The college basketball world enjoyed a plethora of exciting games yesterday, but none more exciting that perhaps the Tobacco Road rivalry – UNC vs. Duke.
This game had all the hype surrounding it – both teams were Top 10 in the AP Poll, Top 2 in the ACC and featured a bunch of star power. Some could say Duke had the upper hand, winning its past two matchups in the Dean Dome, but there’s no doubt UNC is the better ballclub this year.
The Tar Heels pretty much dominated from the opening tip. Both rivals shot very similarly from the field (UNC 50%, Duke 50.7%) and were nearly even on the glass (UNC 35 rebounds, Duke 34), but it was North Carolina’s ball security that made the difference. UNC scored 10 points off turnovers in the first half – en route to building an 8-point halftime lead – complementing that with five turnovers throughout the game.
UNC and Duke won’t meet again until Saturday, March 9 in Cameron Indoor Stadium, meaning there’s a full month of basketball ahead.
North Carolina will now turn its attention to a reeling Clemson program, which just lost a 1-point heartbreaker against UVA yesterday. The Tigers (14-7, 4-6) were ranked when they hosted UNC during the first Saturday of 2024, but have struggled against conference opponents. Clemson has been competitive in several ACC losses (1-point defeats against Duke and UVA), so it makes you wonder if the Tigers are better than their record shows.
What do the Tar Heels, who just enjoyed double-doubles from Armando Bacot and Harrison Ingram, need to do for a season sweep of Clemson?