By R.L. Bynum
No. 4 Duke (21–1, 10–0 ACC) at No. 14 North Carolina (18–4, 5–3)
When: 6:30 Saturday
Line: Duke -5½
Over/under:150½
Moneylines: Duke -280; UNC +225
Officials: Bill Covington Jr., Ron Groover and Brian O’Connell
TV: ESPN: Dan Shulman play-by-play, Jay Bilas analyst, Kris Budden sideline reporter
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network (affiliates list; streams on the Varsity Network app); Jones Angell play-by-play, Tyler Hansbrough analyst
ESPN “College GameDay” schedule on Saturday:
— 8:30 a.m.: Smith Center open at Gate C for students.
— 8:45 a.m.: Smith Center open at Gate D for non-students.
— 10 a.m.–noon: Broadcast
Coaches: Jon Scheyer (110–23 in fourth season, all at Duke; fastest in ACC history to 100 wins, taking 122 games; 5–2 vs. UNC) and Hubert Davis (119–49 overall and 63–27 in the ACC in fifth season, all at UNC; was 228–95 in nine seasons as a UNC assistant coach; 4–6 vs. Duke)
Series: UNC leads 145–117 (see list below), including 21–19 in the Smith Center, but Duke won all three meetings last season and has a 54–46 edge in the last 100 games. Total points: UNC 17,341 (65.4 per game), Duke 17,074 (64.4). This is the 88th meeting with both ranked in the AP poll.
Quad designation: Duke’s NET ranking is 3, making this UNC’s second home Quad 1 game after beating Kansas 87–74 on Nov. 7.
Common opponents:
— Both beat Kansas: UNC 87–74 with Darryn Peterson playing for the Jayhawks on Nov. 7 and Duke 78–66 on Nov. 18 at Madison Square Garden with Peterson missing that game.
— UNC lost to Michigan State 74–58 in Fort Myers, Fla., on Nov. 27, and Duke won 66–60 at Michigan State on Dec. 6.
— Both beat Georgia Tech: Duke 85–79 at home on Dec. 31, UNC 91–75 at Georgia Tech on Jan. 31.
— Both beat Florida State: UNC 79–66 at home on Dec. 30, Duke 91–87 at Florida State on Jan. 3.
— Carolina lost Jan. 3 at SMU 75–62 with Boopie Miller scoring 27 points, and Duke won at home against SMU 82–75 at home on Jan. 10 with Miller missing that game.
— UNC lost both games on its Bay Area trip, and Duke won both games. The Tar Heels lost to Stanford 95–90 on Jan. 14, and Duke won 80–50 on Jan. 17. Duke beat California 71–56 on Jan. 14, and Carolina lost 84–78 on Jan. 17.
— Both beat Wake Forest at home: UNC 87–84 on Jan. 10 and Duke 90–69 on Jan. 24.
Duke resume
— 3 NET ranking
— 9–1 in Quad 1 games: wins at Michigan State, California, Virginia Tech and Louisville; neutral-site wins vs. Kansas, Texas and Arkansas; home wins vs. Florida and Louisville; neutral-site loss to Texas Tech
— 4–0 in Quad 2 game: home wins vs. SMU and Wake Forest; road wins over Stanford and Florida State
— 2–0 in Quad 3 games: home wins vs. Georgia Tech and Boston College
— 6–0 in Quad 4 games: home wins vs. Lipscomb, Indiana State, Howard, Western Carolina and Niagara; road win over Army.
— 6–1 against teams currently ranked (beat another in an exhibition game)
Duke results (current rankings listed)
Oct. 21: 96–71 exhibition win vs. UCF
Oct. 26: 83–76 exhibition win at No. 25 Tennessee
Nov. 4: 75–60 win vs. Texas in Charlotte
Nov. 8: 95–54 win vs. Western Carolina
Nov. 11: 114–59 win at Army
Nov. 14: 100–62 win vs. Indiana State
Nov. 18: 78–66 win vs. No. 11 Kansas in Madison Square Garden
Nov. 21: 100–42 win vs. Niagara
Nov. 23: 93–56 win vs Howard
Nov. 27: 80–71 win vs. No. 21 Arkansas in Chicago
Dec. 2: 67–66 win vs. No. 17 Florida
Dec. 6: 66–60 win at No. 10 Michigan State
Dec. 16: 82–81 loss to No. 13 Texas Tech in Madison Square Garden
Dec. 31: 85–79 win vs. Georgia Tech
Jan. 3: 91–67 win at Florida State
Jan. 6: 84–73 win at No. 24 Louisville
Jan. 10: 82–75 win vs. SMU
Jan. 14: 71–56 win at California
Jan. 17: 80–50 win at Stanford
Jan. 24: 90–69 win vs. Wake Forest
Jan. 26: 83–52 win vs. No. 24 Louisville
Jan. 31: 72–58 win at Virginia Tech
Tuesday: 67–49 win vs. Boston College
Most common Duke starting lineup
No. 21 | F | Cameron Boozer (top photo) | 6–9, 250 | freshman
— ACC-leading 23.3 points (No. 2 in the country), 58.3 FG% (4th in the ACC), 37.5 3P%, 75.8 FT%, ACC-leading 9.9 rebounds; team-high 1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio; totals of a team-leading 89 assists, 49 turnovers, 12 blocks, 42 steals
— The Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year is the son of Carlos Boozer, a two-time NBA All-Star and 2001 national champion at Duke, and the brother of freshman teammate Cayden.
— Exceptional post scorer with elite strength, touch and footwork; uses broad shoulders and pacing to carve out space and finish, even without elite burst; capable of face-up scoring, short-roll midrange jumpers, 3-pointers and a variety of shots around the rim
— Is the only Division I player in the last 30 seasons to collect at least 250 points, 100 rebounds and 40 assists through his first 11 career games.
— Became the first ACC player with at least 100 points, 50 rebounds and 20 assists in a five-game span since Craig Smith of Boston College in March 2006.
— Consensus projections have him as a top-three pick in the NBA draft
— Scored a season-high 35 points on Nov. 14 against Indiana State (season-high game score of 41.0; highlights below) and Nov. 27 vs. No. 21 Arkansas (highlights below), becoming the first Duke freshman with multiple 35-point games
— Has scored at least 25 points 10 times, including an ACC-season-high 32 against Wake Forest on Jan. 24.
— Has 11 double-doubles, including 18 points and 15 rebounds in the win at Michigan State, and 19 points, 12 rebounds Tuesday against Boston College (highlights below)
— Dished out nine assists at Florida State, the most this season by a Duke player since Tyrese Proctor had 10 against Pittsburgh in the 2023 ACC tournament
— Has multiple 3-pointers in 11 games, with a season-high four against Western Carolina.
No. 3 | W | Isaiah Evans | 6–6, 180 | sophomore
— 14.2 points, 41.5 FG%, 33.5 3P%, team-high 88.0 FT%, 3.1 rebounds; totals of 27 assists, 25 turnovers, 20 blocks, 19 steals
— Produced career-highs of 28 points, six 3-pointers on Jan. 3 at Florida State (highlights below); also scored 6 3-pointers on Dec. 4, 2024, against Auburn.
— Blocked a career-high five shots and scored the game-winning 3-pointer on Dec. 2 against Florida
— Collected 23 points and a career-high four steals on Jan. 6 against Louisville (highlights below)
— Has multiple 3-pointers in 14 games this season and at least four in seven games
No. 21 | C | Patrick Ngongba (pronounced “GUNG-buh”) II | 6–11, 250 | sophomore
— 11.0 points, 62.2 FG%, 29.2 3P%, 68.4 FT%, 6.2 rebounds; totals of 44 assists, 32 turnovers, 29 blocks (tied for eighth in the ACC wiht 1.3 per game), 15 steals
— Scored career-high 17 points (with 10 free throws) against Niagara on Nov. 21 and against SMU (highlights below) on Jan. 10.
— Had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds against Lipscomb
— Parents played at George Washington. His mom, Tajama, is the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,134 points and played two seasons in the WNBA.
No. 1 | PG | Caleb Foster | 6–5, 205 | junior
— 8.7 points, 45.5 FG%, 38.6 3P%, 55.6 FT%, 3.6 rebounds; totals of 54 assists, 26 turnovers, 2 blocks, 7 steals
— Scored career-high 20 points at Louisville on Jan. 6 (highlights below)
— Has multiple 3-pointers in eight games, including three at Florida State and vs. Georgia Tech
— Has career-highs of seven rebounds at Virginia Tech and eight assists against Arkansas
— Longest tenured Blue Devil with 87 games played and 43 starts.
No. 7 | W | Dame Sarr (pronounced “DAH-may sahr”) | 6–8, 190 | freshman
— 5.6 points, 37.7 FG%, 30.0 3P%, 55.0 FT%, 3.2 rebounds; totals of 19 assists, 26 turnovers, 6 blocks, 23 steals
— A native of Oberzo, Italy, he played for FC Barcelona for the last two seasons
— Scored season-high 19 points at Army (highlights below), and an ACC-season-high 13 at Florida State.
— Had the primary defensive assignment on Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie, holding him to nine points
— Has multiple steals in seven games, including four against SMU and against Niagara.
— Has multiple 3-pointers in six games, including three against Army, Florida State and Texas Tech
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More on Tar Heels
— With ‘circus’ coming, Davis tries to keep UNC focused ahead of clash with Duke
— Wilson grounded but excited for first UNC-Duke game, ready to be ‘villain’
— Scheyer says that UNC’s size, length present challenges
— UNC’s defensive adjustments have slowed perimeter production
— Davis says late collapse after building big lead ‘unacceptable’
UNC’s keys to the game
Win the rebounding battle — This matchup is usually decided by effort plays. UNC has to control the glass, especially offensive rebounds. Extra possessions in a rivalry game are back-breakers.
Take care of the ball — Duke will pressure and run. UNC can’t get sloppy with turnovers because live-ball giveaways will turn into instant highlight dunks the other way.
Play fast — Carolina wants to play fast and get out in transition. If Duke forces a slower half-court game, it becomes harder for Carolina to find easy buckets.
Guard 3-point shooters — The Tar Heels haven’t done that in many games this season. Both teams can get hot, but Duke especially thrives when their shooters get rhythm. UNC has to close out hard and avoid giving up wide-open shots. The Tar Heels have done that at times with Henri Veesaar in drop coverage.
Get paint touches to generate free throws — This rivalry often gets physical. UNC needs to attack the rim, get to the line, and not settle for jumpers as it did Saturday at Georgia Tech.
Survive the emotional swings — With the insane atmosphere that always surrounds these games, runs will happen. The keys are staying composed and working to flip the momentum.
Defend Cameron Boozer well without fouling — UNC can’t afford Caleb Wilson or Henri Veesaar to get in foul trouble like Armando Bacot did trying to guard Paolo Banchero in 2022. The assignment may often fall to Jarin Stevenson.
Win the backcourt battle — Guard play hasn’t been a strength for either team outside of the play of Seth Trimble and Isaiah Evans. How many other guards play well could make a huge difference, whether it’s Caleb Foster, Cayden Boozer, Derek Dixon or Luka Bogavac.
Duke ACC statistical ranks
| Rank | Statistic | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Scoring defense | 63.6 |
| 1st | Scoring margin | +20.5 |
| 1st | Opponent FG% | 39.0% |
| 1st | Rebounding margin | +9.8 |
| 2nd | FG% | 49.9% |
| 2nd | Opponent rebounding | 30.1 |
| 4th | Rebounding | 39.9 |
| 4th | Defensive rebounding | 27.7 |
| 4th | Assist‑to‑turnover ratio | 1.53 |
| 4th | Steals per game | 8.41 |
| 5th | Turnover margin | +2.32 |
| 5th | Scoring offense | 84.1 |
| 5th | Offensive rebounding | 12.2 |
| 5th | Assists per game | 17.09 |
| 6th | Blocks per game | 3.73 |
| 7th | Opponent 3P % | 30.8% |
| 8th | 3‑pointers per game | 8.8 |
| 9th | Free‑throw percentage | 71.6% |
| 15th | 3‑point percentage | 33.8% |
Notes
— Duke lost its entire starting five after losing to Houston in a national semifinal, with multiple key players leaving for the NBA draft: Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, Khaman Maluach, Sion James and Tyrese Proctor, but no players entered the transfer portal.
— The Blue Devils welcomed the No. 1 freshman class in the country (Cameron Boozer, the No. 3 player in the class; brother Cayden Boozer, No. 16; Nikolas Khamenia, No. 15; and Sebastian Wilkins, No. 25; and Dame Sarr) to join key returnees Isaiah Evans, Caleb Foster, Maliq Brown, Darren Harris and Patrick Ngongba II.
— UNC’s Caleb Wilson was the No. 5 player in the class, and will face the third player ahead of him this season in Cameron Boozer. Wilson faced No. 1 A.J. Dybantsa of BYU in an exhibition game on Oct. 23 and No. 2 Darryn Peterson of Kansas on Nov. 7. In the Tar Heels’ 78–76 loss to BYU in Salt Lake City, Wilson had 22 points and 10 rebounds while Dybantsa had 18 points and eight rebounds. In UNC’s 87–74 home win over Kansas, Wilson had 24 points, seven rebounds and four assists while Peterson had 22 points, three rebounds and three assists.
— Wilson and Cameron Boozer are the only players in the top five in the ACC in scoring, rebounding, field-goal percentage and double-doubles.
— According to KenPom, Duke (79.4 inches) and UNC (79.3 inches) are two of the three tallest teams in the country.
— The Blue Devils are one of two teams ranked in the top five nationally in both offensive efficiency (127.0,
5th) and defensive efficiency (91.2, 4th) ratings, according to KenPom.
— The Tar Heels commit the fewest fouls (14.9) and turnovers (9.5) per game in the ACC, leading the league. They are 12th nationally in defensive rebounding, averaging 28.4 per game.
— Duke averages 18.9 deflections per game, led by 5.5 from 6–9, 225-pound senior forward Maliq Brown, who has the best steal percentage (5.16%) in the ACC, which is sixth in the country (percentage of possessions recording a steal while on the court).
— The Blue Devils have scored 3-pointers in 1,286 consecutive games, the longest streak in the country (UNLV is second at 1,281), last going without a 3-pointer against Hawaii on Dec. 30, 1989.
— UNC is 11th in the country in assist/turnover ratio, 19th in offensive efficiency, 19th in turnovers, 38th in assists per
game, 45th in field goal percentage and 49th in effective field goal percentage.
— This game marks the start of the second half of Carolina’s ACC schedule. The remaining opponents are 69–29 (67.4%).
— Wilson leads the country with 66 dunks, and Henri Veesaar is seventh with 45. The duo has led the team in scoring 20 times and in rebounding 20 times, accounting for 44.3% of UNC’s scoring, 47.1% of its rebounding, and 47% of its field goals.
— Wilson has already set the record for 20-point games by a freshman with 16, and is two double-doubles away from tying Antawn Jamison’s freshman program record of 13.
— Veesaar leads the team in field-goal percentage (62.4%) and 3-point percentage (45.9%), and is second in scoring (16.8), rebounding (9.0) and blocks (28).
— UNC’s 8.73 3-pointers per game and 25.36 3-point attempts per game are easily greater than the school records of 8.67 and 23.94 by the 2018–19 team.
UNC season statistics
All games
ACC games
Duke season statistics
All games
ACC games
Statistical comparison
All games/ACC games
| Category | UNC | Duke |
| NET ranking | 27 | 3 |
| Points per game | 83.1/85.7 | 84.1/80.5 |
| Scoring defense | 70.6/80.8 | 63.6/64.8 |
| Scoring margin | +12.5/+4.9 | +20.5/+15.7 |
| FG% | 48.1/48.8 | 49.9/49.4 |
| 3P FG % | 34.4/35.5 | 33.8/31.6 |
| 3P per game | 8.7/9.1 | 8.8/7.5 |
| FT% | 68.4/68.3 | 71.6/73.4 |
| FG% defense | 40.3/46.3 | 39.0/42.6 |
| 3FG% defense | 34.1/41.4 | 30.8/35.0 |
| Opponent 3P/game | 8.1/11.0 | 8.1/9.1 |
| Rebounds per game | 40.0/36.8 | 39.9/37.2 |
| Offensive rebounds/game | 11.7/11.1 | 12.2/12.4 |
| Rebounding margin | +6.3/+3.2 | +9.8/+8.9 |
| Assists per game | 17.2/17.1 | 17.1/15.3 |
| Turnovers per game | 9.5/8.8 | 11.1/11.0 |
| Assist-to-turnover ratio | 1.8/1.9 | 1.5/1.4 |
| Turnovers forced/game | 9.7/9.8 | 13.5/13.7 |
KenPom comparison
| Category | UNC | Duke |
| Overall ranking | 30 | 2 |
| Offensive efficiency | 123.5 (18) | 126.5 (5) |
| Defensive efficiency | 101.9 (56) | 90.9 (3) |
| Possession length | 16.4 (68) | 16.5 (76) |
| Effective FG% | 55.3 (42) | 57.4 (15) |
| Turnover % | 13.7 (14) | 16.2 (129) |
| Offensive rebound % | 33.9 (81) | 37.4 (17) |
| FTA/FGA | 40.4 (64) | 40.9 (59) |
| 3FGA/FGA | 42.2 (128) | 44.5 (85) |
| Assist/FG% | 59.4 (39) | 58.7 (51) |
| Strength of schedule | 65 | 18 |
Series: UNC 145, Duke 120
| Team | League | Overall | NET* | WAB* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 1 Duke | 17–1 | 29–2 | 1 | 2 |
| No. 10 Virginia | 15–3 | 27–4 | 13 | 11 |
| Miami | 13–5 | 24–7 | 32 | 28 |
| No. 19 North Carolina | 12–6 | 24–7 | 23 | 19 |
| Clemson | 12–6 | 22–9 | 36 | 33 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 11–7 | 22–9 | 14 | 25 |
| N.C. State | 10–8 | 19–12 | 35 | 45 |
| Florida State | 10–8 | 17–14 | 69 | 74 |
| California | 9–9 | 21–10 | 65 | 49 |
| Stanford | 9–9 | 20–11 | 59 | 51 |
| SMU | 8–10 | 19–12 | 39 | 50 |
| Virginia Tech | 8–10 | 19–12 | 53 | 52 |
| Wake Forest | 7–11 | 16–15 | 64 | 81 |
| Syracuse | 6–12 | 15–16 | 83 | 92 |
| Pittsburgh | 5–13 | 12–19 | 109 | 146 |
| Notre Dame | 4–14 | 13–18 | 93 | 121 |
| Boston College | 4–14 | 11–20 | 159 | 217 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–16 | 11–20 | 167 | 210 |
* — Through Sunday games
Saturday’s results
No. 1 Duke 76, No. 19 North Carolina 61
Boston College 77, Notre Dame 69
Clemson 79, Georgia Tech 76
No. 24 Louisville 92, Miami 89
Florida State 92, SMU 78
Stanford 85, N.C. State 84
Wake Forest 80, California 73
Pittsburgh 71, Syracuse 69, OT
END OF REGULAR SEASON
ACC tournament
Spectrum Center | Charlotte
Tuesday through Saturday
| Date | Month/day | Scores | Opponent/event (current ranks) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. BYU in SLC | Exhib. |
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 95–53 | vs. Winston-Salem St. | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 94–54 | vs. Central Arkansas | 1–0 |
| 7 | Friday | W, 87–74 | vs. No. 17 Kansas | 2–0 |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 89–74 | vs. Radford | 3–0 |
| 14 | Friday | W, 97–53 | vs. N.C. Central | 4–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 73–61 | vs. Navy | 5–0 |
| Fort Myers Tip-Off | ||||
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 85–70 | vs. St. Bonaventure | 6–0 |
| 27 | Thursday | L, 74–58 | vs. No. 11 Michigan State | 6–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 67–64 | at Kentucky | 7–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 81–61 | vs. Georgetown | 8–1 |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 80–62 | vs. USC Upstate | 9–1 |
| 16 | Tuesday | W, 77–58 | vs. ETSU | 10–1 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 20 | Saturday | W, 71–70 | vs. Ohio State | 11–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | W, 99–51 | vs. East Carolina | 12–1 |
| 30 | Tuesday | W, 79–66 | vs. Florida State | 13–1, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | L, 97–83 | at SMU | 13–2, 1–1 |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 87–84 | vs. Wake Forest | 14–2, 2–1 |
| 14 | Wednesday | L, 95–90 | at Stanford | 14–3, 2–2 |
| 17 | Saturday | L, 84–78 | at California | 14–4, 2–3 |
| 21 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | vs. Notre Dame | 15–4, 3–3 |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 85–80 | at No. 9 Virginia | 16–4, 4–3 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 91–75 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 5–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 87–77 | vs. Syracuse | 18–4, 6–3 |
| 7 | Saturday | W, 71–68 | vs. No. 1 Duke | 19–4, 7–3 |
| 10 | Tuesday | L, 75–66 | at No. 25 Miami | 19–5, 7–4 |
| 14 | Saturday | W, 79–65 | vs. Pittsburgh | 20–5, 8–4 |
| 17 | Tuesday | L, 82–58 | at N.C. State | 20–6, 8–5 |
| 21 | Saturday | W, 77–64 | at Syracuse | 21–6, 9–5 |
| 23 | Monday | W, 77–74 | vs. Louisville | 22–6, 10–5 |
| 28 | Saturday | W, 89–82 | vs. Virginia Tech | 23–6, 11–5 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | W, 67–63 | vs. Clemson | 24–6, 12–5 |
| 7 | Saturday | L, 76–61 | at No. 1 Duke | 24–7, 12–6 |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte | |
| 12 | Thursday | L, 80–79 | Quarterfinals: vs. Clemson | 24–8 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 19 | Thursday | L, 82–78, OT | First round: vs. VCU in Greenville, S.C. | 24–9 |
Photo via goduke.com
