By R.L. Bynum
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — North Carolina and Duke have played 110 times, but never on a bigger stage and with stakes as high as they will be Friday.
It’s a product of the ACC getting eight teams into the field that the first NCAA tournament meeting between the rivals will take place in the Sweet 16, set for 2:30 p.m. ET Friday (ESPN) at Legacy Arena.
“I think the Duke-Carolina rivalry is so much bigger than me or this team, and that’s what makes it so fun,” UNC coach Courtney Banghart said.
No. 2-seed Duke (28–7) takes on No. 3-seed UNC (29–7) in the biggest game between the rival schools since the Tar Heels’ men’s basketball victory in the 2022 Final Four.
“It’s something super special,” graduate forward Alyssa Ustby said. “There’s not a lot of firsts that can be done at Carolina because it’s such a rich program with a lot of great history. So, we’re just excited for the matchup and to be in the Sweet 16 again.”
UNC is 6–2 when Ustby plays against Duke, which she did not do when the Blue Devils won 68–53 in Durham on Feb. 27, a game in which sophomore point guard Reniya Kelly was also out while nursing a right knee injury. With both playing in the first game in Chapel Hill on Jan. 9, the Tar Heels won 54–46 in overtime (see box scores below).
“I think it’s going to be cool to showcase on even a bigger stage what the Carolina-Duke rivalry is,” said Ustby, who missed four games after having surgery to repair a tear in the medial meniscus in her left knee. “Obviously, it’s always a gritty game. So, it’s something that’s going to be pretty cool to show the rest of the country.”
A matchup that you wouldn’t usually see until at least the Elite Eight comes in the regional finals, and Banghart said that’s hard to avoid.
“With these big conferences, that’s the only way,” Banghart said. “When the conferences were a lot smaller, you had four major or five major power conferences. It was a little bit easier to shuffle around. This is what you get with big conferences where there’s so many heavyweights. That’s fine to me. We’re a 3 seed. We’re playing a 2 seed, and all the 2 seeds are good, and all the 3 seeds are good. It doesn’t really matter who.”
The good part for both the No. 7-ranked Blue Devils and the No. 12-ranked Tar Heels is that neither team will have to do a lot of scouting after seeing each other twice during the regular season.
“You might have more familiarity, but familiarity doesn’t win games,” Banghart said. “I think from a prep standpoint, there’s a little bit more comfort, both sides, as well as players having more familiarity with rosters and things like that.”
Duke is riding high with an eight-game win streak that includes beating two Sweet 16 teams — No. 8-ranked Notre Dame and No. 9-ranked N.C. State — on its way to winning the ACC tournament title.
After ACC Rookie of the Year center Toby Fournier missed the Blue Devils’ second-round victory Sunday over Oregon with an illness, Duke coach Kara Lawson said that she would play Friday.
“It feels like it’s a really big deal for the guys that we’re playing them three times,” Lawson said. “It’s not something we’ve really talked about or worried about.”
It will likely be a low-scoring game, a familiar occurrence when these rivals meet, as two of the best defensive teams in the country create havoc. Winning could come down to which team makes the best decisions with the ball and avoids turnovers.
Kelly said that there were plenty of lessons to be learned from the first game she played and the second game she watched.
“I think we can attack them more,” she said. “I think we were so focused on their hedge that it got us out of rhythm on the basket to score. I think we’re going to attack that more this game.”
Coming off the second-round 58–47 victory over West Virginia, in which the Mountaineers brought plenty of similar defensive pressure, is probably helpful for UNC.
“West Virginia really set us up for success just because we need to get open and get the ball so we can run our offense and get down the court,” Kelly said. “Duke pressure isn’t the same as West Virginia, but it is similar. So, I think we will be very prepared for Duke pressure.”
NOTES — UNC held its first two tournament opponents under 36% shooting while forcing at least 15 turnovers in each game, the first ACC team to do that since Duke in 2006. Ustby is the second ACC player in the last 15 years to collect at least 20 points, seven rebounds, four steals, and three blocks in an NCAA tournament game. The other was Notre Dame’s Sonia Citron in the first round this season. … The ACC has had at least three Sweet 16 teams for 11 consecutive NCAA tournaments, the longest active streak, and is guaranteed at least one Elite Eight team for a 23rd straight season, also the longest active streak. … Carolina leads the series 56–54 after the teams split two regular-season meetings. … It’s the 19th Sweet 16 appearance in UNC program history. … UNC is a win away from its eighth Elite Eight appearance and first since 2014.
NCAA tournament
Birmingham Regional 2
Legacy Arena at BJCC
Friday’s regional semifinals
No. 2 Duke (28–7) vs. No. 3 North Carolina (29–7), 2:30, ESPN
No. 1 South Carolina (32–3) vs. No. 4 Maryland (25–7), 5 p.m., ESPN
Sunday’s regional championship
Semifinal winners, 1 p.m., ABC
Birmingham Regional 3
Legacy Arena at BJCC
Saturday’s regional semifinals
No. 2 TCU (33–3) vs. No. 3 Notre Dame (28–5), 1 p.m., ESPN
No. 1 Texas (33–3) vs. No. 5 Tennessee (24–9), 3:30, ABC
Monday’s regional championship
Semifinal winners, 8 p.m.
Spokane Regional 1
Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena
Friday’s regional semifinals
No. 2 N.C. State (28–6) vs. No. 3 LSU (30–5), 7:30, ESPN
No. 1 UCLA (32–2) vs. No. 5 Ole Miss (22–10), 10 p.m., ESPN
Sunday’s regional final
Semifinal winners, 9 p.m.
Spokane Regional 4
Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena
Saturday’s regional semifinals
No. 2 UConn (33–3) vs. No. 3 Oklahoma (27–7), 5:30, ESPN
No. 1 Southern Cal (30–3) vs. No. 5 Kansas St. (28–7), 8 p.m., ESPN
Monday’s regional championship
Semifinal winners, 9 p.m.
Final Four
Tampa, Fla. | Amalie Arena
Semifinals
Friday, April 4
Spokane regional winners, 7 or 9 p.m., ESPN
Birmingham regional winners, 7 or 9 p.m., ESPN
National championship
Sunday, April 6
Semifinal winners, 3 p.m.
Game 1: UNC 54, Duke 46, OT
Game 2: Duke 68, UNC 53
UNC results
| Date | Day/month | Score | Opponent/event (current rank) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November | ||||
| 4 | Monday | W, 83–53 | vs. Charleston Southern | 1–0 |
| 7 | Thursday | W, 77–50 | vs. UNCW | 2–0 |
| 12 | Tuesday | W, 66–47 | at N.C. A&T | 3–0 |
| 15 | Friday | L, 69–58 | vs. No. 3 UConn in Greensboro | 3–1 |
| Battle 4 Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas | ||||
| 23 | Saturday | W, 63–52 | Ball State | 4–1 |
| 24 | Sunday | W, 53–36 | Villanova | 5–1 |
| 25 | Monday | W, 69–39 | Indiana | 6–1 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 29 | Friday | W, 119–43 | vs. N.C. Central | 7–1 |
| December | ||||
| ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge | ||||
| 5 | Thursday | W, 72–53 | vs. No. 13 Kentucky | 8–1 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 8 | Sunday | W, 72–46 | vs. Coppin State | 9–1 |
| 11 | Wednesday | W, 80–56 | vs. UNCG | 10–1 |
| 15 | Sunday | L, 82–76 | vs. Georgia Tech | 10–2, 0–1 ACC |
| Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte | ||||
| 18 | Wednesday | W, 77–57 | vs. Florida | 11–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 21 | Saturday | W, 90–47 | vs. Norfolk State | 12–2 |
| ACC season | ||||
| 29 | Sunday | W, 69–60 | at Miami | 13–2, 1–1 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 5 | Sunday | L, 76–66 | vs. No. 8 Notre Dame | 13–3, 1–2 |
| 9 | Thursday | W, 53–46, OT | vs. No. 7 Duke | 14–3, 2–2 |
| 12 | Sunday | W, 80–67 | vs. Boston College | 15–3, 3–2 |
| 16 | Thursday | W, 64–33 | at SMU | 16–3, 4–2 |
| 19 | Sunday | W, 75–58 | at Pitt | 17–3, 5–2 |
| 23 | Thursday | W, 76–51 | vs. Wake Forest | 18–3, 6–2 |
| 26 | Sunday | L, 86–84 | vs. No. 22 Florida State | 18–4, 6–3 |
| 30 | Thursday | W, 65–52 | at California | 19–4, 7–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Sunday | W, 69–67 | at Stanford | 20–4, 8–3 |
| 9 | Sunday | W, 53–51 | at Clemson | 21–4, 9–3 |
| 13 | Thursday | W, 67–62 | vs. Virginia Tech | 22–4, 10–3 |
| 16 | Sunday | W, 66–65 | vs. No. 9 N.C. State | 23–4, 11–3 |
| 20 | Thursday | W, 68–58 | at Syracuse | 24–4, 12–3 |
| 23 | Sunday | W, 79–75 | at Louisville | 25–4, 13–3 |
| 27 | Thursday | L, 68–53 | at No. 7 Duke | 25–5, 13–4 |
| March | ||||
| 2 | Sunday | L, 78–75 | vs. Virginia | 25–6, 13–5 |
| ACC tournament Greensboro | ||||
| 6 | Thursday | W, 78–71 | Third round: Boston College | 26–6 |
| 7 | Friday | W, 60–56 | Quarterfinals: vs. No. 22 Florida State | 27–6 |
| 8 | Saturday | L, 66–55 | Semifinals: vs. No. 9 N.C. State | 27–7 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 22 | Saturday | W, 70–49 | First round in CH: vs. Oregon State | 28–7 |
| 24 | Monday | W, 58–47 | Second round in CH: vs. No. 16 West Virginia | 29–7 |
| 28 | Friday | L, 47–38 | Birmingham Regional 2 Sweet 16: vs. No. 7 Duke | 29–8 |
Photo courtesy of the ACC
tarheeltribune.com 