U8 timeout: Duke 34, UNC 13
Yes, yes, you read that correctly: Duke 34, UNC 13.
The rout is on in Durham as No. 2 Duke is putting on a show on both ends vs. rival North Carolina. Tar Heels just 5 of 15 shooting and already up to seven turnovers in this one.
Duke on the other hand getting everything it wants on both ends. It has converted nine points off forced turnovers, and shooting 11 of 19 from the field led by Cooper Flagg’s nine points.
Tyrese Proctor has eight points and Kon Knueppel has seven.
Former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski is here with his wife, Mickie. They’re seated on the baseline. Duke was rattling off the name of its notables who are here — such as ESPN’s Jay Bilas and Jay Williams — and then finished with Coach K, who got a loud, standing round of applause.
During the last TV break, Krzyzewski took photos with a few kids who came up to ask.
The Boozer twins, Cameron and Cayden, are also here. They’re seated behind the Duke bench. Carlos’ sons signed with the Blue Devils in November.
U12: Duke 25, UNC 8
No. 2 Duke has seized control of this one early in Durham with Cooper Flagg and Sion James leading the way for an early 17-point lead inside Cameron Indoor. Flagg has nine points on three field goal attempts as well as four assists, and Sion James has six points.
Flagg was the story entering the game and has been the story of the game thus far. He has yet to miss a shot from the floor and has scored or assisted on 18 of Duke’s 25 points.
U16 timeout: Duke 16, UNC 6
Cooper Flagg missed each of his first two free throw attempts of the night — nerves for his first UNC game? — but has otherwise been clearly the best player on the court. Flagg’s drilled two three-pointers, including the one that sent Duke into the first media timeout up 15-6, and has assisted on the rest of Duke’s field goals, firing a quick pass out of a double team cross-court to Tyrese Proctor.
There’s a consensus among our college basketball team on who will win this Duke-UNC game tonight.
Everyone on our staff picked the No. 2 ranked Blue Devils to win. However, most of us anticipate UNC will keep this one relatively close and within the number, which closed at UNC +13.5.
Here’s CBS Sports’ David Cobb on his pick — and mine — for this one.
North Carolina is erratic and flawed but won’t be lacking in talent or motivation. Much will be made — and rightfully so — about how the Tar Heels will try and contain Duke star Cooper Flagg. But the Blue Devils must also slow down a deep group of perimeter weapons for the Tar Heels. RJ Davis, Ian Jackson and Seth Trimble have each gone for 25+ points at least once this season and will be raring to go for this one. Look for UNC to produce enough offensive fireworks to keep it competitive. Pick: North Carolina +13.5 — Cobb
Let’s have some fun!
The Blue Devils’ starting five is ridiculous. Talented and tall, Duke has four former five-star recruiting prospects in its starting lineup. The outlier, Tulane Sion James, has turned into a terrific college point guard and one of the best portal gets of the last cycle.
Here’s the quick recruiting backstory on Duke’s starting five. A lot of players are going to get introduced to guys like Khaman Maluach tonight.
A product of the NBA’s Africa Academy, Khaman Maluach was pursued by the elite programs. Duke secured his first official visit last January and then had to hold on and fight as he took visits to three more blue bloods in Kansas, Kentucky and UCLA. Maluach also checked the G League Ignite program.
Ultimately, it came down Duke and Kansas. The Blue Devils edged out the Jayhawks in March.
Six potential first round NBA Draft selections will grace Cameron Indoor tonight, led of course by Cooper Flagg. Here’s a breakdown of the 10 best draft prospects in the game. North Carolina’s best talent, true freshman Ian Jackson, probably needs a career night if the Tar Heels, a heavy underdog, are going to win.
No. 2 Duke opened as 13.5-point favorites over North Carolina and that line has inched even higher in Duke’s favor to -14 ahead of the 6:30 p.m. ET tipoff on Saturday night, per Vegas Insider.
The over/under opened at 149.5 but has been bet down to 148.5.
Duke is 11-8-0 as a favorite this season against the spread and 7-5-0 as a home favorite against the spread, per TeamRankings.com data. UNC is 2-4-1 against the spread as an underdog and 1-2-1 against the spread as road underdogs.
Hubert Davis and his Tar Heels began the season ranked No. 9 in the AP Top 25 but were the first team OUT of the projected bracket in Jerry Palm’s latest Bracketology entering the weekend. The season has gone anything but according to plan as UNC stumbled to a 4-4 start to the season and has been up and down since, with a 13-9 overall record entering tonight’s Duke game.
A win tonight could serve as a launchpad for UNC to break out in the right direction with March fast approaching. But a loss would be its fourth in its last five games and a missed opportunity to establish some much-needed momentum.
There’s no such thing as a must-win game on Feb. 1 because there is plenty of season left to be played, but going on the road and beating a talented Duke team in their own barn would do wonders for its flagging confidence with the midway point of ACC play coming up.
Saturday night’s tilt between No. 2 Duke and North Carolina will be the 263rd meeting between the two teams in a rivalry that dates back to 1920. Here’s some factoids to tuck away ahead of the game to help impress your friends on the couch while you watch.
- UNC leads the all-time series 145-117
- Duke holds a 56-52 record in games played in Durham and is 47-40 in games played inside Cameron Indoor Stadium
- Duke has won 51 of the last 100 meetings in the series
- Saturday will mark the fourth time Duke and UNC have played on Feb. 1 in the calendar, with the road team winning in each of the previous three instances. Duke won in 1930 and in 1952 on Feb. 1 in games played in Chapel Hill, while UNC won on Feb. 1, 2001, when they faced off in Durham.
- UNC defeated Duke in both meetings last season, including an 84-79 win in Durham to wrap up the regular season.
- UNC has 21 wins over top-five ranked Duke teams in the history of the series.
- The last time UNC beat Duke when Duke was ranked inside the top two of the AP poll was when it beat No. 1-ranked Duke on Feb. 20, 2019, in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Luke Maye scored 30 points and Cam Johnson had 26 in the road win for the Tar Heels. That was the game Zion Williamson’s shoe exploded 30 seconds into the first half, and he did not return.
It’s not Duke-North Carolina without some potential drama, now is it?
No. 2 Duke’s 14-game winning streak — the longest active streak in the sport — is on the line for the first rivalry meeting of the season between the two Carolina schools. Duke didn’t lose at any point in December or January after starting 4-2 on the season with five and three point losses to Kentucky and Kansas, respectively.
That streak includes a perfect 10-0 start in ACC play.
