Tag: UNC vs. Duke

WATCH: UNC basketball players celebrate Duke sweep on Franklin Street

The UNC men’s basketball team wasted no time after sweeping Duke on Saturday night, hopping on the team bus and heading to Franklin Street.

When you’re UNC celebrating a massive rivalry win, what do you do? Particularly when that win comes against Duke – in Durham – for the regular-season sweep and your first outright ACC regular-season title since 2016?

You head to Franklin Street, of course!

If you’re not familiar with Chapel Hill’s layout, Franklin Street is “the” street. It has the historic dining spots, like Top of the Hill and Four Corners, plus the legendary He’s Not Here bar.

Not too long after students and other UNC fans rushed Franklin Street, the team bus arrived for the ultimate celebration.

Zayden High was first off the bus with a massive celebration roar. Harrison Ingram followed, then everyone else slowly climbed off the bus.

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The effect of Saturday’s 94-89 victory will be felt throughout Chapel Hill for years to come. I’m sure Tar Heel players and coaches are still basking in the massive win, but their attention will shortly turn to Thursday’s ACC quarterfinal matchup, where North Carolina will face the winner of the Virginia Tech-Florida State game.

If you ever get the chance to experience a Franklin Street celebration, you have to go. It’s THE college town in North Carolina.

Hopefully a month from today, we’ll be celebrating an NCAA Championship.

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Tar Heels make sizable jump in latest NET rankings after sweeping Duke

Beating Duke has its perks. For the UNC men’s basketball team, it boosted them a few spots in the latest installation of NET rankings.

The day is Sunday, March 10, and all is well in Tar Heel Nation.

North Carolina beat archrival Duke last night, 84-79, to sweep the regular-season series and clinch the ACC regular-season title. This was UNC’s first time sweeping the twice-annual matchup since 2020-2021 and its first outright regular-season title since the 2015-2016 season.

Cormac Ryan forever etched his name in the Tar Heels-Blue Devils rivalry, erupting for a career-high 31 points in the win. Kyle Filipowski became public enemy No. 1 at UNC by tripping Harrison Ingram and giving many flashbacks to the Grayson Allen years.

North Carolina players taunted the obnoxious Cameron Crazies afterward and then headed to Franklin Street to celebrate with the Tar Heel faithful. Another consequence emerged slightly later: UNC climbed three spots to seventh in the latest NET rankings.

If the NCAA Tournament was seeded solely based on NET numbers, North Carolina would be a 2 seed. The Tar Heels are playing every bit like a top seed right now, though, winning six straight games and rounding into tournament form.

With projected 1 seed Arizona losing Saturday night to Southern Cal, you could make a strong case for UNC moving up to a top seed – while the Wildcats move down to a two.

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Duke player’s ‘plan’ vs. UNC goes wrong this season

UNC largely dominated Duke on Saturday night in an 84-79 victory, spoiling the plans of many Blue Devil players and fans in the process.

If you’re a UNC basketball player, there’s no better feeling than suiting up against your greatest archrival – Duke.

The same thing can be said for the Blue Devils, who undoubtedly circle both Tar Heel matchups on the calendar.

This rivalry has been around since the early 1900s, meaning there is no shortage of big moments or dramatic players. Trash talk is imminent during rivalry week: Guys seemingly always guarantee little wins or call the other school its little brother.

One recent trash talk example didn’t necessarily work out for one Duke player. Jared McCain, the star Blue Devil guard who has gained national attention for wearing painted fingernails, said his plan all season was to sweep UNC.

When an opposing player talks about how excited he to beat North Carolina – and it doesn’t work out – there’s a little extra sense of gratification in Tar Heel Nation. McCain isn’t anywhere close to the true villain status of Kyle Filipowski, but it still feels nice knowing his plan didn’t work out.

The Tar Heels’ plan was to beat Duke on Saturday night in Cameroon Indoor Stadium, which worked to a T. Not only was it a massive rivalry victory (84-79) that clinched a regular-season sweep – just a year after getting swept, but it also clinched UNC’s first outright regular-season ACC title since 2016.

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Tar Heels sweep Duke, clinch ACC regular-season title behind Cormac Ryan’s huge night

It’s always a sweet night when UNC beats Duke. The Tar Heels did that Saturday – IN Durham – and clinched the ACC Regular Season title.

For the first time since 2019, the UNC men’s basketball team clinched the regular-season ACC Title outright.

And to make it sweeter, they did so against Duke – inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Behind a career performance for Cormac Ryan, who forever etched his name into the storied Tobacco Road Rivalry with a 31-point performance, North Carolina downed the hated Blue Devils by an 84-79 mark.

After getting swept last year by Duke, the Tar Heels (27-6, 18-3) won both matchups this season – and in dominant fashion. Outside of the first 36 seconds of the Feb. 3 UNC-Duke battle, North Carolina NEVER trailed in the rivalry series this year.

Just like Round One, the Tar Heels bolted out to a massive lead in the first half that stretched to as many as 15 points. Cormac Ryan hit a couple of quick threes and played a consistent game throughout, leading all scorers with 31 points.

The Blue Devils then began to climb back in during the second, just like every rivalry clash. They came out of the locker room firing and took advantage of several UNC defensive lapses, particularly behind the play of tripster Kyle Filipowski.

North Carolina made the necessary adjustments and started making shots, such as Elliot Cadeau’s heave with the shot clock expiring late in the game. Tar Heel Nation gritted its teeth as Duke made things interesting in the final seconds, but North Carolina wasn’t going to be denied a chance to finish the sweep of its biggest rival – IN Durham.

The final buzzer sounded, the Tar Heels taunted the Cameron Crazies and walked off the floor ACC Champions.

LOOK: Kyle Filipowski channels inner Grayson Allen with trip during UNC-Duke game

Duke standout Kyle Filipowski appeared to trip Harrison Ingram during Saturday’s game against the UNC Basketball program.

Kyle Filipowski was the talk of college basketball a few weeks ago when it looked like he was hurt during a court storm following Duke’s loss at Wake Forest. 

Since then, he returned and hasn’t missed a game as Duke is playing some of their best basketball of the season. But it looks like he will be in the news again, well maybe.

During the first half of Saturday’s game against North Carolina, Filipowski went to the floor and appeared to trip Harrison Ingram as he was running down the floor. There was no foul called and no review of the play.

Watch the play here:

Duke went on a mini-run to cut into UNC’s double-digit lead at the time.

Meanwhile, Ingram tried to plead with the refs during a timeout but it was too late. The two teams are playing with the Atlantic Coast Conference title on the line. A UNC win means it earns the title outright. A Duke win means the two teams share it.

It also has implications on ACC Tournament seeding next week in Washington D.C.

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Duke guard ruled out for rematch against UNC

Duke basketball guard Caleb Foster will miss Saturday’s rematch against the Tar Heels with a lower leg injury.

The North Carolina and Duke rivalry continues on Saturday night in Durham with the Blue Devils looking to win a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title. On the other side, North Carolina is hoping to win the title outright with a win and sweep their hated rival.

When the two teams do hit the court on Saturday night, Duke will be without a talented freshman guard.

Head coach John Scheyer ruled out freshman Caleb Foster for the game as he continues to deal with a lower leg injury. Foster hurt his right leg in the Blue Devils’ loss to Wake Forest two weeks back and has been sidelined since.

“He can’t go tomorrow,” said Scheyer during his press conference ahead of the game. “Yeah, so, it’s not there yet.”

Foster has missed the last three games and has been in a walking boot dealing with the injury.

The freshman is averaging 7.7 points per game and shot 40 percent from the three-point line this season. He played 19 minutes coming off the bench in the first game between the two teams.

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ESPN ‘College GameDay’ crew makes predictions for UNC-Duke rematch

Here is who College GameDay picked for Saturday’s matchup between North Carolina and Duke in Durham.

Saturday night marks the regular-season finale for North Carolina and Duke as they renew the rivalry in Durham. In February, North Carolina beat Duke in Chapel Hill to gain its grip on first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

But when the two teams meet on Saturday, the regular-season title will be on the line.

The Tar Heels have a share of the regular-season title no matter what, and a win would give it to them outright. A win by Duke means the two teams share the title and the regular-season series is split.

Before we get ready for Saturday’s tip, ESPN’s “College GameDay” was in Durham for the pregame show. As is tradition, the crew made its picks for the game.

All three analysts who made picks, Seth Greenberg, Andraya Carter and Jay Williams, picked Duke to win. Jay Bilas did not make a prediction because he is calling the game for ESPN.

Williams added a little spice to his prediction by saying that sometimes he needs to take the analyst part out of it and that “We (Duke) are about to kick their ass tonight.”

That drew a loud cheer from the fans in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Both Williams and Greenberg picked Duke last time the two teams met while Carter picked the Tar Heels.

Now it’s up to UNC to prove them all wrong.

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Duke’s Jared McCain adds fuel to fire ahead of UNC-Duke rematch

There’s no shortage of trash talk in the UNC-Duke rivalry. Check out what exactly Duke guard Jared McCain said ahead of Saturday’s bash.

Saturday, Feb. 3 was a very happy day in Chapel Hill, NC.

It was Round 1 of UNC-Duke, the greatest rivalry in all of sports. That February matchup pitted two of the ACC’s best teams against each other, with the winner possibly going a long way to determine the conference’s regular-season champion.

Largely from opening tip, North Carolina overpowered the Blue Devils in a 93-84 victory. The ACC-leading Tar Heels (24-6, 16-3) shot an even 50% from the field, led by a much-needed breakout game from star center Armando Bacot.

On Saturday, March 9, the storied matchup returns to Durham for Duke’s (24-6, 15-4) senior day. While all eyes will be on the Blue Devils’ four seniors pregame, this game will decide whether UNC wins the ACC’s outright regular-season title – or shares it with Duke.

The Tobacco Road Rivalry wouldn’t be what it is today without a little trash talk, some of which Duke freshman guard Jared McCain is providing ahead of Saturday’s rematch.

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This is far from the worst players have said ahead of UNC-Duke, but I’m sure it’ll add a little extra motivation for the Tar Heels. McCain is averaging 13.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while shooting nearly 46 percent for the Blue Devils, include a 16-point, 5-rebound outing in Raleigh on Monday.

North Carolina is riding a five-game winning streak. Its most recent victory was a 33-point drubbing of Notre Dame on Tuesday night. The Blue Devils have absolutely dominated Louisville, UVA and NC State in consecutive matchups, breaking away from the Wolfpack late.

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ESPN analysts favor Duke to win ACC Tournament over North Carolina

Four ESPN analysts make their prediction for the ACC Tournament and only one predicts the UNC Basketball program to win it.

North Carolina and Duke will renew their rivalry on Saturday night in Durham with the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title on the line.

After beating Notre Dame, the Tar Heels clinched at least a share of the ACC regular season title. But they can still win it outright by beating Duke on Saturday night. A win by the Blue Devils would mean the two teams will share the title going into the ACC Tournament.

But before they meet, four ESPN analysts made their predictions for the upcoming ACC Tournament. Of the four, only one picked North Carolina to win the ACC Tournament, with the rest picking Duke.

Jeff Borzello, Myron Medcalf, and John Gasaway all picked the Blue Devils, with Lunardi being the solo UNC pick:

Why Duke will win: The Blue Devils have woken up since losing in Chapel Hill on Feb. 3, winning seven of eight. (The lone loss came in the infamous court-storm game at Wake Forest.) They’ve bought in on the defensive end, holding six of those eight opponents to fewer than one point per possession — and they’re really starting to shoot the ball effectively, making double-digit 3s in four of the past five games. — Borzello

Why North Carolina will win: One year after the colossal disappointment of missing the NCAA tournament as the preseason No. 1 team, the Tar Heels are back with a vengeance. The inside-outside duo of RJ Davis and Armando Bacot is as good as any in the country, and let’s not forget their Final Four experience just two years ago. The best is yet to come for North Carolina. — Lunardi

There will be bragging rights and an outright tile in play for the Tar Heels on Saturday but the bigger picture remains in view with the NCAA Tournament.

And if UNC wants any chance at a No. 1 seed, they are going to have to finish strong and win the ACC Tournament as well.

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Tar Heels stand pat in latest NET rankings after huge win over Duke

A loss to Georgia Tech hurt, but a huge win over Duke helped the UNC men’s basketball program big-time. Where is UNC in the NET rankings?

It feels like Christmas morning in Chapel Hill right now.

Why, might you ask?

The UNC men’s basketball team is fresh off an important, 93-84 victory over arch-rival Duke (16-5, 7-3) on Saturday evening, a game in which UNC (18-4, 10-1) largely dominated throughout. The Blue Devils made it close late, cutting their deficit to single digits in the final two minutes, only for North Carolina star Armando Bacot to later cement the win with a thunderous dunk.

With their victory, the Tar Heels extended their ACC lead to two games. If Duke had won last night, it’d only be trailing UNC by half-a-game.

The NET rankings also updated after games yesterday, with North Carolina staying put at ninth.

Losing to Georgia Tech on Tuesday certainly hurt UNC’s spot in the NET rankings, but Saturday’s win against the Blue Devils likely kept UNC in the Top 10.

North Carolina has four winnable games coming up – Clemson (Tuesday, Feb. 6), Miami (Saturday, Feb. 10), Syracuse (Tuesday, Feb. 13) and Virginia Tech (Saturday, Feb. 17) – before heading to UVA on Saturday, Feb. 24 for a showdown between the ACC’s top two teams.

Losing any of their first four upcoming games would likely further hurt the Tar Heels in the NET rankings, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

If UNC plays like it did Saturday, I smell another winning streak incoming.

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