Tag: Duke UNC Rivalry

Duke moves ahead of North Carolina in latest AP Poll

The Associated Press released its newest Top 25 on Monday, and the Blue Devils jumped North Carolina to climb farther into the top 10.

The Associated Press released its latest top 25 on Monday, and like the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll shared on the same day, Duke took the mantle as the highest-ranked ACC team.

The Blue Devils moved up one spot to eighth in the rankings, receiving 1,116 points from the ballots after winning their fourth straight game on Saturday against Florida State.

Defending national champion Connecticut remained No. 1 unanimously with all 62 first-place votes. Houston, Purdue, Arizona, and Tennessee finished the top five in that order, followed by Iowa State, Marquette, the Blue Devils, Kansas, and North Carolina in the rest of the top 10.

The Tar Heels spent most of the season hovering within and around the top five, but UNC has since lost three of its past six games to slip down to 20-6 on the season. Duke, on the other hand, has lost just two games since December 2 to climb to 20-5 on the season even with a head-to-head loss to the Tar Heels.

No other ACC team made the top 25, but Virginia received the most votes of any team on the outside looking in. Pittsburgh and Clemson also received a handful of votes.

Blue Devils surge past North Carolina in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

There’s a new sheriff in the ACC, according to the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches’ Poll, as Duke finally vaulted past North Carolina up at the top.

There’s a new sheriff in the ACC, at least according to the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll released on Monday.

The Blue Devils crept up one spot to seventh in the newest rankings and, combined with North Carolina dropping four spots down to ninth, that means Duke is now the highest-ranked team in the conference.

Duke has won 15 of its past 17 games after a Saturday victory over Florida State which featured 35 points from freshman Jared McCain.

The first-year guard’s emergence has been a big factor in the Blue Devils’ surge up national rankings. In his past 17 games, the former five-star recruit has scored 20 or more points seven times and recorded three double-doubles.

The Blue Devils also vaulted past Marquette and Kansas to move within the top seven in the coaches poll.

The two North Carolina rivals were shockingly the only ACC schools included. Virginia and Clemson both recently cracked the top 25, but both remained in the “Receiving Votes” category this week. The Cavaliers were the second-highest team left out.

North Carolina falls on the road against Syracuse for third loss in five games

The Tar Heels began the year 9-0 in conference play, but a Tuesday loss to Syracuse has them just 11-3 to let Duke and Virginia right back in the ACC race.

After opening ACC play with nine consecutive wins, North Carolina lost for the third time in five games on Tuesday.

In a road game against Syracuse, the Tar Heels could not mount a last-minute comeback against the Orange en route to an 86-79 loss.

The Orange jumped on North Carolina early, taking a 17-9 lead in the opening six minutes after a pair of early 3-pointers from Maliq Brown.

Syracuse led by 10 with eight minutes to play in the opening half, but UNC surged back to square the game at 42 apiece before the break.

However, with all the momentum in their favor once the second half resumed, the Tar Heels again fell flat on the opening whistle. The Orange opened the second frame on a 10-1 run behind two 3-pointers and four points from guard Judah Mintz.

Syracuse accomplished all of this offense with just six players in their rotation. Mintz and his teammate J.J. Starling combined for 48 points on 26 shots, and four of the six Syracuse players who saw the court scored at least 13 points.

The Orange were outrebounded 30-23, but they shot 62.5% from the floor and 47.1% from beyond the arc as a team in one of the most impressive and efficient offensive displays of the season.

On the North Carolina end, star guard and potential All-American RJ Davis made just seven of his 17 attempts, including a late 3-point effort that could have made it a one-score game, to finish with 19 points. The Tar Heels finished the game shooting 47.5% from the field.

The replay booth offered a helping hand to the Orange, too. Within the final minutes, officials overturned two different out-of-bounds calls to give Syracuse possession after a video review revealed North Carolina touched the ball last.

The two reversals, combined with a turnover from UNC guard Cormac Ryan, gave Syracuse the chances they needed to put North Carolina away, and the Orange made seven free throws in the final minute to ice the game.

With the loss, North Carolina falls to 19-6 on the season and 11-3 in conference play. Duke now sits just half a game behind the Tar Heels in the ACC standings as the Blue Devils haven’t lost a game since the two battled in Chapel Hill.

ESPN BPI forecasts ACC photo finish with Duke and UNC’s near-identical projected records

ESPN’s Basketball Power Index expects the ACC to come down to a photo finish with Duke and UNC currently sitting on near-identical expected records.

The ACC is routinely one of the most competitive conferences in men’s basketball, and the 2023-24 season is shaping up to be no different.

North Carolina currently leads the way with an 11-2 record in conference play, but Virginia and Duke both sit just a game back at 10-3 apiece and all three teams are 19-5 for the season. Which of the three has the advantage down the stretch?

According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, the advantage goes to the Tar Heels…narrowly. North Carolina is expected to win 24.4 games during the regular season, according to the BPI projections, but Duke is expected to win 24.1 to sit right on their heels. The Cavaliers are third with 22.8 expected wins.

North Carolina’s advantage widens slightly when looking at ACC records. The Tar Heels are projected to win 16.3 conference games compared to Duke’s 15.1 and UVA’s 13.8 projected wins.

However, all signs seem to indicate the conference coming down to next month’s clash at Cameron Indoor.

Duke women’s basketball completes remarkable fourth-quarter comeback against UNC

The Blue Devils trailed by 12 points at the start of the fourth quarter and by eight with six minutes to play, but they came back for an overtime win over North Carolina.

Duke women’s basketball got to take on rival North Carolina in front of a sold-out home crowd on Sunday, and despite trailing by 12 points at the start of the fourth quarter, the Blue Devils clawed back to win the game in overtime.

The two seemed evenly matched when the day’s game began. The Tar Heels were 15-8 on the season, while the Blue Devils were 15-7. The first two quarters further highlighted how even the two rivals really were, with UNC taking a 26-25 lead into the halftime break.

The game came unraveled for Duke in the third quarter, however. The Tar Heels opened the second half on a 13-2 run to break the game wide open. UNC guard Deja Kelly, who finished with a game-high 20 points, kept offering dagger after dagger. She made three shots in the first four minutes of the quarter, the final of which gave her an additional free throw after a foul. Add in four points from teammate Alyssa Utsby, and the Tar Heels seemed to find the open field.

When the third quarter came to a close, North Carolina led by 12 points, and Duke’s chances seemed to be on life support. An early few points from Blue Devils forward Reigan Richardson marginally cut into the lead, but the Tar Heels still led by eight points with six minutes to play.

Then the Blue Devils came alive.

Duke rattled off eight unanswered points in the next two minutes to tie the game, spearheaded by a 3-pointer from Oluchi Okananwa. Duke’s Delaney Thomas finished through a foul for an and-one, and the ensuing free throw tied the game at 48 points apiece with four minutes of game time.

UNC responded with another basket, but Blue Devils guard Taina Mair nailed a 3-pointer to hand her team its first lead of the second half.

After trading free throws and no points over the last 90 seconds of regulation, the sold-out home crowd was treated to free basketball, and the home team looked to be playing with house money.

With the game still tied and a little more than two minutes on the clock, the Blue Devils seemed to channel the last burst of energy they needed. They went on a 9-2 run over the next minute-and-a-half, cemented by another massive shot from Mair.

The sophomore fired off a stone-cold 3-pointer from the corner, giving Duke the seven-point lead with less than a minute to play.

Mair finished the game with 13 points, second on the team only to Thomas’s 19-point performance. The Blue Devils outscored UNC by 20 points over the final 15 minutes for the 68-60 win.

The victory moves Duke to 16-7 on the year and 8-4 in ACC play, and the team has now won 11 of its past 14 games.