What’s there to say about this game, it’s once again #1 seed North Carolina (26-6) against #2 seed Duke (29-4), it’s two Top 10 teams, the two teams are basically the cream of the cream when it comes to the Atlantic Coast Conference. It’s arc rivals, 8.5 miles apart, going at it for the third time in a season, with both having a decisive win and a decisive loss on their resume. It’s a young team waiting to prove they are who we thought they could be, it’s a veteran team that might be going for their last hurrah as a unit. It’s two teams that have had unexpected injuries/departures and have been able to overcome that. It’s UNC/Duke and it’s the best rivalry in the game, we are just lucky to be fans and be able to watch it!
This game basically comes down to one factor from each side. For the Tar Heels can they come out of the box and play like they did against their arc rivals at the Dean Dome and like they have done in the last parts of the first two games. For the Blue Devils it’s going to come down to Nolan Smith being healthy after playing on his toe and Kyle Singler stepping up his game. In other words, the winner of this game will be determined by who does what they are supposed to more frequently than the other. Does that sound like a cop out? Maybe, but it’s also the reality in this game.
Both teams are running pretty low on man power and will go eight deep. Both teams have their go to guys and both teams have had ups and downs in the year. UNC knows it can beat Duke at home, the same can be said for the Blue Devils, now they will be on a neutral court, with probably the crowd being 50/50 split on who they want, it all means it’s going to come down to who wants it more. If we go man per man you have to believe it’s Harrison Barnes who is showing us all that he wants it as bad as it can get. As a team it might be Duke making that case. But when these two teams meet all those things go out the proverbial window and it’s all about those five young men and that court, they all want to win this game, and I am pretty sure they will all will show that each second that they are out on the court playing.
In the end it’s going to come down to this: if North Carolina wants to win this game they can not get themselves into a deep hole. Also, they have to be able to pound it inside, because having the Plumlee’s on the bench is always going to be an advantage. On the defensive end they have to realize that Smith will create his points, Singler might get some as well, but they can not make any other Blue Devil a superstar today. If all of that happens then I think we can say that North Carolina is not just the regular season champ, but also the post season tournament champion as well.
That is all easy to type, to execute is going to be harder, since this is for probably a number one seed in next week’s tournament. And while I doubt many Tar Heels thought they would be getting something like that this season, in Durham the expectation was probably that they not only be a number one, but the best of the four as well. What could be the x factor in all of this? Another freshman, Kendall Marshall. If he steps back up against Duke like he did in Chapel Hill this could change the whole tone of the game and make it a lot easier for the rest of the team to find a way to do their jobs. I think he is going to have a good game, especially if Nolan Smith isn’t at 100%. However, having said all of this I think this game is going to be one that isn’t going to go the Heels’ way and they will come home in second place and be a second seed in the Big Dance. Final score: 81 to 77.
Original Story:
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