has put up 6.8 points and 3.5 rebounds. But the last three games have been a bit suspect for UNC. The Tar Heels lost to Stanford and Wake Forest, both games by a single point, before needing overtime to beat the 9-10 Boston College Eagles.

Saturday’s game will assuredly fly by, too. The Tar Heels are No. 14 in KenPom’s adjusted tempo metric while the Blue Devils absolutely thrive in transition.

The game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Eastern time on ESPN.

Duke basketball drops to third in NET rankings despite Monday win over NC State

The Duke Blue Devils won their 14th consecutive game on Monday, but they still slipped down a spot in the NET rankings.

The Duke men’s basketball team won, albeit in a slightly ugly fashion, on Monday night. The 74-64 home victory over NC State included a 19-0 run around the halftime break, helping to overcome an early 35-22 deficit, to give the Blue Devils their 14th consecutive win.

However, as of Tuesday morning, head coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] and his team dropped from second to third in the men’s basketball NET rankings.

The Blue Devils have battled back an upset scare in two straight games now, letting Wake Forest start the second half on a 23-4 run to build a six-point lead with 10 minutes left on the clock on Saturday. Freshman superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] scored 24 points against the Demon Deacons and 28 more against NC State to save both games.

The Houston Cougars, who came back to beat the Kansas Jayhawks in thrilling fashion on the road on Saturday, jumped above the Blue Devils with their second Quad 1 victory. Houston, despite a perfect 4-0 road record, has also lost three Quad 1 games while the Blue Devils are 5-2 against top-tier opponents, but the Cougars have five Quad 2 triumphs to Duke’s two.

The Cougars and Blue Devils are both still staring up at the Auburn Tigers with their 11 Quad 1 victories and 18-1 record.

Where is Duke basketball in the ESPN BPI rankings after Monday’s win over NC State?

See where the Duke Blue Devils are in the ESPN Basketball Powder Index after Monday’s victory over the NC State Wolfpack.

[autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] saved the day for Duke men’s basketball again on Monday night, scoring 23 of his 28 points after halftime in a comeback victory over the NC State Wolfpack. After another upset scare against an unranked in-state rival, however, the Blue Devils couldn’t quite grab the top spot in the ESPN Basketball Power Index.

As of Tuesday morning, the Blue Devils are second in the ESPN metrics behind the Houston Cougars.

Monday’s win required a 13-point comeback over the final 24 minutes just two days after Duke coughed up a 13-point halftime lead to Wake Forest in Winston-Salem. The Blue Devils overcame a six-point hole in the final ten minutes against the Demon Deacons to remain undefeated in conference play.

While Duke’s 14-game win streak leads all programs, the Cougars have won 12 consecutive games. Two of Houston’s three losses came in overtime back in November, and head coach Kelvin Sampson’s teams always lead the nation in defensive ratings. The Cougars and Tennessee Volunteers are the only two teams above Duke in ESPN’s defensive power index, and those three are the only power-conference programs allowing fewer than 60 points per game.

The Auburn Tigers, Volunteers, and Iowa State Cyclones followed Duke to complete ESPN’s top five.

Duke basketball drops two spots in KenPom rankings after second straight close call

The Duke Blue Devils flirted with an upset loss for the second straight game on Monday, and the KenPom rankings knocked them for it.

The Duke Blue Devils won their 14th straight game on Monday night, a home victory over the NC State Wolfpack to partially avenge last year’s Elite Eight loss, but it admittedly wasn’t the team’s prettiest game.

The 9-10 Wolfpack built a 13-point midway through the opening half thanks to an 8/30 (26.7%) start from the floor by the Blue Devils. Freshman superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] still put 28 points on the board in the victory, but the KenPom efficiency metrics no longer consider Duke the best team in the nation.

As of Tuesday morning, the Blue Devils sit No. 3 in the rankings behind the Auburn Tigers and Houston Cougars. The margins are still narrow with those three teams, separated by 0.66 points per 100 possessions, but Duke now trails the other two.

All three have won at least 11 straight games with no losses between them since December 4, and the gap between the Blue Devils and the fourth-ranked Florida Gators is larger than the gap between Florida and the Alabama Crimson Tide in ninth.

With back-to-back games below 75 points, Duke slipped back to seventh in the offensive efficiency metrics with 122.9 points per 100 possessions. The Blue Devils still sit third on the defensive end, allowing 87.6 points, and they’re still the only team within the top nine in both categories.

Kon Knueppel literally pulled a teammate’s leg to save a crucial clutch possession for Duke

This is too brilliant from Knueppel.

Kon Knueppel made one of the smartest plays you’ll ever see on a basketball court on Monday night against NC State and it had nothing to do with a basketball.

Well, kind of.

NBA MOCK DRAFT: See where Knueppel and his freshman phenom teammate, Cooper Flagg, fall in our latest mock draft.

With just over three minutes left in a tight might with NC State, Knueppel made what might have been the play of the game.

His teammate, Tyrese Proctor, caught the ball as it was careening out of bounds. His momentum was carrying him to the boundary line along with the ball. Another second and he’s probably turning the ball over back to NC State with a chance to tie the game or cut into the lead potentially.

But, thanks to Knueppel’s quick thinking, the possession was saved.

Knueppel grabbed his teammate’s leg and reset his balance before he could fall out of bounds.

Look at how close this was.

What a play. It’s a small thing. It’s not necessarily a bucket or a crucial assist or anything like that, but this is just as big.

Proctor got fouled and went to the free-throw line to extend the lead a bit more after this.

Shoutout to Kon for making this heads-up play. That’s a great teammate.

Why Duke’s Khaman Maluach bizarrely barfed mid-game vs. NC State

Poor guy.

On Monday, Duke center Khaman Maluach threw up mid-game, and while it was gross, there’s a reason for it.

We won’t be sharing the video of Maluach barfing on the court (you can watch the video at your own risk), but here’s what happened.

With just over four minutes left in regulation, the Blue Devils’ center was engaged in a play when he paused and started backing up toward the baseline, realizing he was about to lose his lunch.

He tried to keep it together, but it was too late—SPLAT onto the floor.

Eventually, Malauch had to sit down and let trainers tend to him before being helped to the locker room. Postgame, head coach Jon Scheyer explained that the big was cramping. “He wasn’t sick … He was cramping,” Scheyer said.

“Chugged a lot of Gatorade quickly, and that’s what happened when he threw up … I just think it speaks to the character—that he was doing whatever he could to get back in the game.”

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When’s the last time Duke basketball won its first 10 ACC games in a single season?

The Duke basketball team clinched a 10-0 start in conference play on Monday night. When’s the last time the Blue Devils pulled that off?

The Duke men’s basketball team won its 14th straight game on Monday night, a hard-fought 74-64 victory over the NC State Wolfpack. More importantly, however, the Blue Devils kept their perfect conference record with a 10-0 start in ACC play, something the program hasn’t done in nearly two decades.

Duke’s most recent 10-0 record against conference opponents came in 2007-08, head coach Jon Scheyer’s sophomore season. Believe it or not, that was actually the third time the Blue Devils won their first 10 ACC games in five seasons, matching that number in 2003-04 and 2005-06.

Legendary head coach [autotag]Mike Krzyzewski[/autotag] won the regular-season conference title in each of those first two campaigns, but the North Carolina Tar Heels surged past them for the 2007-08 ACC crown with a 14-2 conference record.

On an unfortunately pessimistic note, none of Duke’s last five 10-0 conference starts resulted in a national championship. But none of those teams had freshman superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag], either, so there’s a first time for everything.