By R.L. Bynum
DURHAM — Duke senior Jeremy Roach has played rival North Carolina seven times, but his most memorable game against the Tar Heels isn’t the one you would guess.
The Blue Devils are 3–4 against Carolina during his time at Duke, and he scored 20 points last season when they knocked off the Tar Heels 63–57 on Feb. 4 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
But that’s not the one that tops his list. It’s the 81–77 loss to UNC in the 2022 Final Four that ended Mike Krzyzewski’s coaching career and was soul-crushing for Blue Devils fans.
“All the matches are memorable,” Roach said at a press conference Thursday ahead of the 6:30 p.m. Saturday clash between No. 3 North Carolina (17–4, 9–1 ACC) and No. 7 Duke (16–4, 7–2) at the Smith Center. “Obviously, the Final Four game, just being in that moment, was definitely special and surreal.”
Not only did Duke lose, but Roach was also 2 of 11 from the floor and missed all five 3-point attempts with eight points, although he did have six rebounds and a team-high six assists.
“Playing against them in the Final Four — definitely you don’t picture that coming into the beginning of season,” Roach said. “But just playing them in the Final Four was definitely probably the most memorable for sure.”
Roach is averaging 13.9 points, 3.9 assists, 2.3 rebounds and a team-high 1.3 steals, and scored 16 points in Duke’s 77–67 victory Monday at Virginia Tech.
He says he knows RJ Davis and Armando Bacot well and looks forward to another battle with them on Saturday night.
“I’ve known those two guys forever, but stepping in between those lines with those guys is always competition; it’s always a battle,” Roach said. “You always want to play against people like that because the stakes are so high, especially in this rivalry.”
The stakes won’t be as high as that April evening at the Superdome in New Orleans, but Roach loves the battles with Duke’s rival.
“Obviously, it’s been one of the best rivalries in all of sports,” Roach said. “It doesn’t matter top-ranked, not top-ranked, it’s always gonna be a bloodbath every time we step across those lines. I’m just excited to even compete in this rivalry. It’s gonna be a crazy matchup on Saturday, and I can’t wait for it.”
Carolina fans can only hope the game produces the same sort of memories as Roach’s most memorable UNC-Duke game.
Photo courtesy of the ACC
tarheeltribune.com 
